Commentary on Isaiah 1 part 5/65

Therefore that together with the proud there shall also perish the resource of wealth — that is, the gains flowing in from commerce and exchange — He signifies brilliantly.

And that those of Israel hired many for aid is not unattested, since God says of them also through another prophet:

'And Ephraim was like a silly dove without a heart; he called upon Egypt, and went to the Assyrians.'

'As they go, I will cast My net upon them; I will bring them down like the birds of heaven.'

And is it not both ignorant and unholy to prefer to cling rather to such things than to hope in Him, and to be deluded by empty and senseless reasonings — supposing that even if He should will to save them, yet some other one, and the concourse of human aid, shall also deliver them, and shall at some time prevail over His nods of will?

'For if He shut against a man,' it says, 'who shall open?' It is good, then, to hope in the Lord rather than to hope in man, according to the voice of the psalmist.

'And they shall hide away all their handmade things, bringing them into the caves, and into the clefts of the rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from before the face of the fear of the Lord, and from the glory of His might, when He shall arise to shatter the earth.' He shows the deliberation of the Jews to be worthy of laughter, if they hide their gods and are eager to save those they worship.

And yet, how should they not have expected these to be saviours, if indeed they truly knew them to be gods? But by these very men, in condemning their own devices and testifying to them their impotence for anything whatever, the gods are defended.

For they hide them in the caves, and in the clefts of the rocks, and in the holes of the earth, lest the enemy, finding them, should carry them off together with the vanquished, as it were gods taken captive.

How, then, are those any longer gods, which stand in need of aid from those who worship them? Nay, they are but lifeless matter,

For they themselves, having become the craftsmen and makers of them, lift them upon their shoulders and go along, and worship it, and pray, saying:

'Deliver me, for you are my God.' Their heart, therefore, is but ashes.

It would befit those accustomed to piety to bid farewell to the follies of the deluded, and indeed to cry out that other saying:

'Let the gods who did not make heaven and earth perish from the earth, and from beneath this heaven,'

'of whom are all things, and we unto Him.'

'And one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through Him.' 'In that day a man shall cast away his abominations, the silver and golden ones, which he made to worship the vanities and the bats, in order to enter into the holes of the earth, the solid rocks, and into the clefts of the rocks, from before the face of the fear of the Lord, and from the glory of His might, when He shall arise to shatter the earth.' That they were about to hide away the gods made by themselves and falsely so named — no longer overcome by any reverence toward them, but rather having condemned them as useless and impotent matter — He renders vividly evident by adding to what he had said:

'In that day a man shall cast away his abominations, which he made to worship them and the bats.' For having set up their handmade things in shrines, they had worshipped them unholily;

but when they beheld the time of war present, and there was no manner of aid at all for them, and these were caught out as being stones and wood, matter of gold and plated with silver — those whom they had supposed would be saviours and redeemers — they cast them out of the temples and hid them in caves, sparing rather the material and no longer honouring them as gods.

And that their toil about the making of idols was vain and profitless, he made plain, saying:

'A man shall cast away his abominations which he made to worship them and the bats.' For they themselves became the makers of their own gods, and craftsmen of those they worshipped, yet gained from them nothing at all toward profit.

And perhaps it was for the bats alone that they built the temples.

For always, somehow, such creatures among the winged ones — or little living things — love to haunt the lightless places, and fill the things therein with their own loathsomeness and foul odour.

A man, then, shall cast away the abominations which he made; and whither shall he cast them? 'In order to enter,' it says, 'into the holes of the solid rock, and into the clefts of the rocks, from before the face of the fear of the Lord.'

Behold, then, how the wretched men were eager to bury themselves together with their own gods.

But not such did they behold the God of all to be.

For He was in no way hidden when they had run out from the land of the Egyptians, but Pharaoh followed pursuing.

And they indeed were saved, walking as upon dry land;

but the mad Pharaoh was drowned with his whole army.

And indeed, when Rabshakeh the general of the Babylonians, encircling Jerusalem round about, prated against God, and said that he would easily master all Judaea —

God was not hidden, nor did He seek out clefts of rocks, nor yet ravines of mountains; but Hezekiah prayed, saying:

'Give ear, O Lord, look, O Lord, and behold the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of the Assyrians sent to reproach the living God.' And at once he heard God saying:

For the angel of the Lord went forth and slew from the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand. Let those, then, be put to shame who worship graven images, who have forsaken the God who is almighty over all things, and serve gods whom they hide away before themselves, lest they perish before them, having fallen prey to the greed of those who make war upon them.

