Isaiah 44:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

At the moment when the holy prophet Isaiah spoke to us about these themes, amidst a time when their disdain for God prevailed, and sin abounded, where self-will became a false god for many, God provided the urgent exhortation to guide them away from idolatry and its shortcomings, beckoning them toward the truth through repentance, and reminding them of His majesty and unparalleled might. Therefore He says: This is the declaration of the Lord God, the King of Israel, the Lord of hosts: He desires that they understand He is the one true God, the Lord of power, that they may perceive—just as if they have regained sobriety—that even from the cleverness of the Egyptians, they were delivered by His wonders and by the displays of His great power and glory. What miraculous acts did He not perform? What affliction did He not cast upon their oppressors? Was it not evident proof of His incomprehensible strength that the sea divided, its waters solidified as walls, allowing the exiles to traverse through? And what about the miracles in the wilderness that followed? Did He not provide them with manna from heaven? Did He not strike the rock in the wilderness and bring forth water like springs (Psalm 77:15, 16)? By seemingly restraining the currents of the Jordan, did He not make a path for their feet to cross? Hence, it is fitting that when He refers to Himself, He does not merely call Himself Lord and God, but adds: and deliver him, invoking the remembrance of the wondrous deeds He has accomplished. He implores, "Know that I am God, from the beginning and in the end; there is no other god besides me." For God is the origin of all things, eternally self-existing, having created all from Himself; He has no origin in man but is the One who has always been, is, and will be (Rev. 1:8). This is His everlasting name and the remembrance of future generations (Ex. 3:14, 15). No other god existed before Him, nor will there be any other after Him, for God is one in essence, unmatched in His singularity. This instruction is greatly beneficial for those who have renounced Him, falling into the folly of believing in multiple deities. That none can be likened to Him is made clear by the question: Who is like Me? Which of the so-called gods can claim to rival my glory and might? Because of which extraordinary achievement do you assume they are gods? Let anyone rise if there be one like me; let someone prepare one who matches my nature, strength, or magnificence. Call upon whom they will from among the false gods, as I created mankind for eternity. He states: I have fashioned the heavens and all that dwell therein, with countless holy spirits to serve Me. Yet from the moment I created man on earth and throughout the ages to come, let anyone demonstrate any being similar to Me. In stating, “Even before man was created,” He reveals Himself as the Creator, exposing the false gods as complete nothingness; who among their worshippers have they brought forth? In contrast, I declare myself as the Creator and Sustainer of all and the Knower of all mysteries. Test these claims against the self-proclaimed gods among you: let them reveal that which is to come before it arrives, for God, by His nature, possesses all knowledge of both past and future events. However, if none among the false gods possesses such knowledge, it is evident that those lacking knowledge of God cannot be called gods. Do not conceal yourselves—it is said as an imperative; do not disguise or pretend.

From ancient times, the Lord has prepared the fertile ground where faith in the Lord Jesus Christ would ultimately take root, and that foundation was belief in the One God. Likewise, the Aryans, chosen by the Lord and opposed to idol worship, laid the groundwork for the defeat of demonic practices and the turning of hearts toward the one God, the Creator of the universe. Regarding the term ‘stronghold’ used in verse 8, we recall that the Hebrew word tsur has historically represented metaphorically the safety of those who trust in the Lord, dating back to the time of Moses (Deut. 32). The prophet Isaiah reminds us in Isaiah 17 that ‘The Lord is the rock of thy refuge,’ and in Isaiah 26:4, ‘The Lord God is the everlasting stronghold.’