Commentary on Isaiah 1 part 13/65

For then the multitude of the nations has been called.

Drink this first, do it quickly, O land of Zebulun, O land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, and the rest who dwell on the seacoast and beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

The people walking in darkness, see a great light.

You who dwell in the land and in the shadow of death, upon you a light shall shine;

the greater part of the people, which You brought down in Your gladness;

and they shall rejoice before You as those who rejoice at the harvest, and in the manner of those who divide the spoils. Saying that those who have chosen to be disobedient to Emmanuel shall be pressed down by a harsh famine and moreover by perplexity, He has foretold that those in distress shall not be at a loss until the appointed time, according to the meaning already set forth above.

He begins to make plain also who were the first to believe, and became the firstfruits of those called to the knowledge of Emmanuel, who says:

Behold, I and the children whom God has given me, who has also become for signs and wonders in the house of Israel from the Lord of Hosts who dwells on Mount Zion.

For they say, I believe, that the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali lie beside the lake of Tiberias, and are at the farthest edges of the land of the Jews, so as to be adjacent to Galilee of the nations, which is distinct from the one bordering the land of the Phoenicians.

From these tribes especially, they say, the holy apostles for the most part came.

And so, in expounding the matters concerning their calling for us, Matthew the blessed evangelist first brings Jesus into the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali.

Then in what manner He chose out the holy apostles, he clearly adds.

He writes thus concerning Christ:

The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations, the people sitting in darkness saw a great light, and to those sitting in the region and shadow of death, a light dawned upon them. And to these he adds:

And walking beside the sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea;

and Jesus said to them:

And they immediately left their nets and followed Him.

And going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them.

And they immediately left the boat and their father and followed Him. Now one should know that the sacred Scripture calls the sea of Galilee the lake of Tiberias;

there also the divinely-inspired disciples were found plying the trade of fishermen.

The God of all, therefore, makes His words through the voice of the prophet for the present as addressed to the regions—or rather the cities—of the tribe of Zebulun and Naphtali, which lay beside the lake of Tiberias;

and, all but giving them the cup of salvation and bringing forth the wine that gladdens the heart of man—namely, the proclamation concerning Christ.

Drink this first, He says, do it quickly—that is, O land of Zebulun and Naphtali, receive the saving proclamation.

But do it quickly—that is, without any delay whatsoever.

And the disciples, as I said, were swift, and came very readily to believe in Christ.

For they followed at once, leaving their nets and their father, and they had no need of long initiation.

For John writes thus concerning Christ, the Savior of us all:

On the next day He wished to go forth into Galilee;

and He finds Philip, and Jesus says to him: Follow me.

Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the region of Andrew and Peter.

Philip finds Nathanael and says to him:

The one of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the prophets, we have found—Jesus the son of Joseph, the one from Nazareth. But when he came to Jesus, he then heard Him saying:

Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you—he at once believed, and indeed cried out, saying:

Rabbi, You are the Son of God, You are the King of Israel. And Bethsaida again, from which Philip and moreover Nathanael were, lay beside the sea of Tiberias.

There is Benjamin the younger in ecstasy, the rulers of Judah their leaders;

the rulers of Zebulun, the rulers of Naphtali. But that not only the divinely-inspired disciples were to be called in due seasons, but also the flocks of the nations, He indicates, saying:

And the rest who dwell on the seacoast and beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations, the people walking in darkness saw a great light.

You who dwell in the land and shadow of death, upon you a light shall shine.

For they walked like those from among the nations, and passed their time in this world;

just like those in the night and in darkness, because of not having the light of true knowledge of God in their mind, and falling as it were into every pit;

and stumbling, as it were, against every evil stone.

And He says that they dwell in the land and shadow of death, because there was among them—that is, in their own regions—nothing else but only mist and darkness, the spiritual darkness manifestly; and they were as if in the likeness of the dead, though yet living.

For the shadow of bodies imitates in every way their outward shapes, yet it differs altogether in no respect—so far, I mean, as concerns likeness in the matter of shape.

And in truth it is, as it were, a kind of imitation and a shadow of death.

But upon those who were sick with such maladies a light shone forth—that is to say, after what came from Christ, namely the evangelical decree.

From thence came the greater part of the people, whom Thou hast brought down in Thy gladness.

For far more numerous are those called from among the Gentiles than those who believed from Israel.

Therefore, it says, the greater part of the people saw a great light, whom Thou hast brought down in Thy gladness.

And the word 'Thou hast brought down' he has set in place of 'Thou hast called back' and 'Thou hast redeemed,' as though they were captives who had been made such by the greed of the devil.

These shall rejoice before Thee, as those who rejoice at the harvest.

And after the manner of those who divide the spoils. But we shall understand the meaning of what is set before us in two ways.

For if it be the divine disciples who rejoice at the harvest and divide the spoils, we say that, gathering those from among the Gentiles as it were some grain into the Master's storehouse, and shearing them away from the ancient error, they rejoice in the same manner as those who reap in the fields; and snatching, as if from a tyrannical greed, those who had been deceived by Satan, and transferring them through faith into godliness, they rejoice as those who divide the spoils.

For some persuaded these, and others those.

And to each one the saved were gain, just as to the victors are the spoils of war.

But if he should say that these things are spoken concerning those who have believed, let us consider that, at the time of their wandering, having no fruit of righteousness, they grew rich in this by believing in Christ.

But also those who of old were plundered and pillaged by the demons and by Satan have conquered through Christ those who once despoiled them, and have become stronger than their wickedness.

Therefore these also rejoice, as the prophet says, like those who rejoice at the harvest, and after the manner of those who divide the spoils.

For the Lord hath scattered the rod of the exactors, as in the day of Midian. Though men upon the earth were free, and were exceedingly well made after the divine image, and created, as the blessed Paul says, unto good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them—yet the inventor of iniquity has taken from them no small advantage, and having estranged them from the love toward God, has made them his own worshippers, hanging over them the yoke of sin that is hard to escape.

Those, then, who had fared wretchedly and were amid these evils—chiefly those from among the Gentiles—Christ delivered, and once again declared free.

The yoke that lay upon them shall be taken away, and the rod that was upon their neck. By 'rod,' he says, I suppose is meant either the sceptre, that is, the kingdom—clearly that of Satan—or perhaps constraint, and as it were a blow and a scourge.

For the foul and profane throng of demons, and Satan who leads them, hold us fast to their own will, all but beating us with a rod by the dominions of the passions which he brings upon the mind, and forces the heart into willing to do what is not lawful.

They shall therefore shake off, he says, the yoke that comes of greed, and moreover the rod also, which they have ever had upon their neck, like household slaves lying subject to the blows of a master.

And again he calls to mind a history set down in the Book of Judges.

For having forsaken the God of all, those of Israel in the days of the Judges turned to unholiness of manners, and having grieved not a little the God who defends them, they clung to idols and offered acts of worship to the works of their own hands.

For this reason, indeed, they were given over to the Midianites;

who plundered all their land, ravaging cities and villages, and whatever was in the fields.

And they wrought such terror in the wretched people that they even chose to dwell in rocks, and in the trackless places of the mountains, and to contrive for themselves the hidden recesses of caves, and to be worn down by a savage and prolonged famine.

He saved them by the hand of Gideon, who conquered the Midianites and set Israel free from the constraint and rod that hung over them.

Thus, then, the Lord scattered the rod of the exactors, as in the day of Midian.

For as He then delivered those who were held fast by intolerable greed, driving out the rapacious nation, so has He saved those from among the Gentiles, driving away the rod of the exactors.

By 'exactors' he means Satan himself and the demons, whose aim and whole endeavour is to exact from men, as it were a tribute or a tax, the accustomed sins.

For they demand in every case: from him who is wont to commit fornication, fornication; from him who steals, thieving—or simply the robbing of garments; and in the case of each one who is amid the passions, the things familiar and dear to that passion.

Whence I think the sacred Scripture calls certain men blessed, as those who did not hear the voice of the tax-gatherer.

For every garment gathered together by deceit, and every robe with exchange, they shall repay;

and they shall be willing, even if they had become consumed by fire.

For unto us a child is born, a son, and is given unto us, whose government has come to be upon His shoulder, and His name is called the Angel of great counsel.

For I will bring peace upon the rulers, peace and health for them.

Great is His government, and of His peace there shall be no bound;

the zeal of the Lord of Sabaoth shall do these things. The remnant of Israel has been called into the knowledge of Emmanuel through the holy apostles;

The land of Zabulon and the land of Nephthaleim;

then to these he added, Galilee of the Gentiles;

the people that sat in darkness saw a great light—that, namely, which comes through Christ, who spiritually illuminates no longer one nation, that of Israel, but rather the whole world under heaven.

