Deuteronomy 28:49Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

This prophecy has profoundly manifested in our experience through the suffering brought on by numerous foreign invasions, a reflection of our sins and God’s righteous judgment upon us, "in which we have seen evil" (Psalm 89:15). Because we have "not kept God's covenant, and not sought to walk in His law" (Psalm 77:10), "the Lord sends upon us a people from afar," swift and unyielding, like the sting of an eagle. "Those who pursued us were swifter than the eagles of heaven; they pursued us over the mountains, they ambushed us in the wilderness" (Lamentations 4:19).

Since we do not bring our thoughts into obedience to Christ, the Lord permits us to fall into bondage, as David observes, "He has delivered their strength and their beauty into the hands of their enemies" (Psalm 77:61). He placed them in the hands of those who despised them, and their foes tormented them. Therefore, let us turn toward repentance, remain vigilant, and accept correction, following the example of those who, when faced with death, sought the Lord, quickly turning back to God, remembering that He is their aid and the Most High their deliverer (Psalm 77:34-35). If we return to God, He will also return to us, shielding us from barbaric slavery and rescuing us from His rightful punishment, showing us mercy. However, should we choose not to turn... Let us be wary lest the words of the prophet Isaiah resonate with us: "But if you deny and persist, the sword will devour you" (Isaiah 1:20), for this is the word of the Lord.

As the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land and establish themselves as a nation, Moses, inspired by divine vision, warned them of the dire consequences that awaited them there: ‘The Lord will bring upon you,’ he declared, ‘a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, like the swooping of an eagle; a nation whose language you will not understand, a fierce nation without regard for the old, nor compassion for the young.’ Moses accurately foreshadows the Romans, although they did not yet exist at that time, yet were known in the divine counsel of God; he depicts their military nature, likening it to the swiftness, ferocity, and might of an eagle, a symbol that was embraced by the Romans themselves, who adorned their standards with eagles.