Isaiah 28:19Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

I declare that when the holy prophets revealed what was to come to the Israelites, showcasing divine anger as if it were already at hand, these individuals, in their arrogance bordering on madness, reasoned that, although such events might occur, they lay far in the future, and the fulfillment of these prophecies would not arrive swiftly; their lifetimes would conclude, and the disasters would befall those who came after. By speaking and reasoning in this manner, they appeared to have formed a pact with death, placing their trust in destruction. Therefore, He declares to them, "You who have relied on falsehood, believing the storm will not come upon you, beware lest the binding of death be severed, and your expectation, which is aimed at destruction, may fail. Certainly, the Creator of all understands, knowing the depths of hearts, wombs, and the dynamics of the soul's movements. If you maintain such hopes, then, does He who knows your innermost nature not shatter this bond between you and death? How will He bring about this destruction? When His wrath appears, that is, the storm, it will not be another who comes after you, but you will be crushed. And it will come upon you swiftly, not in a far-off season, but as soon as the day breaks. There shall be no respite from calamity; night and day will be filled with the dread of evil, meaning at every turn, you will be burdened with the anticipation of misfortune. For when God intends to unleash calamity, who can prevent the impending disaster, or who can withstand divine wrath?

I, the Lord, have spoken to you; heed the words of the Lord, you who mock, or timid leaders of my people, do not forge a covenant with death nor make a pact with the destroyer, you who disregard my commandments and deny hope, as you boastfully or despairingly assert, “Let us cloak ourselves in falsehood.” Therefore, the gracious and compassionate Lord—slow to anger and abounding in mercy—proclaims that against your will, He will set in the foundations of Zion a chosen and tested stone, a precious cornerstone, concerning which the apostle also states: “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 as a stone, as in Leviticus where man is named twice, and a cornerstone, for he united both the Jewish nation and the Gentiles, as articulated in the Psalm: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (Psalm 118:22). The builders and masons represent those whom we now see as mockers, and rulers of the people within Jerusalem. We also learn from Daniel that this stone was hewn out from the mountain without human hands and filled the whole earth (Dan. 2)—indicating that the divine seed assumed a human form, in which dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Upon this rock—also referred to as the rock—Christ established His Church, building it, as the Hebrew text suggests, upon a solid foundation, where the believer shall not be ashamed, or, according to the Hebrew, shall not be in haste, lest the appearing of Christ seem premature to him. For if it is delayed, as per Habakkuk, one should not lose heart, for He will certainly come and keep His promises (Habakkuk 2). God reminds that He will appoint Himself as the judge of righteousness: the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son (John 5:22), and He will hold truth or mercy as the measure, rewarding everyone according to their deeds, where truth and mercy shall harmoniously balance, as we learn from the Psalms: mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other (Psalm 85:10). He states that your hope, and your falsehoods, embody the devil, the father of lies, shall be swept away by the hail of My discipline. The refuge in which you thought to find safety will be destroyed by a great storm and mighty waters, so that the alliance and covenant you forged with death and the underworld, essentially with the devil, shall be utterly annihilated. The scourge or tempest, which you believed would not reach you, will indeed come, and you will find yourself overtaken by it; you will endure all the torments which you despaired of suffering. This tempest shall consistently assault you—both in times of prosperity and in adversity you will experience the wrath of God, and sudden destruction will befall you. What can we say of punishment? The dread of punishment and the horror of pain will awaken you to salvation and help you recognize your iniquities. In your suffering, you will realize that my prophets have spoken the truth. The phrase: “the bed is too small for another to share it, and a short blanket cannot cover both” conveys the message we read from the Apostle: you cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and the table of demons (1 Corinthians 10:20-21), and in another passage: what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? (2 Corinthians 6:14-16). The analogy reflects a faithful spouse addressing an unfaithful partner, saying, “One bed cannot accommodate both me and an adulterer; a short cover cannot encompass both husband and unfaithful partner.” So, O Jerusalem, to whom Ezekiel refers as an unfaithful wife (Ezekiel 16:21), and which in the beginning of Hosea God portrays as a harlot (Hosea 3)—O Jerusalem, if you desire to be embraced by Me, cast aside your idols; if you serve idols, you cannot possess Me.

It is essential to heed the cries of the downtrodden. Those who suffer under the weight of the enemy will find their hopes for the army's defense to be fruitless; their pleas for assistance will yield a singular response from the warriors: we are unable to engage, we cannot even assemble. The forces, dispersed throughout the land, will lack the capacity to come together and resist the foe, who will invade with the rapidity of a gale.