Isaiah 41:18Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

I, the Lord, will respond to them; the God of Israel shall not abandon them. I will create rivers in the mountains, and springs in the valleys; I will transform the wilderness into a lake, and the dry land into a source of water; I will grow the cedar, the shittim, the myrtle, and the olive tree in the desert; I will plant the cypress, the jabor, and the beech in the steppe together, so they may see, recognize, reflect upon, and understand that the hand of the Lord has accomplished these deeds, and that the Holy One of Israel has performed them (Isaiah 41:17-20). Do you not perceive the care of God, who not only grants blessings but also makes known that He is their source? This ensures that these blessings are not mistakenly attributed to chance or human effort, but that they are recognized as the result of divine providence and governance. It is human nature to suffer and be oppressed, only to later receive blessings; yet it is characteristic of God to understand the reasons behind both.

Yet, the Lord promises that from ages past He will provide rivers on the mountains for those who thirst—holy individuals enriched with divine wisdom, pouring forth streams as if from rivers, refreshing the thirsty by transforming the once desolate land into lush gardens and vibrant groves. These waterways symbolize those who, throughout various times and locations, have emerged as unseen leaders and teachers within the church. They bring the words of the divinely inspired Scriptures to mind and heart, sharing them like water carriers nourishing flourishing gardens. The transformation of the desert into fertile meadows, ripe with trees, is illustrated as He states: I will plant cedar, tumbleweed, myrsina, cypress, and poplar in the dry land. These trees are fragrant and undeterred by decay. The saints are characterized by a spiritual fragrance, stemming from their pure lives, and they do not succumb to corruption from worldly desires; rather, they stand firm, as God supports and empowers them, for the Lord upholds the righteous, as it is written. There will be rivers, springs, and streams of water in the mountains and fields, in every place. The wilderness will be transformed into flourishing meadows of water so that those called by faith may witness and understand through sound reasoning the magnitude of creation and the astonishing transformation before them—recognizing that such marvelous occurrences do not happen by mere chance but are orchestrated by the Lord's mighty hand, signifying the power and authority of divine revelation. For it is not false gods, nor worldly elements, nor the flawed deities of this age that create them, but rather the Holy One of Israel.

The Gentile peoples, impoverished and powerless, lacking knowledge of the truth, seek saving waters through diverse teachers and philosophies, yet find none, for none exists; their thirst remains unquenched, devoid of law and prophets. As the Gospel testifies, he squandered all his wealth on healers (Luke 8) and could not escape the slavery of idolatry and the blood of sacrifices. Thus, the Lord God of Israel did not completely forsake them or allow them to face eternal destruction, but he opened rivers on high places and springs in the valleys. These rivers originate from the source mentioned in the Psalms: “The river doth make glad the city of God” (Psalms 40:5), and “The river of God is filled with waters” (Psalms 64:10). These waters and springs flow from the wellspring that declares through Jeremiah, “Forsake me, forsake me, the spring of living waters.” The same prophet also states: “They shall drink of the waters of the fountain of the Saviour,” as expressed in the Psalms: “Bless the Lord God from the fountain of Israel” (Psalm 67:27). And he has turned, as he says, the wilderness into a pool and the arid land into flowing streams. About these waters, the Saviour spoke in a cryptic manner in the Gospel: “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14), and again: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” This, the Evangelist explains, refers to the Holy Spirit, whom those who believe in His name long to receive (John 7:37-39). Consequently, as the members of the church, once forsaken, have been nourished by the waters of life, they now flourish within it, with cedar, beech, myrtle, cypress, and poplar growing according to the Seventy; and according to the Hebrew and other translators, cedar, shittim, myrtle, olive, cypress, elm, and beech collectively. This variety of trees symbolizes a diversity of spiritual grace. Regarding the setta, which Theodotion rendered as thorns, it is a tree found in the wilderness, resembling a white thorn; the wooden components of the ark and tabernacle, known as sittim, were made from it (Ex. 37). This wood, which is lightweight and does not decay, surpasses all trees in strength and beauty. Cedar, cypress, and myrtle give off a delightful fragrance and resist decay. Elm and poplar, or beech, are either used for binding vines or are suited for various products. All these plants are set together in the wilderness so that no single chord on the Lord's zither or virtue from the church's gifts remains unrepresented, allowing all to recognize that the hand of the Lord has enacted these wonders. Thus, rivers of virtue may be discovered amidst the wilderness of the nations and in the land, where cedar and cypress and other trees flourish in the desert among the nations, their summits and heights illuminated by the olive tree, which provides nourishment and rest for the laborers.

Prior to embracing the faith of Christ, their spiritual state resembled a barren desert; they lacked the essentials to fulfill their spiritual longings—truth, goodness, and joy. These needs can only be met through Christianity. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as we mentioned in our explanation of the previous scripture, is like water from a rock, miraculously provided by Moses' rod, manifesting as a living spring from the spiritual rock—Christ. This life-giving stream will nourish the wilderness, quenching the thirst of hearts seeking truth and salvation. Christ Himself refers to the grace of the Holy Spirit, to be bestowed upon those who believe in His name, as rivers of living water.

This constitutes the great river that nurtures the Lord’s cultivation, formed by various springs the Lord has released upon the mountains and dry lands, saturating the earth and transforming parched deserts into lakes where life thrives and trees flourish. Isaiah, in chapter 61, refers to those comforted by the Lord as ‘the planting of the Lord for His glory.’ This profoundly reflects the essence of verse 19 of our current chapter: they are integral to both the Body of Christ and the individuals comprising the Kingdom of our Lord. They form the Lord's vineyard, previously neglected, until the Heir arrived, who was put to death by the caretakers of the Old Testament, yet triumphed over death and rose again, ‘to be Lord of both the dead and the living’ (Rom. 14:9). ‘The Holy One of Israel hath done these things’ (v. 20). In the subsequent four verses, the prophecy is extended to all nations, not exclusively Israel. God's voice reaches the Gentiles too, affirming our earlier remarks regarding verses 2-4 of this chapter; it is evident that the prophet’s words resonated beyond Palestine, influencing the brightest minds of Gentile cultures, who drew wisdom from these prophecies. Indeed, Isaiah’s prophecies inspired the ancient poetic works known as the Sibylline Oracles. Figures such as Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato emerged as offspring of wisdom, rooted in Revelation.