Commentary on Isaiah 1 part 10/23

"And it shall come to pass that every place of Mount Zion, and all the region round about it, a cloud shall overshadow by day, and as it were smoke and as the brightness of burning fire by night; and it shall be covered with all the glory."

"And it shall be for a shade from the heat, and for a shelter and a hiding place from storm and rain."

After the purification through the washing, and the further cleansing that comes from repentance, a time will come when every place will be made akin to Mount Zion—that is, will be deemed worthy to be lofty and a watchtower for the things of heaven.

After "seven women shall take hold of one man," and the Lord shines forth with glory in counsel, to exalt and glorify the remnant of Israel—when they were also called "Holy," because the filth of the daughters of Zion had been washed away and their blood cleansed from their midst—then a cloud shall overshadow the region round about Jerusalem by day, so as to afford shade from the heat and shelter from storm and rain;

while the night shall be possessed by a burning light, and the glory shall be as it were a kind of smoke laying hold of all things.

We reckon that these things are promised to those who are worthy of rest.

"The meek shall inherit [the earth]"—clearly some shall rest in the brightness of God's manifestation, others under the shelter of the heavenly powers, and yet others shall be covered in the glory that comes from the light, as if by smoke.

Perhaps the light shall shine forth upon Zion itself;

while over the region round about it a cloud shall shine forth by day, which has its origin from nowhere other than that very light—just as smoke comes from fire, so this cloud has its composition from the light—under which those who dwell shall enjoy great glory, as being illumined by that very cloud, which in the heat is spread out above their heads and affords a pleasant breath from its overshadowing;

and when harsh rainstorms break forth, fulfilling the function of watertight coverings, sufficiently sheltering those who need to escape notice, and by its own density obstructing sight.

Such as was the luminous cloud that enveloped the disciples at the Transfiguration of the Lord.

And since the stability and, as it were, the solidity of the cloud is a sign of calm weather, the untroubled character of that condition is indicated through the shelter afforded by the cloud.

Furthermore, in order to see more clearly what it means for there to be "a hiding place of shelter," let us be guided by some such example as this.

Suppose someone is being sought by his enemies, but is guarded by his own people in some small dwelling that is difficult to find.

Something of this sort, then, must be understood as happening concerning the holy one, that divine cloud sheltering him, so that he might not be readily assailable by his enemies.

So much, then, for a clearer understanding of the help that comes to those who dwell around Zion: that by day the cloud overshadows them, so that they may be delivered from the heat; and by night a fiery light burns for them, illuminating them; and in both seasons safety from those who plot against them belongs to them.

CHAPTER 5. "Let me now sing to the beloved a song of my beloved concerning my vineyard."

All songs seem to contain a more joyful state of affairs.

The ode in Exodus is a song of victory:

"Let us sing to the Lord, for he has been gloriously glorified";

the Song of Songs is a nuptial ode, woven together in dramatic form.

But here the discourse contains a threat brought against the vineyard, according to the just judgment of God.

Perhaps even these fearful things, because they lead to a good end, have fittingly been included among the songs? Now the person proclaiming the ode is the Holy Spirit, who sings the song to the beloved vineyard.

And this song belongs to the Beloved.

Who by nature is the Beloved, but the Only-begotten, the Good itself, whom all things desire, whose love is naturally and ineffably instilled in the minds of all rational beings? Since, then, according to the Lord's own word, the Paraclete receives all things from the Only-begotten and declares them to us, he also says the ode belongs to the Beloved, as having received it from him.

And this same ode is, for the vineyard once beloved, a song, if it repents;

but for one who persists in sin, it becomes a lamentation and a woe, just as we have learned in Ezekiel, where on the same scroll a song, and a lamentation, and a woe were written.

And the word of the Lord, calling forth to eternal life and to the enjoyment of heavenly goods, was a song, rousing souls to well-ordered and harmonious movement and to activity in accordance with virtue.

But John's preaching, turning the disobedient to repentance, was a lament, producing a grief unto salvation that is not to be regretted.

But the Jews, on account of the hardening of their heart, were found neither to be exhorted unto life by the good things, nor to be led unto repentance by the more sorrowful things.

—of their ancient nobility, and of God's care for them; and a reproof of their present wickedness, and a threat of the evils that were to be brought upon them.

And yet the disobedient people were neither recalled by those things to their proper dignity, nor could these things restrain them and make them more sober-minded.

He begins with the praises of their ancient nobility.

"A vineyard was made for the beloved, on a horn, in a fertile place."

By "vineyard" he means the people of Israel.

For, he says, "You transplanted a vine out of Egypt."

