Isaiah 28:18Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

However, in their arrogance and folly, they reasoned that while such things could happen, they would occur far away in the distance, and the fulfillment of these prophecies would not come swiftly; their time on earth would conclude before such disasters arrived. By speaking in this manner, they appeared to have formed a pact with death and relied heavily on destruction. Thus, it is said to them, ‘You who have placed your trust in falsehood, thinking the storm will not affect you, take heed, for the covenant of death may be dismantled, and your hope, which is set on ruin, will not fail. The Creator of all humanity is fully aware of everything, including the depths of hearts and the essence of souls, and if they harbor such hope, then surely the One who perceives your innermost thoughts will not allow this agreement with death to endure. How will He dismantle it? When wrath descends, that is to say, when the storm arrives, it will not be an outsider that comes after you, but it will be you who are overwhelmed by it. And it shall come swiftly, not in a distant future but almost as if it were morning. There will be no respite from disasters; rather, at all times—day and night—anxiety over calamities will weigh heavily upon you. For when God determines to unleash calamities, who can prevent impending doom, or who can stand against divine wrath?

The bed is too narrow for another to share it, and a short covering cannot accommodate both.

He proclaims, I have spoken to you, Hear the words of the Lord, you scornful men or timid leaders of my people; do not make a covenant with death, nor a treaty with the realm of the deceased. You who disregard my commandments and have made a mockery of hope; you who, in your arrogance or perhaps in despair, claim to cloak yourselves in deceit. Therefore, the gracious and compassionate Lord, patient and merciful, declares that without your consent, He will lay a chosen and tested stone in the foundations of Zion—a precious cornerstone—of which the apostle mentions: 'According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it; let each one take care how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ' (1 Corinthians 3:10–11). This stone is referred to doubly as a stone; like in Leviticus, man is called twice, and as a cornerstone, for He united the circumcised and the Gentiles, as described in the Psalm: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone' (Psalm 118:22).

The builders and architects include those now termed scornful men and rulers of the populace in Jerusalem. Of this stone, it is also noted in Daniel that it was hewn from the mountain without human hands and filled the whole earth (Dan. 2), illustrating how the divine seed assumed humanity, with the fullness of the Godhead residing in it bodily. Upon this rock, which is also known as the rock, Christ established His Church on a steadfast foundation, one upon which believers will not be disappointed, or as the Hebrew suggests, will not be hurried, lest the coming of Christ appear to them to be near. For if, as Habakkuk stated, it is delayed, no one should lose heart, for He will certainly come and fulfill His promises (Habakkuk 2:3).

Moreover, God pledges to be present in Him as the righteous judge: the Father judges no one but has entrusted all judgment to the Son (John 5:22), and within Him, He will set truth or mercy as a standard to reward everyone according to their actions, ensuring that truth and mercy will be in harmony with one another, as expressed in the Psalms: mercy and truth meet each other; righteousness and peace kiss each other (Psalm 85:10). And your hope, He says, and your falsehoods, symbolized by the devil, who is the father of all lies, shall be obliterated by My correcting hail. The shelter under which you believed you were secure will be shattered by a powerful tempest and abundant waters, leading to the demise of the alliance and covenant you forged with death and with the grave—namely, with the devil—forever.

The scourge you thought would never assault you—‘When the all-devouring scourge passes, it will not touch us’—will indeed come, and you shall face it, suffering the torments you assumed in your spirit of despair would evade you. This storm will relentlessly pursue you, be it in times of joy or sorrow, and you will experience the Lord's anger; this fierce death will lay waste to you. What can we say regarding punishment? The fear of discipline and the dread of torment alone can turn you towards salvation and enable you to recognize your wrongdoing. When you are afflicted, you will understand that my prophets have spoken truly.

The lines: the bed is too narrow for two and a short covering cannot encompass both signify that one cannot partake in the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake in the Lord's table and the table of demons (1 Corinthians 10:21). It also reflects: what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what communion can light have with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). This is expressed metaphorically from a faithful spouse to an unfaithful partner, ‘A single bed cannot accommodate both me and an unfaithful partner; neither can a short covering envelop both husband and an unfaithful partner.’

So, O Jerusalem, which Ezekiel refers to as an unfaithful wife (Ezekiel 16:21), and which God calls a harlot and an adulteress at the beginning of Hosea (Hosea 3), O Jerusalem, if you desire to be embraced by me, cast away your idols; if you serve idols, you cannot also belong to me. This aligns with the Hebrew understanding. As for what the LXX states, ‘Learn to listen, you who are in distress: we cannot prevail; we are weak to unite,’ its precise meaning and relation to the preceding context are unclear. Can it be that the Divine message is addressing the leaders of the people, urging them to place their hope in God rather than in death and hell, and to pay heed to the prophets' predictions, and that these leaders respond by stating that they, due to their feeble strength, cannot resist opposing forces and unite with the people of God?

In stark contrast to reliance on God, the harmful repercussions of depending solely on human strength are also foretold. Those who look to it place their trust in illusions. They deceive themselves into believing that the tempest of an enemy attack will spare them, that it will not sever their assurance of safety from sudden demise. They find it inconceivable that their belief in escaping the grasp of hell will not endure. However, all such illusions are misleading. In truth, what contradicts their hopes will come to pass: the enemy will race through the land like a tempest, laying waste to all in its path, and those who anticipated shelter from the storm will find themselves toppled by it. The onslaught will halt only at the gates of Jerusalem, which shall remain untouched.