Isaiah 43:20Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The wise Paul similarly remarks, "Now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known" (1 Cor. 13:12). Thus, the remarkable works accomplished by God through His faithful servant Moses are indeed tremendous, yet what has been achieved through the power and grace of our Savior surpasses them in glory. By Him and through Him, countless souls across the globe have been redeemed. Hence, He urges us to set aside the former and direct our focus on Him who is infinitely superior and holds the greatest honor. He declares, "I will make a way in the wilderness." Here, the wilderness signifies the ancient, dry, thorny multitude of the Gentiles, in whom there was no one righteous or honorable, as the Psalmist points out, "They have all turned aside; they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one" (Psalm 14:3). In this vast desert, the path emerges, guiding those who traverse it toward true knowledge of God, a life of holiness and righteousness, and a full understanding of every good deed. This path may refer to the divine, evangelical, and salvific preaching, or even Christ Himself, who plainly states, "I am the way" (John 14:6). Not only did the way manifest in the wilderness, but also the rivers capable of providing intelligent, restorative waters to those in the dry land. These rivers likely represent the ministerial echoes of gospel and apostolic truths. The divine David reminds us of them by saying, "The floods have lifted up their voices" (Psalm 93:3), and further affirms, "Their voice has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world" (Psalm 19:4). The rivers symbolize leaders of nations who are adept at clearly teaching the mystery of spiritual waters and nurturing those who approach Christ through faith. However, he describes the multitude of Gentiles as waterless, for they lacked a truthful teacher and failed to possess the living waters. In their supposed wisdom, they became foolish, as the blessed apostle Paul stated, exchanging the glory of the incorruptible God for images resembling corruptible man, birds, animals, and creeping things (Rom. 1:22, 23). Therefore, when the way appears in the wilderness, and rivers are found in the barren terrain, He asserts that the beasts of the field, the jackals, and the daughters of the ostrich shall glorify Me; for I have given water in the wilderness and rivers in the waterless land to drink to My chosen people, to make My praises known. The beasts of the field represent those who, due to their extreme folly, have become wild and live in a savage manner, reflective of the Gentile lifestyle. The jackals and ostriches refer to those skilled in speech and rhetoric, typically regarded in sacred Scripture as the more vibrant birds, often making delicate and pleasant sounds. Such were the purveyors of Hellenic mysticism, the poets and prose writers. Despite their attractive words and melodies, they offer no essential teachings. All of them, He declares, will honor Me as the giver of spiritual water, the one who has opened rivers in a dry land, that they may nourish My chosen people. And who is this chosen generation if not the very ones to whom the wise Peter proclaimed, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God" (1 Pet. 2:9, 10).

The Lord, who annihilated and forsook Babylon, stripping its warriors of their might, and captured all the Chaldeans, who navigated the current of this world, Himself opened a path in the mighty waters of the Red Sea, allowing His people, freed from Egypt, to traverse it. The same Lord who made a passage through the Red Sea also cleaved a route in the formidable waters of the Jordan River, making both the deliverance from Egypt and the entry into the Promised Land a remarkable event. He submerged in the depths Pharaoh’s chariots and horses along with his entire army, which fell into an eternal slumber. They are crushed and have perished swiftly, like flax that quickly decays into ashes before any fire can consume it. Therefore, I urge you, at those signs and wonders by which the formidable city of Babylon was devastated, and through which My people found a passage in the Red Sea and the Jordan, do not linger on the old things, for in the Gospel I will perform a far greater deed that must overshadow the past. I will clear a way, not just in the Red Sea, but throughout the wilderness of the world itself. Not one river or spring shall burst forth from the rock, but many rivers shall flow, not to nourish physical bodies as before, but to quench the thirst of souls, and thus, that which is written, ‘you shall drink from the waters of the springs of the Saviour’ (Is. 12), shall be fulfilled. Then shall come to pass what has never happened before: all creatures of the field, along with the serpents and ostriches dwelling in the wilderness of the nations, having been tainted by the idolatry and coarse ways, will glorify and extol Me. Instead of dragons, which Theodotion termed thannim (or thennim), as noted in the Hebrew text, others have rendered as sirens—monstrous creatures whose alluring yet lethal songs lured them to be devoured by the dogs of Scylla. This indicates that those once given to indulgence and sin will turn to serve the Lord. It is perhaps more fitting to refer to the dragons, particularly as the ostriches are mentioned as well, thus embracing all wilderness creatures. But the creatures of the field, the serpents, and the ostriches shall honor and magnify Me, saith He, for I have provided waters in the wilderness of the Gentiles, and rivers in the dry lands of the nations, that My chosen people, whom I have redeemed with My blood, may drink and tell of My praises and My marvelous deeds.

Furthermore, it is again indicated that the Jews, when they thirst and seek Christ, will find their thirst satisfied through us; that is, they will receive the grace of baptism from us. The prophet states: And they thirst not in the deserts through which He leads them: He bringeth them water out of the rock; He cleaveth the rock, and waters flow out (Isaiah 48:21). This prophecy was fulfilled in the Gospel, when Christ, who serves as the Rock, was pierced in His suffering. In alignment with the prophet’s words, He proclaims, ‘If anyone thirsts, come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, rivers of living water will flow from his belly, as the Scripture says (Jn 7:37-38). To clarify that the Lord speaks here not of a cup but of baptism, the Scripture adds: He said these things concerning the Spirit, whom those who believe in Him have received (Jn 7:39). The Holy Spirit is received through baptism, and thus those who have been baptized and have received the Holy Spirit come to partake of the cup.