And in Jeremiah too, by the same image, the people are reproached:

"But I planted you a fruitful vine, wholly of true seed."

"How were you turned to bitterness, O strange vine?" "On a horn, in a fertile place."

He speaks of the land taken possession of by Israel, given according to God's promise to their fathers.

The horn is the loftiest part of the whole body and the most solid, at once providing adornment for the head, and at the same time serving as a weapon of defense.

But it is dry and without moisture.

On a horn, in a fertile place;

that is, in a solid and fertile place.

But some already touch upon a deeper meaning in the interpretation of this saying.

That just as the head of horned animals appears first in their formation, but is completed last, receiving its own adornment only late, at the sprouting forth of the horns, so also Israel, called first of all the nations into kinship with God (for it says, "Israel became the people of the Lord, his portion, the line of his inheritance"), is destined to be deemed worthy of perfection after all the rest.

For when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then all Israel will be saved.

There is also a certain account of this kind, preserved in the Church according to unwritten memory, that Judea was first inhabited by Adam, he having been settled there after his expulsion from paradise, as a consolation for what he had been deprived of.

So it was the first to receive a dead man, since it was there that Adam fulfilled his condemnation.

It seemed to those of that time a strange sight — a skull-bone, the flesh having decayed away — and having laid the skull to rest in that place, they named it the Place of the Skull.

It is likely that even Noah, the forefather of all mankind, was not ignorant of that grave, so that the report of it was spread abroad by him after the flood.

And just as death prevailed in Adam, so it might be weakened in the death of Christ.

And "fertile," as being deemed worthy, after paradise, of the primacy over all the earth beneath the sun.

"And I put a fence around it and staked it, and I planted a vine of Sorech;"

"and I built a tower in the midst of it, and dug a vat before the winepress in it."

The sequence of the wording does not entirely follow the natural order of the events.

For planting comes before staking;

since the stakes are an aid to the vine, for holding its fruits up off the ground.

What then is the fence, but evidently the commandments, which he gave to the people before leading them into the land of their possession? Then power was given them by God to overcome their adversaries and to destroy utterly the nations that had previously dwelt there.

a defense against ruin, so that they might not be wholly exposed to easy attack.

After this comes the planting of the elect, since they were of the seed of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the elect of God.

And the tower built in the midst of the vineyard is evidently the temple established in the midst of Judea.

And the vat before the winepress is the synagogue of the Jews itself, since the winepress properly speaking is the Church of God, adorned by the gathering together from every quarter, on account of which the songs "for the winepresses" are sung by the Psalmist.

And the vat before the press is also the preparation that came through the law, and the preliminary training toward piety;

and insofar as it leads to unity, it is the winepress;

but insofar as it is a preparation for more perfect things, it is the vat before the press.

"I waited for it to produce a grape, but it produced thorns."

It was fitting that, after such choice planting and such great care, sweet fruits should be yielded.

For the children of Abraham are required to do the works of Abraham.

But instead of the grape that was expected, it produced thorns, that is, instead of gladdening and giving rest, it was ready to prick and tear and draw blood from those who came near.

For which of the prophets did they not kill, according to the parable in the Gospel? And I think they are charged with having produced thorns not only in regard to murderousness, but because, having abandoned being lovers of God, they became rather lovers of pleasure, and their minds were choked, as it were by thorns, with the cares of life.

But just as a thorn does not bear a grape, so neither does a vine-branch bear thorns.

"Do they gather," it says, "grapes from thorns?" And yet the Jews produce thorns instead of grapes.

"And now, man of Judah, and you who dwell in Jerusalem, judge between me and my vineyard."

The excess of his loving-kindness is shown by the fact that God condescends to an equal judgment together with his own servants.

At the same time it also carries a demonstration of justice, in that none of those condemned have anything to say against the manifest clarity of the just verdict.

"Judge," he says, "between me and my vineyard."

And say, what of the things contributing to its fruit-bearing has not been done? "For," he says, "what shall I do for my vineyard that I have not done for it?" What of the things incumbent on me for its care have I not done? Is it not itself a rich and strong place? Is there no fence? No stakes? No most excellent planting? No tower? No vat before the press? Is there anything at all one could name that is lacking? These things, indeed, must be understood as being spoken by the word also to us, who, having been called to produce the fruits of righteousness, fall through love of wealth into temptation and a snare and foolish and harmful desires, which sink men into ruin and destruction.

"I waited for it to produce a grape, but it produced thorns."

