I foretold thee of old, before they came to pass I told thee, lest thou shouldst say: My idols have done these things, and my graven and molten things have commanded them.
וָאַגִּ֤יד לְךָ֙ מֵאָ֔ז בְּטֶ֥רֶם תָּב֖וֹא הִשְׁמַעְתִּ֑יךָ פֶּן־תֹּאמַר֙ עָצְבִּ֣י עָשָׂ֔ם וּפִסְלִ֥י וְנִסְכִּ֖י צִוָּֽם׃
3 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Agabus proclaimed a significant famine would arise (Acts 11:28) to ensure that during a period when the worship of demons was just beginning to fade, people would not dismiss the impending famine as merely a consequence of their own anger. Thus, God communicated this through His prophet rather than through someone else. He acknowledges your harshness, expressing that He delivered this message because you disregard prophetic warnings.
Not when you claim these actions have been inflicted upon me as idols, nor when you assert these things have been crafted and united. You have heard these matters, yet they remain unclear to you; however, you also know that fresh creations have been established for you from this point onward, which are to come. You have not acknowledged that these things are current and were not known previously; you have not said, "We have received these revelations." You have neither seen nor comprehended, nor have you truly opened your ears. I have witnessed it: if you continue to reject, you will indeed face rejection and be considered lawless from the very beginning.
I will demonstrate my wrath for the sake of my name, and I will unleash my glorious anger upon you to prevent your complete destruction. Observe, I did not sell you for silver; rather, I delivered you from the furnace of affliction. For my own reasons I will shape you, for my name is dishonored, and I will not share my glory with another.
In the words of the prophet Jeremiah, we discover that after the Babylonians laid waste to the holy city and led all of Judah into exile, the remaining women alongside those Israelites who survived desired to flee to Egypt. When the prophet opposed their decision and urged them to remain in their homeland, explaining the rationale, they protested, stating: “When we ceased to honor the queen of heaven, all these calamities came upon us” (Jeremiah 44:18). They believed their captivity resulted from offending the false deities, leading them to fall victim to their foes without assistance from their idols. Therefore, the prophet Jeremiah addressed God, saying, “Lord, your eyes observe faith; you have corrected them, yet they remain unscathed; you have crushed them, but they refuse to accept discipline” (Jeremiah 5:3).
Consequently, he declares that after revealing to you the events prior to their occurrence, you shall not again claim, “These things have been done to me by idols.” What have they accomplished? It is due to the calamities resulting from war that you have faced such tribulations. Your captivity was not the consequence of their wrath nor due to a rejection of their help, which led to the inevitable punishment. They are mere carvings and combinations; neither shall you convince yourself, he states, that the idols commanded me, issuing threats or predictions regarding the calamities to which I have been subjected.
The Simmach states: From the moment of your birth, you have been designated a rebel. Thus, it was not due to your actions, but because of my human condition, that I predicted and revealed to you, even at that time, what would occur regarding the downfall of your adversaries, striving through every prophecy to redeem you.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS