Isaiah 46:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

They gather precious metals, then hire a craftsman, molding these materials into the shape of a man, a woman, or a creature, and they immediately designate this formed substance as God. Thus, He asks, to whom am I likened? To humans, to beasts, or to mute animals? Is this not an act of profound irreverence? Justify your actions, release yourself from your sins, but no justification will suffice. By reducing the divine essence to the status of cattle and animals, what justification could possibly excuse your transgressions? He strives to convey that the creation of idols is merely a manifestation of futile thought. He insightfully observes that they gather silver and gold and weigh it on scales, possibly with the notion that the deity fashioned by the artist may favor the one who offers the most. It is evident that if they were impoverished, they would possess no god at all, and without artists in the world, they would have no object of veneration. They have sunk into such ignorance that they honor the created over the Creator, failing to recognize that those who should be worshipped are instead molded by their own hands, while the true Lords of creation seek salvation from their own creation. They hoist their idols on their shoulders, treating them as burdens; they can see their deities are motionless, easily transportable at will, yet they continue to direct prayers to them. If you witness their lack of responsiveness, what can you hope for from them? Despite being afflicted with the same blindness, you remain unaware of it; for you have succumbed to profound insensitivity.

He does not address them merely as Jacob or Israel, which alone can seem a reproach, but even more so as the house of Jacob and the remnant of Israel, highlighting their common humanity as if they were the least of those left. He reminds them that they were carried from Egypt by God, much like a mother carries her child. This analogy is not meant to suggest that the incomprehensible majesty of God possesses physical form, but rather to illustrate His love using our own expressions. This notion is echoed in Psalm 109, where, translated by the Seventy, the phrase "Out of the womb before the day" (Psalms 109:3) corresponds to the Hebrew term "merehem," signifying "from the womb." Here, it is noted not only as from the womb but also with the prefix "menni," meaning from my womb. This conveys the idea: I, who have nurtured you since your youth and have carried you, will protect you into your old age, intended to show that salvation comes through divine mercy. The Creator of all extends grace to His creation, and the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. However, the hired hand, whose sheep are not truly his, runs away at the sight of danger (John 10). Thus, having created and nurtured you, I will carry and support you. According to the Seventy, who articulate that I bear you from the womb and teach you from childhood to old age, this signifies that those lacking knowledge of God, who honor the images of men and beasts, do so in vain both day and night, necessitating prophetic correction. God, in addressing them, asks: To whom do you liken me, and with whom do you compare me? Because they have forged gods of gold and silver, hired sculptors to create idols, and prostrated themselves before these man-made figures that they lift onto their shoulders, which remain immobile and incapable of offering aid to those who worship them. The evident truths must be traversed in order that, through the mercy of Christ, the hidden may be uncovered.