The repetition has a certain necessity to it;

for in the passage above, the one announcing the song was saying:

"I waited for it to produce a grape;"

but here he directs his words to those before whom the case is being judged;

"Judge between me and my vineyard;"

the words "I waited for it to produce a grape, but it produced thorns."

"And now I will declare to you what I will do to my vineyard."

It is characteristic of God's loving-kindness not to inflict punishments in silence, but to proclaim them beforehand through threats, calling those who have sinned to repentance;

just as he did to the Ninevites through Jonah.

And to Israel, having sinned, he did not bring destruction in silence, but, stirring up his own servant to intercede on behalf of the people, he proclaimed beforehand, saying:

"And now let me alone, and I will blot out this people."

And we have learned something similar also in the Gospel concerning the parable of the fig tree, its owner saying to the gardener:

"I come to this fig tree seeking fruit on it, and I do not find any."

"Why does it even waste the ground?" But he said this, provoking the gardener to care for it, while also stirring up the fruitless soul to produce the fruits incumbent upon it.

What we are saying can be found more clearly in Jeremiah:

"Behold," he says, "as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hands, O house of Israel, says the Lord."

At one moment I will speak concerning a nation, or concerning a kingdom, to uproot and destroy them.

and if that nation turns from its evils, then I will repent of the evils that I planned to do to them.

And at another moment I will speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build it up and to plant it;

and they do evil in my sight, so as not to heed my voice;

then I will repent of the good things which I said I would do for them.

So then, here too we should understand the prediction, not as a pronouncement of what will absolutely come to pass, but as a threat producing a turning away from sin.

What then is it that he threatens? "I will remove its fence, and it shall be for plunder;"

"and I will tear down its wall, and it shall be for trampling."

"And I will let my vineyard go, and it shall not be pruned nor dug, and thorns shall come up in it as on waste ground."

"And I will command the clouds not to rain upon it."

For the vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel, and the man of Judah is his beloved new plant.

"I waited for it to produce justice, but it produced lawlessness;"

"and not righteousness, but a cry."

Let us then take up and examine each of the things threatened, and, testing their meaning, let us search whether what is said also applies to us.

"I will tear down," he says, "its fence."

It is fitting to understand the fence as the legal commandments, or rather as Israel itself, on the basis of Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, where he says that he himself is the one who broke down the dividing wall of the fence, having abolished in his ordinances the law of commandments.

For this same thing seemed both to be a safeguard for Israel and also to hinder the intermingling and union of the nations, since, because of the heavy yoke of the law, they shrank back from accepting the word of piety.

He, therefore, who by doctrines—that is, by lofty contemplations—abolished the fleshly and lowly observance of the letter of the Law, himself broke down the dividing wall of the fence, not leaving his own people unfenced, but enclosing them within one fold, that there might be one flock, one shepherd.

Now, therefore, the word threatens to tear down the fence, that is, to remove every safeguard of Israel.

And every soul, once stripped of this security, is exposed to plunder by the enemies, that is, by the opposing powers, and to be trampled by him who boasts and says, "Having walked about the world, I am here."

Something of this sort the Psalm also says concerning the vine:

"Why have you broken down her hedge? And the boar out of the forest has laid her waste."

For those who are not fenced about by reason and angelic power are given over to irrational impulses, and, because of the abounding stench of sin within them, they are fit receptacles for swine, who stir up the mire of sin all the more and wallow in it.

Something of this sort the Apostle also says:

"And even as they did not see fit to have God in full knowledge, God gave them up to dishonorable passions, to do the things that are not fitting."

...casting themselves into these, they are given over to brutish reasonings, and to the evil demons who work unclean deeds.

Indeed, this threat came upon Israel, when, because of their sin against the Lord, being given over and abandoned to the nations, they became plunder and a trampling-ground for their enemies.

"And I will tear down its wall, and it shall become a trampling-ground."

In the passage above, recounting the benefits he himself bestowed upon the people, he says, "I set a hedge around it and built a tower";

but here, "I will remove its hedge and tear down the wall"—calling the wall, as I suppose, in place of the tower;

since a tower too is made of four walls joined to one another at their corners, so that there also the lofty circuit of walls around the vineyard is to be understood as a tower, in order that it be inaccessible and unassailable by adversaries.

Our own wall, too, is torn down whenever, through negligence, we make ourselves unworthy of the protection that comes from the divine doctrines.

For to the righteous, God is a tower against the face of the enemy;

but from the sinner, on account of his abandonment, all security is taken away, along with the defense of every stronghold.

"And I will let my vineyard go, and it shall not be pruned, nor shall it be dug."

From this it is clear that the relaxation of sinners comes about through abandonment.

For concerning those for whom he provides, the word says:

"I will never let you go, nor will I ever forsake you";

but those of whom he has utterly despaired, these he leaves unrestrained to do the desires of the flesh and of their own minds, since correction would prove of no benefit to them.

"I will let the vineyard go," he says,

And what results for it from this? "It shall no longer be pruned," he says, "nor dug any more."

For just as those who prune the vine restrain its vigor (so that it may advance in a measured and sober manner, through bearing what is necessary), so also the soul, when bent by afflictions, is as it were contracted and profitably humbled, and is brought back to care for itself, choosing what is necessary and beneficial in its affairs.

But the soul left unrestrained, like some untended vine, runs wild and pours itself out upon useless and unprofitable things, making the whole display of its works for the deception of the many.

For he who occupies himself with the work of corruptible things is like a vine that nourishes wood, leaves, and tendrils, but does not produce the wine that gladdens, which could be stored away in royal storehouses.

The vineyard, then, that has been let go, suffers two grievous things:

"it is neither pruned," he says, "nor is it dug."

It has been said what it means not to be pruned, that is, not to be buffeted by circumstances—which is arranged for the benefit of those who are afflicted.

And one is "dug" who is taught to take all the material surrounding him for his own benefit.

Such, for instance, is the rich man who remains undug, whose soul is weighed down by the burden of earthly things;

upon him the rain from heaven does not descend either;

for it does not reach the root, since so much vanity has been heaped up over it.

But he who has been taught by a word of compunction to cast off the crowd of earthly and corruptible affairs, to breathe freely from the constriction, to uncover his own hidden things, to overturn the roots of bitterness, and, as it were, to dry them up through repentance—this is the man who has been dug.

Furthermore, with regard to not being pruned, we must also take into account what is said in the Gospel according to John:

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser."

"Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away";

"and every branch that bears fruit, he prunes it, that it may bear more fruit."

Now the wicked steward says, "I am not able to dig";

but the good and prudent steward will dig about it skillfully—that is, he will stir up all that he possesses and make it his own in relation to what takes precedence in his life—

for wealth sinks the souls of those who are rich in it, but when it is alienated from its possessors by being shared with those in need, then it truly becomes their own.

And it follows, from not being pruned nor dug, that thorns spring up on it, as on untilled ground.

Our Savior said that those who are entangled in the cares of life are like ground that puts forth thorns, receiving the fruit of the word, but choking it with the thorns.

Into the untilled soul, therefore, comes a great multitude of cares.

"Thorns shall come up on it, as on a fallow ground."

Now observe that above he said:

"I waited for it to produce grapes, but it produced thorns";

but here he added, "And they shall come up."

For by the springing up of the thorns, the word signifies a certain magnitude of the evil and its extensive spreading.

Then, since the shoots of the vine are evil, its rain is taken away, because it did not use the help given by him as it ought.

So also we, whenever we have not used for good the opportunities given to us by God, the help from heaven is taken away from us.

And all these wicked and unjust deeds are what are called thorns;

since they are the produce of accursed ground, it is fitting that the clouds receive orders not to rain upon the vineyard that brings forth such things.

Who, then, are the clouds, and what is the rain? Let us try, from the natural science concerning clouds, to arrive at an understanding of what has been said.

The cloud, then, is thick air, formed from the moist exhalation that rises from the earth;

then, being lifted up by the winds, when it receives from them a considerable accumulation, and a sufficient weight arises from the moisture sown within it, then it sends drops down to the earth.

Such is the nature of rains: having their origin from the earth, and being borne back again through the air to the earth.

Such also were the Prophets: originating from our common nature, yet, because of purity of soul, exalted on high by the power of the Spirit, and instilling drops of fruitful words into souls that are good and fruit-bearing.

Such was Moses, when he said:

"Let my utterance be awaited like the rain";

"as a shower upon the grass, and as snow upon the herb."

For no longer are there spiritual clouds, nor any longer a prophet, since the Lord's command is being kept firmly observed.

And even if the clouds are said to send rain, none the less it is the Lord who sends the rain.

"For there is none," says the Prophet, "that gives rain as you do."

And again it is said, in the person of God:

"And I will send rain upon one city, but upon another city I will not send rain";

"one part shall be rained upon, and the part on which I do not send rain shall be dried up"—the good God so ordering it that the portion of the worse be not rained upon, in order that the growths of wickedness in it may be dried up.

The intent of the passage has clearly made plain that it calls Israel the vineyard, concerning which it has been threatened that the things promised and foretold will come to pass.

And the man of Judah is a beloved new plant.

he made the ten tribes revolt — the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.

