Isaiah 44:25Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Yet, since He has made numerous and marvelous promises that could provoke doubt, it is wise to unveil His power and greatness in advance, so that all may recognize that His purposes will undoubtedly come to fruition. For what could thwart the One who creates from the womb, the One who exists before all and preserves all things, arranging and directing everything according to His divine will? All His ways are marked by perfect holiness, for God cannot err in what aligns with His glory. How can it be that He who has stretched out the vast expanse of the heavens and who, as the Psalmist declares, ‘founded the earth upon its firmament’ (Psalm 103:5), is not omnipotent, excelling beyond comprehension? He possesses all power, and He will surely accomplish whatever He desires without any obstruction. When it is stated that He has spread out the heavens, it does not exclude the only-begotten Son, the Word, who is of His essence, through whom all things exist and in whom all things abide; rather, it highlights that no false gods have contributed anything to Him who is above all. For those who do not exist at all cannot be regarded as active participants or co-laborers with the all-seeing God. Thus, these words illustrate that there is no division between God the Father and the Son, who is begotten of Him and shares in His nature; it was solely the work of God to stretch out the heavens and secure the earth’s foundations. By revealing His glory and the unmatched greatness of His power, He subsequently declares what His works will be in due time. He states that He will scatter the signs of sorcery and magic that arise from the heart. Before the Savior Christ shone from heaven, the might of the devil’s power was pervasive, enveloping the earth in deep darkness, where altars and shrines to numerous false gods existed, along with deceptive practices of divination claiming to foresee the future, yet holding no truth and lacking true knowledge. When the true light, the only-begotten Word of God, illuminated the heavens with the revelations of the Gospel, the darkness of sin was dispelled, leading to the cessation of that deep shadow, and calling many to the acknowledgment of the truth. It was then that the signs of sorcery were scattered. The prophet Ezekiel also speaks of such false prophets, saying: ‘Love the ones who prophesy from their hearts, but not the ones who see’ (Ezekiel 13:3). Thus the visions or predictions of these prophets are scattered; the oracles of the Greek gods, which once proclaimed lies, have been made silent. The wise have been turned back, and their counsels have been rendered futile. Here, it seems, the term 'wise' refers either to the so-called wise among the Greeks or perhaps to those renowned for discernment and eloquence, who adorned falsehood with linguistic grace. Yet, we assert that such wisdom is ultimately fruitless and demonstrates the earthly and demonic nature of their wisdom. The Apostle Paul affirms that the wisdom of this world has been turned to folly (1 Cor. 1:20). When the wise have been led astray and all their insights declared senseless, then God the Father has ordained the voice of His servant, which is the Gospel and saving revelation delivered to us by Christ Himself. God has also made known the true counsel of His messengers, understood as those who fulfill the role assigned to Christ’s envoys, spreading the message throughout the world. Their teachings are rooted in goodness, urging people to abandon their former sins, to engage in acts of righteousness, to return to the knowledge of the true God, and to submit to His commandments, leading them toward salvation and eternal life. Hence, their words resonate with all truth, while the rhetoric of the Greeks devolves into absurdity, void of the beauty of truth, filled with falsehoods: prophecies, reasoning, and an abundance of imaginary gods, even unknown to those who are deceived.

pths, "Be dry," and "I will dry up your rivers"; addressing Cyrus, "You are my shepherd, and you shall execute my purpose"; and to Jerusalem, "You shall be rebuilt," and to the temple, "You shall be established." Following the destruction of the idols and transgressions of Israel, and the forgiveness of sins, when all creation rejoices together, and as indicated in the Gospel, "the angels in heaven rejoice over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15), the greatness of God is evident. It is indeed no small feat for Him to redeem Jacob and to restore a pure heart within Israel, whom He formed from the beginning. And should it appear to anyone as a significant challenge, it is not difficult for the One who alone stretches out the heavens, as it is recorded elsewhere, "He spread the heavens like a tent" (Psalm 108:2). This does not exclude the Son from the act of spreading out the heavens, for through Him all things came into being, and apart from Him, nothing exists that exists (John 1:8). Rather, this understanding serves to dismiss the role of idols, as outlined in the Proverbs of Solomon, symbolizing Christ, the power and wisdom of God: "When He marked out the heavens, I was there with Him" (Proverbs 8:27). As He spoke, so they came into being; He commanded, and they were created (Psalms 32:9), and by the word of the Lord, the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of His mouth (Psalms 32:6). We often cite this to prevent heretics from blaspheming against Christ. During the establishment of the earth, when He laid its foundations, there was none with God but He who was within Him. Therefore, He possesses attributes such that at the appointed time of the divine plan, all idols will be shattered, the knowledge of the one true God will be proclaimed throughout the earth, and He will dismantle and obliterate all the divinations of diviners and the tricks of fortune-tellers. The wisdom of the philosophers, which constitutes a significant portion of the delusion, will be condemned as foolishness, for they are lauded for having attained such wisdom through divine insight rather than human understanding. He will also carry out the decrees of His youth, or servant, as previously mentioned, and the decisions of His messengers, meaning the apostles and all the teachers who announced the will of their Master to the nations. He, therefore, who must fulfill this, whose power I have briefly articulated, also speaks to Jerusalem, which is destined for destruction at the hands of the Babylonians, affirming beforehand, before its ruin, that it will be reinhabited by nations, and to the cities of Judah, that they will be restored by Him who will revive its desolate lands, so that all may be filled with worshippers. Thus, He who declares to Jerusalem and Judah and its desolate regions that they shall be inhabited and rebuilt says to the depths and the abyss, which refers to Babylon, "You shall dry up, and I will dry up your rivers," signifying the strength of kings. Or, considering He spoke of the depths and abyss, He rightly included the rivers in metaphorical terms, similar to what the Psalmist expresses, "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept" (Psalm 136:1). Furthermore, the one who restores Jerusalem also dismantles Babylon. He speaks also to Cyrus, king of Persia, who initially laid waste to Babylon and the Chaldeans: "You are my shepherd," or as the LXX interprets: so he may understand. This difference is clear, for the Hebrew word ‘goi,’ read with the letter resh, means my shepherd, while if read with the letter dalet, it implies my shepherd who knows or understands—similar yet differing by a slight mark, thus often causing confusion. At the outset of the book of Ezra, it is written that by the command of Cyrus, king of Persia and India, the people of Judah were liberated from captivity and granted passage to Jerusalem, wishing to return alongside Zerubbabel, son of Salathiel, and Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. For the Lord stirred him to accomplish His will and fulfill His commands. It is distinctly stated, addressing Jerusalem, "You shall be rebuilt," and concerning the temple, "You shall be established." For during Cyrus’ reign, a decree was issued for the construction of Jerusalem and the temple, of which only a foundation had been laid in his lifetime. However, under Darius, in his second year, according to the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah, they began the work on the temple.