Isaiah 29:22Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

For this reason, the Lord speaks concerning the house of Jacob, which He has appointed since Abraham; Israel has been set apart from all peoples, and the lineage of Abraham and Jacob is seen as a chosen inheritance of God. Yet now, He declares, they shall feel shame; they will transform their expressions—not immediately after acting wickedly against Christ but rather when they come to understand their transgressions. They will recognize that they must not conduct themselves in such a manner. This transformation of countenance signifies their change. In due time, when their descendants behold my works—when they witness the entire heavens summoned and all who have believed on earth—when they see the power of the devil brought low by the eradication of this original and vile deception, and when the idols are consumed alongside their altars, then they will sanctify my name. They will acknowledge Me as Holy, will set Me apart as the true Holy One of Jacob and the God of Israel, and thus they shall honor Me. The fear of God is indeed the pathway to salvation, as it is written, "The fear of the Lord is the fountain of life" (Proverbs 14:27).

His face will redden, and this redness and shame will be a pathway to salvation, particularly when they observe that their descendants—namely, the apostles and those of apostolic spirit coming from the Jewish lineage—are engaging in righteous acts among the nations and proclaiming the name of Christ to the world, saying: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. For they will sanctify the Holy One who arose from Jacob, teaching the God of Israel among the nations, encouraging them to abandon idols and exclaim, ‘What false gods our ancestors worshipped, for none of them can bring rain;’ and those who currently drift in spirit will then gain knowledge of God, while those who once rebelled in the wilderness against the Lord will acquire the law that was previously unknown to them. Had they truly accepted Moses, they would have also accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, for Moses spoke of Him. The significance of what we translated at the onset of this chapter regarding the Hebrew text—Thus says the Lord to the house of Jacob, who once redeemed Abraham and brought him from Chaldea into the promised land—is evident. Conversely, the translation of “Sevenfold: thus says the Lord concerning the house of Jacob, who separated it from Abraham” can be understood to mean that He distanced the scribes and Pharisees, who blasphemed the Lord, from Abraham, who rejoiced when he saw the day of the Lord. For if they were truly Abraham's descendants, they would perform the deeds of Abraham. The apostle affirms that those who share Abraham's faith, including the Gentile nations, are recognized as children of Abraham—not through works, but by faith.