It appears from the Fourth Book of Kingdoms that Israel sinned more, and therefore was taken captive sooner.

And in Ezekiel ninety-three days are numbered for the sins of Israel, but forty for those of Judah.

But the man of Judah is no longer a vineyard;

but a newly planted shoot, not left fallow, but beloved.

Who this man is that arose out of Judah, flourishing in life and truly being beloved, it is not hard to see for one who knows how to contemplate such things.

I waited for it to render judgment, but it wrought lawlessness;

and not righteousness, but a cry.

Since, according to Solomon, "the thoughts of the righteous are judgments," we are required to do all things with judgment, and nothing without it.

Lawless deeds indeed follow upon a life lived without judgment and without examination.

For he who does not follow right reason, nor judges what is and is not to be done according to the rule given by the law, commits lawlessness, and is not a worker of righteousness but a cause of crying out, tumult, and confusion.

For the unjust there is crying out and seditious tumult, as those who have been wronged are indignant at the injustice.

Concerning this crying out the Apostle also exhorts us, saying:

"Let all crying out and clamor be put away from you, together with all malice."

But there is also a certain noble crying out, which the Lord, standing in the temple, cried:

"With my voice I cried out to the Lord."

And it is nothing to marvel at that the same word should be applied to opposite things, signifying at one time what is turbulent and agitated, and at another time the loud and sublime proclamation of heavenly doctrines.

In the present passage, however, the "crying out" is akin to that which went up from Sodom and Gomorrah.

"Woe to those who join house to house, and bring field near to field, that they may take away something from their neighbor!

Will you dwell alone upon the earth? For these things have been heard in the ears of the Lord Sabaoth.

For if many houses come to be, they shall become desolate;

great and fine ones, and there shall be none dwelling in them."

"For where ten yoke of oxen labor, it will yield but one jar;

and he who sows six artabas will get but three measures."

Wretched now are pronounced those who, out of desire for more, cut off pieces of their neighbors' land, content neither with their own possessions in the fields nor with their own dwellings;

but pushing back the boundaries of their neighbors in the cultivated land, and encroaching upon and enclosing the dwellings of their neighbors, being straitened by their own greed, and unable to bear remaining within their own boundaries;

but making use of this seemingly reasonable pretext for their immoderate love of possessions — namely, that their neighbors' lands appear to be adjacent and contiguous.

Against these the word confronted them most reprovingly, saying:

"Will you dwell alone upon the earth?" For if it is right that the neighbor who farms the adjoining land should be dispossessed, then clearly, once he has been cast out, another neighbor will again appear to you;

and again your covetous heart will suggest to you the very same thing to say against him too, showing it reasonable that you should make the neighboring lands your own.

And when that one too has been stripped bare and departed from his own possessions, and the third man's land has become part of your estate, again there will be another neighbor, other schemes — to drive him out of his possessions, and to make the fourth neighbor's land your own.

What limit, then, will there be for you to your desire for more? For the covetous heart is like a fire that travels through burning fuel, destroying one part while advancing upon another.

Surely, just as the quenching of a fire comes about through the exhaustion of fuel, so too the only thing that halts the covetous heart and the insatiable eye is having no one left whose land borders one's own possessions.

The word, therefore, healing this passion from afar, as though singing a charm over the possession-loving soul, says these things:

"Will you dwell alone upon the earth?" For if you desire your neighbor's property (and a neighbor will surely never be lacking to you), it is clearly necessary that you should reach the very ends of our inhabited world.

But if this is impossible, then from the very first thought put a stop to your impulse toward evil, O man, being content with what you received, remaining with what you have, knowing that great houses too, because they were built out of injustice, are left desolate of inhabitants, and a vast expanse of land, acquired through greed, has often proven barren of fruit.

For divine justice often anticipates the judgment to come, and already reduces to uselessness houses unjustly acquired, turning them, from populous dwelling and splendid prosperity, desolate of inhabitants.

Indeed, we have often known entire families to be utterly wiped out, so that, for lack of successors, the magnificent and proud structures of their houses have crumbled to the ground.

But also as many as, by encroaching upon their neighbors' boundaries, extended beyond measure the limits of their own property — since their possessions had been amassed out of the groaning of those they wronged — proved altogether strangers to the divine blessing; so that where ten yoke of oxen had labored, scarcely one jar was gathered at harvest, and where six artabas had been sown, three measures of fruit were collected, which is but a tiny fraction of the seed.

This passage, then, taken literally, has great benefit even in itself;

but it is possible for the diligent, by anagogical interpretation, to draw out the profit of this prophecy still further.