Isaiah 5:17Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

During a time when Judah thrived in strength and wealth, neighboring nations waged war against the Israelites. Yet, the Almighty, acting as Israel's protector, demonstrated such power over those who opposed Him that He achieved victory effortlessly, instilling fear, seizing their lands, laying waste to their cities, and overseeing the leadership of others. When they turned against Christ, they were handed over to the Roman forces for destruction and pillage. Their cities were set ablaze, and all their possessions were taken by the conquerors. Shortly thereafter, once the Roman legions had left, the nations that had been robbed attacked the territory of the Jews, rummaging through cities and homes to collect the remnants of what had been lost, transporting them back to their own lands.

Those who are plundered shall meet their end like young men, and the desolation of the captives will give rise to lambs. The individuals taken into captivity, due to not heeding the Lord and sinning against God by surrendering themselves to drunkenness, will be herded like a flock of oxen. They were indeed seized and robbed during their imprisonment. It is clear that when we suffer defeat in conflict against opposing forces, we are stripped of our possessions as spoils of war. In our state of being robbed, we do not partake of anything befitting rational beings; instead, driven by irrational impulses wherever life leads us, we must endure our existence like young men in a wilderness.

The lambs of their flocks will be sacrificed, signifying that those who have been despoiled and are left after their defeat will recover what is rightfully theirs. Furthermore, the outsiders will occupy the remnants of their homes, meaning that the sites of their dwellings, once devastated by marauders and later restored, will be bestowed upon the needy for their own possession.

The lambs will peacefully graze alongside their flock, while the forsaken shall be transformed into a bountiful harvest for the oxen. Rather than the lambs grazing in tranquility, there is a sense of their being seized; the imagery suggests that oxen, symbolically representing strength, will replace the lambs, and in turn, lambs will be presented instead of outsiders. When the Lord is lifted high in judgment, and the Holy One is revered in His justice, the evildoers will meet their end, and the lofty cedar will be felled by the Lord’s axe. In that moment, those counted among the lambs, not the goats, will nourish themselves in the fields of the Church, proclaiming, "The Lord has laid me low, yet I lack nothing" (Psalm 22:1).

It is acknowledged that our early ancestors engaged in the worship of idols; however, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we are now exploring the divine truths. How has this come to pass for us? The Redeemer of humanity has brought to fruition what was prophesied: the wilderness will be adorned with sheep. For the Jews, these prophetic words were akin to barren land, as they were unwilling to delve into their deeper implications. Yet for us, they have flourished, for through divine revelation, these words possess a profound spiritual significance for our understanding. We find ourselves partaking in a feast which those who uphold the law have chosen to reject.

The term "plundered" refers to the captive Jews, who are depicted as victims taken by force and victimized by their conquerors. These captors will exploit them, treating them as livestock, providing them only with basic sustenance, and herding them from one location to another much like animals are moved between pastures. Meanwhile, the lands that rightfully belong to these captive Jews will lie uncultivated, leading to their desolation; they will turn into wastelands, overrun with grass, ultimately becoming grazing grounds for sheep and other animals.