That those who were enlightened were about to strip off the yoke of the devil's wickedness, and to escape the rod, he has assured us, setting it forth;

But we see that upon those who served the creation and worshipped the works of their own hands, the yoke of the devilish wickedness was cast;

while upon those of Israel lay the hard-to-bear burden of the law, and truly a load hard to carry.

And indeed the blessed disciples rebuked those who after the faith were persuading some to keep the things in the law, saying;

and to this yet more burdensome thing, the wickedness of the Pharisees added no small crushing, breaking men down with their insatiable greed.

For money-lovers were the leaders of the Jews' synagogue, having one aim—to gather from every quarter, and to oppress the peoples under their hand.

It would therefore be entirely fitting and right to say this also concerning those of Israel;

That the yoke that lay upon them shall be taken away, and the rod that was upon their neck. And 'rod' he likely names the greed proceeding from the leaders, because of their turning grievously aside to love of gain.

For this cause the wretched men even slew the Son Himself.

For indeed, seeing that He was the heir, they said among themselves, it says;

Or that they saw Emmanuel shining forth upon the world, he hints, saying;

That every garment gathered together by deceit, and every robe with reconciliation, they shall repay, and they shall be willing as if they had become consumed by fire.

For unto us a child is born, a son, and is given unto us. For by deceit and fraud, and by judging not rightly, they made their heaping up of riches, he says;

of raiment and of the garments with reconciliation—that is, with an addition.

to send away and to cast off—or rather, he says, they willed to be burned up even with fire, being exceedingly grieved that unto us a child is born, a son.

For having been entrusted with the Master's vineyard, they willed to have the fruits themselves and alone, bringing to the Master nothing at all.

And by saying that a child was born, he clearly refutes the feebleness of the opinion of the Manichaeans, who refuse to say that the Word became flesh;

that is, that He bore our flesh for our sake according to the divine dispensation.

But if they are willing to think rightly, and to condemn their own ill counsel, let them not dishonour the words of the prophet, who says that a child has been born unto us.

For where there is a true birth from a woman, what place could there be for saying that the sojourning came to pass in seeming and in shadow, and, as one might say, in mere fantasies? Rather, he says the son has been given unto us.

For the only-begotten Word of God became man, not for His own sake, but rather to renew our condition unto that which was from the beginning, and, as a ransom for the life of all, offering His own body as a fragrance of sweet savour to God and the Father.

And he says that His government has come to be upon His shoulder, and to some it seems to mean something of this sort.

For since, he says, having the cross upon His own shoulders,

our Lord Jesus Christ went to the saving Passion, and was lifted up and gained dominion over all that is under heaven through it—for this reason, indeed, His government is said to have come to be upon His shoulder.

The saying has its plausibility, and the notion, being sound, is not to be dishonoured, even if one should choose to praise it.

But it seems that in these words the prophetic saying wishes to signify to us, by 'shoulder,' strength.

For all our strength is in the arms and the shoulders.

And indeed the Son is called the right hand and the arm of God the Father.

For, it says, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Christ, then, ruled over all that is under heaven by His own power;

for He is the strength of God the Father.

He is also called the Angel of Great Counsel — plainly, the counsel of God the Father.

And the wise John will bear witness concerning Him, saying:

'He that receiveth His testimony hath set his seal that God is true.'

'For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God.' And He Himself somewhere says to the holy apostles:

'Ye are My friends, if ye do the things which I command you.'

'No longer do I call you servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth.'

'But you I have called friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known unto you.' Therefore, for this very cause also, He names Emmanuel the Angel of Great Counsel.

But since He became man, He Himself referred to God the Father the energy and power at work in all that was done by Him, and God the Father likewise wrought these things for us through Him. This very truth He indicates, saying:

'For I will bring peace upon the rulers, peace and health for them.'

The peace that was His, Christ gave to the holy apostles as His own.

For all that is the Father's is His, and indeed He said:

'My peace I give unto you;'

'My peace I leave with you.' But if it be said that Emmanuel Himself also received peace and health, understand again the marvellous artistry of the dispensation in the flesh.

For He received the peace that comes plainly from the world, as the Father brought all men to Him and persuaded them to be at peace with Him, by worshipping Him and receiving the yoke of His kingdom.

'For no man,' He says, 'can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him.' And the wise Isaiah too somewhere cried aloud in addition:

For we have heard Him speaking to the Father and the Son who are in the heavens:

for a little while — because, by the grace of God, He suffered His own flesh to taste death on behalf of all — He receives health, that is, the restoration to life; and this too He Himself accomplished.

For He raised up His own temple, being Himself the Power of the Father.

For if He Himself is the resurrection and the life, of what would the Life have had need for its own quickening? And if He is seen to have raised the bodies of others again by His own power, how would He not have raised His own body too, and that before all the rest? And indeed, He says to the Jews Himself:

'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' And that the kingdom of Christ is unshaken and possesses steadfastness for ever, He teaches, saying:

'Great is His government, and of His peace there is no bound.' For He reigned no longer over Judaea alone, but rather over all that is under heaven.

And there shall be no end of the peace offered to Him by us.

For we are at peace with Him, we worship Him, as I have said, and through Him and in Him we worship God the Father.

and we are earnest to put out of the midst the sin that is the procurer of war.

And that He came to set free the nation of the Jews, he teaches by setting forth:

'and to uphold it in righteousness and in judgment, from henceforth and unto the age to come.' And since the blessed prophet has now made sufficient discourse for us concerning Emmanuel, he gives the time of the Incarnation, saying:

'The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform these things.' But what kind of zeal, and toward whom, it is necessary to state.

Truly then it was worthy of all zeal indeed, and full of every excess, what had been done against us; therefore the zeal of the Lord of hosts set free those throughout all the earth.

And in another manner too, those of Israel provoked Him to jealousy with what are no gods, as it is written, and with their vanities; and at the last they crucified Emmanuel.

They were provoked to jealousy among the nations, even as He Himself says:

'They provoked Me to jealousy with that which is no god;'

'They provoked Me to anger with their idols, and I will move them to jealousy with those who are not a people; with a foolish nation I will anger them.'

{DISCOURSE 6.} The Lord sent death upon Jacob, and it came upon Israel; and all the people of Ephraim shall know, even they that dwell in Samaria, who say in insolence and haughtiness of heart:

'The bricks are fallen down, but come, let us hew stones, and cut down sycamores and cedars, and build ourselves a tower.' Long indeed has been the prophet's discourse concerning Emmanuel, which having accomplished with ease, he now returns again to the matters at the beginning.

For he was strongly reproaching Israel, as disobedient and as provoking the God who ever saved him, and as, for this very cause, casting itself into the uttermost evils;

for he said that they would not have the law of the Lord of hosts;

but they provoked the oracle of the Holy One of Israel.

'And the Lord was moved with anger against His people, and He laid His hand upon them and smote them.'

'And the mountains were provoked, and their carcases became as dung in the midst of the way.'

By mountains that were provoked he means the kings of the Assyrians;

for they became overweening and boastful, and lofty in their minds.

who also, having shaken down all Samaria from its foundations, took Israel captive and carried them away to the mountains of the Persians and the Medes.

'The Lord sent death upon Jacob, and it came upon Israel.' But one must know that both the edition of the Hebrews and others of the interpreters have set down 'word' instead of 'death.'

'For the Lord,' it says, 'sent a word upon Jacob, and it came upon Israel.' And a word of what kind? Plainly one condemning the ungodly, and subjecting to penalties those who had forsaken Him and worshipped the works of their own hands.

Whether then it be said, God sent death, or a curse, or a word, the force of the meanings will not be incongruous, but will rather proceed toward one and the same aim.

For thus, even if with difficulty, what is signified will become plain.

There have reigned then, at various times in Jerusalem over Judah, that is, over Jacob, men both good and wicked;

and nonetheless also over Israel, those of the tribe of Ephraim in Samaria.

For of the tribe of Ephraim was also the first of them to reign, Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who also persuaded them to worship his golden calves.

Of those, then, who reigned at various times both in Jerusalem and in Samaria, very many, as I have said, became such as fearlessly offended God, being profane and idolaters, worshipping the host of heaven, and unholily serving wood and stone;

of which sort was also this Ahaz, who even passed his own children through the fire, and wrought exceedingly many evils in Jerusalem, and transgressed even against the divine temple itself.

But when he had been removed from the midst, being seized by death, Hezekiah succeeds to the sceptre, while Hoshea the son of Elah was reigning in Samaria over Israel, that is, over the ten tribes.

During whose administration of the kingdom, the king of the Assyrians made war upon Samaria.