Let us therefore say, according to the utterance of the prophet Jeremiah:

'A throne of glory exalted, our sanctuary, the hope of Israel, O Lord;'

'let all who forsake thee be put to shame.'

'Let those who depart be written upon the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of life.' And if it is fitting to speak also something spiritual to the spiritual: as many as tolerate idols in the mind, and admit into it the notions arising from bizarre fantasies, let them know that they shall become nests of bats — that is, of unclean spirits.

'For each one,' it says, 'is tempted, being drawn away and enticed by his own desires.'

'Then desire, having conceived, gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is fully accomplished, brings forth death.' We must therefore reject the beginnings of the passions, and thrust away the idols that enter the mind, those which rush in through mere thoughts alone, knowing what is written:

'If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place;'

'for healing will lay to rest great sins.' Behold now, the Sovereign Lord of hosts will take away from Judea and from Jerusalem the mighty man and the mighty woman, the strength of bread and the strength of water, the giant and the strong man, and the ruler, the warrior and the judge. Having made a sufficient account concerning their more ancient offenses, he again turns his discourse in due season to their final calamities, which they justly endured, having impiously and drunkenly outraged our Lord Jesus Christ.

For the wrath of the Lord commanded them, and quite rightly so;

for having slain the prophets and stoned those who were sent, they did not even reverence the Son himself, but leapt upon him in the manner of wild beasts, and, so far as it lay in them, they clothed the Author of life with death, saying:

partly by famine and sieges, by fire and sword, and partly by the enslavement of their women and children.

And that they have suffered the loss also of the gifts from above and from God, and have been deprived of the good things pertaining to mind and soul, he teaches, saying:

but rather concerning the intelligible strength, that which pertains to mind and heart, through which we are accustomed to accomplish virtue.

For the flesh wars against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh.

For these are opposed to one another;

and very many pleasures, worldly and unclean, throw the human mind into confusion, dragging it down toward sins.

There is need, therefore, of strength from above and from God.

For thus a man will prevail, and even so with difficulty, and be crowned when he overcomes;

but he says that this has been taken away from the Jews, and the very facts will cry it aloud.

For what word is there any longer among them concerning the accomplishing of virtue? Or who is the man of good repute, who has practiced to stand against the passions of the flesh, that is, against the assaults of bizarre pleasures? For the mind lies exposed, as it were, before all things, like a half-boiled beet, according to the utterance of the prophet.

'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' But the strength of bread and the strength of water have been taken from them;

and again, not of sensible bread, nor yet of waters in common use;

'He gave them bread of heaven;'

'man did eat the bread of angels.' And we say that he makes mention of intelligible waters, concerning which the prophet Isaiah himself somewhere says:

'And ye shall draw water with gladness from the fountains of the Savior.' And indeed the Savior himself says:

'Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again;'

'but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him, it shall become in him a fountain of water springing up unto life eternal.' Consider carefully the utterances of the prophet.

For he did not say simply that bread and water would be taken from the Jews, but the strength of bread and the strength of water.

And we ought to understand him to mean some such thing as this.

For we, when we come upon the sacred words and read the divine Scriptures, and then understand them, receive the strength of intelligible bread.

'For man shall not live by bread alone,' it says, 'but by every word that proceeds through the mouth of God.' In like manner you will understand also concerning intelligible waters.

The Jews, to be sure, still have the bread and the water;

For they busy themselves with the writings of Moses, and read the law.

But since they understand nothing, they have neither the strength of the bread nor yet the strength of the water.

having merely a supposition, but nourishing them in no way at all unto intelligible well-being.

And Paul will bear witness, writing:

'For until this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies upon their heart, not being lifted, because in Christ it is done away.' And in another manner too we say that the strength of bread and the strength of water have been taken away from the synagogue of the Jews.

And the word is mystical.

For we who have been called through faith unto sanctification have the bread that is from heaven, that is, Christ, or rather his body.

And if anyone should ask what sort of thing his strength is, we say that it is life-giving.

And in like manner we come also to the grace given through holy baptism, saying that the strength of the water which sanctifies us is the putting away of sins, spiritual regeneration, unto conformity to Christ himself.

And besides these, a bold entrance into the kingdom of the heavens;

'For unless one,' he says, 'be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.' The Jews, therefore, have been deprived of such good things.

For there is not among them the strength of bread, that is, the making-alive in Christ.

They do not have the strength of water;

for sin has remained among them unwashed away.

They will not press into the kingdom of the heavens, having dishonored Christ who brings them in;

for they did not believe him when he said:

'I am the way, and I am the door.' He will likewise take away the giant and the strong man.

Then who is the giant? And who too is the other? I for my part suppose that he names as 'giant' the one who has come to the highest measure of spiritual strength, and as 'strong man' the one who has descended a little, and is inferior to the pre-eminence conceived in the former.

For to each one of us a measure of grace has been given from God.

This the most wise Paul makes plain to us, saying:

'I would that all men were even as I myself;'

'but each of us has his own gift from God, one after this manner, another after that.' And it is customary also in another way for the God-inspired Scripture to call those who are exceedingly strong 'giants.'

And indeed God somewhere said concerning those who marched out from Babylon against the land of the Jews:

'Giants are coming to fulfill my wrath, rejoicing and at the same time insolent.' And indeed the psalmist too:

'He shall rejoice as a giant to run his course.' But there shall be among the Jews neither warrior nor judge.

For we who have honored the Lord of hosts by faith are made sinewy by him, and are rendered sufficient for resistance against the wicked and unclean powers.

'For our wrestling is not against blood and flesh, but against the principalities, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of the darkness;'

'against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.' Against these we stand in an intelligible manner, fitted out with the weapons of righteousness, and having the full spiritual armor.

Of which the divinely-inspired Paul also makes mention, saying:

'Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth.' And what follows;

'For our weapons are not fleshly, but mighty before God;'

'and though walking in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.' But among the Jews, there is no such man from anywhere;

but without a fight, as it were, they always yield the victory to everyone who assails them, and to their own untamed pleasures.

Nor would anyone find among them one who knows how to judge rightly, either concerning the things that lie in the mind, or the outward affairs of daily life.

For bizarre and wicked reasonings run into the human mind, and a terrible tumult of unclean desires throws it into confusion;

but the mind of the wise and equitable man stands firm, like some judge testing each thing, and rejecting what is base, while crowning what is useful with an ineffable verdict.

This too is something wholly foreign to the people of the Jews.

For God, who directs us also in this matter, is not with them; nor, even if one were somehow to train himself in things external, do they know how to discern that which is blameless and pleasing to God.

having given offence, and for this cause justly deprived of all understanding — I mean the understanding that pertains to the sacred Scriptures? 'Moreover,' He says, 'in like manner He will take away the prophet, and the diviner, and the elder, and the captain of fifty, and the wonderful counsellor, and the wise master-builder, and the intelligent hearer.'

'And I will set youths as their rulers, and mockers shall lord it over them.' That prophecy has been taken away from the Synagogue of the Jews, no one could doubt, since the fact itself cries aloud.

For the blessed prophets, arising in their several seasons, proclaimed beforehand Christ Jesus.

But since that which was foretold has been accomplished, and the end of the Law and the prophets has come — for God and Lord has appeared to us, according to the Scriptures — and then they behaved with drunken insolence against Him,

the grace of prophecy has ceased among them.

For it was not fitting that men who were fighters against God and insolent, who had become slayers of the Lord and had their hands full of blood, should be honoured with the Spirit of prophecy.

Israel, therefore, has become a partaker no longer of so bright and most glorious a grace;

and it has become so ignorant and so bereft of a sound mind that there is not among them even a single diviner.

By a 'diviner' we mean one who, as it were, rightly infers and conjectures each of the affairs, and clearly discerns whither at last it will come and to what end things will arrive.

For those who advance to their actions heedlessly and out of frivolous notions fail of what is useful, and, as though walking in darkness, run against the rocks.

But those who are exact in understanding behold with keen eye the outcomes of affairs.

And they are not without admiration, since for this reason they do all things prudently and with good management.

And this is the fruit of a good mind, and truly the achievement of the best counsel.

By an 'elder' we mean not one who is such in respect of time — for there are ever so many among the Jews even now who have reached the utmost of an aged span — but one who is such in respect of understanding, and as having attained to perfection of mind.

To such the blessed John also writes, saying:

'I write to you, Fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning.' Let us therefore understand as elders those who now have a mind at rest and settled, grey-haired in understanding, and who have practised the use of a steadfast bearing.

By a 'captain of fifty' He means not necessarily one set over fifty men, but, taking this as it were from this one instance, quite simply the leader.

and one who persuades those under his yoke to live as citizens in order and good arrangement, and to pass their lives so. Now the Synagogue of the Jews has fallen sick of this too, along with the rest.

For while Christ, the Saviour of us all, was yet with them, and was calling them through faith unto eternal life, unto the kingdom of the heavens, unto intimacy with God,

there were still among them chief priests and leaders, scribes and Pharisees.

But since the wretched ones killed Him, they were scattered to every wind, and became sojourners and wanderers and strangers everywhere, no longer having leaders and those who preside, as of old;

but like some flock desolate of shepherds, having none set over it, and — what is yet more grievous — having no wonderful counsellors, such as were the prophets of old, who introduced to them the things pertaining to salvation, and counselled them when they were unruly, and skilfully led them by the hand toward every necessary thing that was for their profit.

He threatens also to remove from them the wise master-builder and the intelligent hearer — and these too are spiritual and God-given gifts, and worthy of all account.

For by a 'wise master-builder' we mean one who knows how to build up the Church in a spiritual sense, with right and blameless mystagogy, and who tears down the impostures of that knowledge which is falsely so called, and fortifies the mind of believers with the doctrines of the truth.

Such was the inspired Paul, writing and saying:

'as a wise master-builder I have laid a foundation';

'But let each one take heed how he builds.'

'For other foundation can no one lay than that which is laid, which is Christ.' No one, then, among the Jews is the wise master-builder, nor yet the intelligent hearer; and we reckon this to be the one who has discernment of spirits and is able to understand who it is that speaks in the Spirit of God, and who again in Beelzebul.

For many are the discourses that have proceeded from many, containing both doctrinal exposition and bringing to remembrance the fitting conduct in matters of behaviour.

But the unintelligent and ignorant snatch them up indiscriminately and receive the words untested, though they contain nothing profitable but rather are wont to work great harm.

But the intelligent hearer, like a proven money-changer, receives that which is by nature profitable, but rejects as counterfeit, like some base coin, that which is not so.

Something of this sort the blessed Paul also says:

'Become prudent money-changers; prove all things; hold fast that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.' And indeed another of the holy disciples enjoins things in harmony with these, saying:

'Brethren, prove the spirits, whether they are of God.' All these, then, being taken away, He says, 'I will set youths as their rulers, and mockers shall lord it over them.'

And by 'youths' again He speaks here not in respect of the time of one's age, but of those who have not yet obtained the perfection that is in understanding.

For youth is ever foolish, and is shaken as regards impassivity, and is overcome by the best counsel.

And there are mockers also in another sense — those who purchase with money the being called 'Rabbi', and who have obtained the leadership for the sake of covetousness and the gathering of gains.

But those who belong to Christ, the Saviour of us all, thrusting away the disease of hypocrisy, are true worshippers, and do not have the appearance of virtue led astray [or: feigned] by outward adornments, but, having gathered up within, into mind and heart, the boastings of piety toward God, they walk upon earth yet have their citizenship in the heavens, having as their guide our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

[feigned] they have the semblance of virtue, but, having gathered up within, into mind and heart, the boastings of piety toward God, they walk upon earth yet have their citizenship in the heavens, having as their guide our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

'And the people shall fall together, man against man, and man against his neighbour.'

'The child shall behave insolently against the elder, and the base against the honourable.' The prophetic word has already indicated to us beforehand that from Judaea there shall be taken away the strength of bread and the strength of water, the giant and the mighty man, the warrior and the judge, and indeed the prophet and the diviner, and the elder, and the captain of fifty, and the wonderful counsellor;

and indeed also the wise master-builder and the intelligent hearer.

Then, to what end the matter will at last issue for them, and into what kind of harm it will finally result for them, He makes plain by adding straightway that 'The people shall fall together, man against man'; that is, they shall be in disorder, and shall pass a life full of tumult.

the young no longer ashamed before the venerable grey hairs of the elder;

he who has obtained the lower rank no longer deeming it right to honour him who is superior;

but, with no one rebuking or directing each to what befits him, all things will be in confusion among them, since all good order and knowledge have been taken away.

For where the divine law, the arbiter of what must be done, is not set in charge, how or whence could it come to any to be able to live their lives in order? For it is like as if one should wish a ship, bereft alike of rudders and of the one who steers, to be borne on a straight and undeviating course.

'For a man shall lay hold of his brother, or of one of his father's household, saying:'

'You have a garment; become our ruler, and let this food of mine be under you.'

'And answering he shall say in that day:'

'I will not be your ruler, for there is neither bread in my house nor a garment; I will not be the ruler of this people.' The prophetic word signifies to us the wretchedness of the Jews and the magnitude of their misery carried to the extreme.

For those of the tribe of Judah, at their several seasons in Jerusalem, were splendid and illustrious, luxuriant in wealth, and very well crowned with the renown that pertained to their lot.

And there presided in another way also those of the tribe of Levi, according to the order of Aaron.

with the high priest presiding, and the elders and Levites ministering; and such men also were held in reverence by those throughout the whole country of the Jews.

But since they did the things that were not lawful, and there was no mode of impiety toward Christ in which they were unpractised, they slipped away from that ancient brightness and splendour that lay in wealth and glory, and their affairs sank to such vulgarity and worthlessness that they could no longer have over themselves any leader at all who was resplendent in the pre-eminence of old, nor yet one possessing wealth and dominion, or knowledge of the Law.

And this very thing He teaches, saying that 'A man shall lay hold of his brother, or of the one of his father's household, saying:'

'You have a garment; become our ruler, and let this food of mine be under you.' For, their affairs being thrown into confusion and having suffered much disorder, so that they fell upon one another, and there was no honour or reverence for elder or for young — that is, for the base or for the honourable —

each one, He says, shall seek for himself a leader, and shall choose this man by kinship of race, scarcely importuning him and calling him to pity.

And he shall choose him, He says, not as one having wealth, but as one not being naked; and he shall be content to be nourished by him and to serve a poor man.

Nevertheless, even such a one will not seize the leadership, although he asks nothing from those who have determined to be subject to him.

For they seek bread, that they might also be made subject, and in exchange for the most meagre nourishment might offer him their servitude.

What, then, is the refusal? Poverty, doubtless, on every side.

For he shall say, He says, 'There is neither bread in my house nor a garment; I will not be the ruler of this people.'

You see that which was formerly among them worthy of all account — I mean the leading of many.

sometimes sought after by devices, and accruing to few, it will attach itself to those who desire it.

But since the affairs of all are in a dire and hopeless poverty, it will become a thing to be shunned even by him.

It is possible, therefore, for us to see from the very facts of the case from what estate to what the affairs of the Jews have passed over.

For the wretched ones gave offence to Christ, who richly distributes to us all good things, and who crowns with glory those who love Him, and enriches the souls of the genuine with spiritual gifts.

'For Jerusalem is forsaken, and Judaea has fallen, and their tongue is joined with iniquity, disobeying the things that pertain to God.' He says that Judaea has fallen, just as one might speak of a single house collapsing.

For what cause does he affirm that she suffers this? And why also is she forsaken? That is, she was let go or abandoned, having become bereft of the care that comes from Christ.

For they heard Him plainly saying:

'Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.' She has fallen, therefore, having none to raise her up, none who knows how and is able to save.

For Christ is the foundation, and upon Him we are all built up, living and spiritual stones, being fitly framed together and joined together in a mystical manner into a holy temple, into a dwelling-place of God in the Spirit; and we are set fast upon Him.

And having obtained Him for their pedestal, they possess an unshaken foundation and standing in all good things.

But those who do not have Him are exceedingly unsound, and easily carried away into any absurdity whatsoever.

Judaea, therefore, has fallen, and Jerusalem also is forsaken.

This very thing another of the holy prophets had cried out beforehand, saying:

'The house of Israel is fallen; there is none to raise it up.' And it has come to pass that they suffer such things because, in addition to their acts of disobedience, they possessed an impious and most lawless tongue.

For what shameful thing is there that we shall not find them to have uttered against Christ, the Saviour of us all? They called Him a Samaritan and one possessed by a demon, and moreover a glutton and a wine-bibber, and one born of fornication.

Therefore, along with their disobedience, their tongue continued in its impiety against Christ.

And one might say concerning them also:

'For not unjustly are nets spread for the birds.'

For they who partake in murder lay up evils for themselves.

And 'the overthrow of lawless men is evil.'

'Now their glory has been brought low,' he says, giving full assurance that at that very time in which their tongue with iniquity acted impiously against Christ, then also every kind of misery was brought upon them, and they fell into disgrace.

But in what manner their tongue acted impiously along with their disobedience, the prophet himself makes plain to us, passing over the other instances, but recording only their final impiety.

For they were always at variance with Christ, and, wounded by the darts of envy, they plotted against Him in many ways.

But when they brought Him to Pilate, then most of all they proclaimed and made manifest their own sin, as of Sodom.