Isaiah 10:17Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The passages we are examining can be quite challenging to grasp due to the complexity of their structure. However, we will endeavor to unpack the underlying meaning. To provide context, we note that when Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, captured Samaria, he dispatched Rabsak from Lachish to Jerusalem. Upon arrival and during the siege, Rabsak conveyed the orders he received, along with his own blasphemies against the Lord, declaring that God would not save Jerusalem from the Assyrian king's hand. Angered by these statements, King Hezekiah prayed fervently to God, imploring, “Hear, O Lord, look, O Lord, and see the words of Rabsak, which the king of Assyria has sent to rebuke the living God” (Isaiah 36:17). In response, God promised deliverance.

The Light of Israel will be present in the fire, signifying a transformation in circumstances. Israel, once humbled and subjected to punishment for sin, will rise and shine forth. Thus, His glory will ultimately lead to your destruction. It is written, "The Light of Israel shall be put into the fire." Fire embodies dual purposes; it provides light and causes destruction. The delightful and beneficial elements within the fire will remain with Israel, illuminating and enriching them, while the harmful and poisonous elements will be cast aside, harming the proud and subjecting them to eternal suffering. "And he shall sanctify it with burning fire, and make it like hay." The prophet illustrates the purifying nature of fire.

The radiance of Israel, also known as the Holy One, will arise in flames and fire, and all the thorns and wolfberries representing evil in Assyria will be eradicated suddenly, without delay. The Holy One of Israel, referring to the Lord Himself, will consume the thorns and thistles of Assyria, along with all its might and countless nations, reducing them to nothing. Furthermore, rather than stating that we should "holy him in the flames," it has been rendered as "sanctify him in the fire," which some interpret as suggesting that sinners endure punishment and suffering so they may be refined by Divine fire.

Isaiah indicates that the Holy Spirit embodies not only illumination but also purification, declaring, "The light of Israel shall be fire." He prophetically portrays Him as a fervent flame, as these three aspects help us to grasp the Divine glory. To sanctify is an attribute of the Divine nature, and both illuminating and purifying are inherent qualities of fire and light, making it customary for the Divine to be depicted in the form of fire. Indeed, God is a consuming fire, as stated by Moses.

The Lord God of Israel, referred to as the light of Israel, bestowed His grace upon His chosen people, guiding them through His commandments and extraordinary revelations. He visibly led them in the form of a pillar of fire during their forty-year sojourn in the wilderness (Ex. 13:21). When the Egyptians pursued the Israelites at the Red Sea, this pillar provided light to the Israelites on one side while shielding them from the Egyptians' wrath with its darkness on the other (Ex. 14:26). Similarly, when the Assyrian forces approach Jerusalem, the Lord will manifest as fire and sanctify Israel, rendering it a sacred refuge impervious to its enemies while simultaneously binding those adversaries as if they were merely dry hay. This is why He is known as a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 9:3).