And together with it he also took many other cities of Judaea.

Then after this, when Sennacherib was overrunning Judaea, God saved Jerusalem marvellously, Hezekiah being godly.

And it is written thus in the Fourth Book of Kings:

'And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah — this being the seventh year of Hoshea the son of Elah, king of Israel — that Shalmaneser king of the Assyrians came up against Samaria and besieged it.'

'And he took it at the end of three years, in the sixth year of Hezekiah — this being the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel.'

'And Samaria was captured, and the king of the Assyrians carried Samaria away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river Gozan, and in the mountains of the Medes;'

'because they hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord their God, and transgressed His covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded, and they hearkened not, and did it not.'

'And in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of the Assyrians came up against the fenced cities of Judaea, and took them.'

And these things are from the sacred Scriptures.

And that Sennacherib had sacked Samaria while going up against Jerusalem, we shall readily perceive from what the blessed prophet Isaiah himself has written.

For Rabshakeh spoke thus to those seated upon the wall:

'Let not Hezekiah deceive you, saying —'

'Have the gods of the nations, each of them, delivered his own land out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians? Where is the god of Hamath and Arphad? And where is the god of the city of Sepharvaim? Could they save Samaria out of my hand?' Sennacherib therefore had already destroyed Samaria together with the other cities and lands;

then he besieged Jerusalem.

For since he had prated foolishly against the divine glory, an angel went forth from the Lord and slew out of the camp of the Assyrians in one night a hundred and eighty-five thousand.

Therefore, since Sennacherib came against Jerusalem, and had already destroyed Samaria — God having delivered it up, on account of their choosing to do the worse things than those in Jerusalem — he says of necessity:

'it came upon Israel.' But Samaria, in which Israel dwelt — that is, the ten tribes — has been burned with fire, and utterly destroyed.

It was, I think, a wise thing henceforth for those caught up in this calamity to consider that to give offence to God is truly a most grievous thing.

Then, having recognized this, they surely ought by all means to appease the One who had been grieved, and by turning to a better course to soften Him who had been provoked.

But they did no such thing, nor did they take it into their minds from any quarter;

rather, in their senselessness they spoke even more presumptuously, saying:

'The bricks have fallen, but let us hew stones, and cut down sycamores and cedars, and build ourselves a tower.' O the great folly!

For how ought they not rather to have said:

'We have given offence, through our ill counsel, to the God who is all-powerful; and for this cause our cities and villages have been captured'?

But they said no such things;

rather, treating with contempt the security that comes from God's help, they said that the walls of the cities throughout Samaria had been made of crumbling brick.

'But if we hew stones, and fit to them the incorruptible timbers—I mean sycamores and cedars—and raise up a tower, we shall be impregnable to our enemies and remain unassailable.'

Those, then, who speak these things—he says—in insolence and haughtiness of heart, shall know, that is, shall learn once again, whither their scheme will lead them, and that their counsel will again issue in ruin.

One must know that after the devastation wrought by Sennacherib, in the times of Jeremiah, Nebuchadnezzar made war upon Judaea and subdued the whole of it by force.

And he devastated Samaria, both it and Jerusalem.

Therefore the prophet Jeremiah says:

'Cursed is he who sets his hope on man.'

For who shall turn back the uplifted hand, according to that which is written? And God shall dash in pieces those who rise up against Mount Zion, against them, and shall scatter their enemies:

Syria from the rising of the sun, and the Greeks from the setting of the sun, who devour Israel with all their mouth. When God smites on account of many sins, He brings a wound upon those who suffer, that He may in every way appear to be calling them to repentance, both, I say, through pain and through consolation.

Something of this sort He now also promises to those who have suffered devastation.

But the passage before us has a historical explanation, which it is necessary, as I said, to state in brief.

For last of all came the war waged by Nebuchadnezzar against all Judaea together, and indeed against Samaria as well; and they were carried off as captives, and served their enemies for seventy years.

But when the time appointed for those under wrath had been completed, the God of all took pity once again, and indeed brought it about that they should be released, when Cyrus the son of Cambyses had conquered the Babylonians.

And when those who had toiled came to the holy city, they wished to rebuild its walls.

And indeed they did so, and rebuilt their divine temple.

But none the less, though they had suffered so much and had paid the penalties for their ancient transgressions, the surrounding nations once again set upon them out of envy.

For they did not wish Jerusalem to grow strong.