Isaiah 50:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Here He addresses human practices to refute the accusation that He is accountable for the exile. What is the reason for this? Behold, you are sold because of your transgressions, and because of your iniquities, your mother has been dismissed.

As if a husband converses with his wife, and is connected with the nation of Israel, He speaks of the mother of the Jews, which symbolizes the earthly and corporeal Jerusalem, representing all of them through the metaphor of one spouse. When we refer to a church, we generally do not mean just the physical structure but the holy community of worshippers dedicated to God within it; similarly, calling the mother of the Jews also points to this community.

He states, I have not rejected your mother, although I have been her spouse and have granted her the seeds of righteousness through the law and the prophets. Yet she has chosen to separate herself, discounting her relationship with me and undervaluing her connection with God. Indeed, what decree of release can she claim from Me? For the Lord does not exclude anyone from communion with Himself nor does He cast away those who consistently follow His paths. To those who are genuine children of faith and well-versed in virtue, He offers the chance to continually possess an enduring wealth of divine attributes. Conversely, those whose minds are estranged from His divine truths and who prefer worldly pleasures over God find themselves outside such glory.

In describing his union with the mother of the Jews, he asks, what then is the decree of release for her? By her own free will, shall I release her? No one can assert that I have cast her aside or harbored ill will toward her; rather, she should be held accountable for her own choice to rebel. To whom have you sold yourselves? This invokes a different analogy, as he speaks to his servants like a lord. He inquires whether, as a man driven by want and entangled with moneylenders, he has transferred his servants to other masters. It is dishonorable to even consider such a notion, for the Divine Being is self-sufficient, lacking nothing. He asserts that he has not sold or given away those who love and are committed to His revelations. How, then, have you come under the bondage of others? The root of your distress is sin. Through this, the author of sin and the architect of corruption has distorted you all, drawing those who stray from their connection with God unto himself and plunging them into the depths of wickedness, binding them to the very brink of hell. For those who sever their relationship with God inevitably become ensnared in the hopeless trap of sin. Indeed, the adversary is ruthless in his malevolence, and those on earth whom he sees resolute in their neglect of communion with God he subjects to his yoke, leading them into extreme iniquity, rendering them slaves instead of free and dishonorable instead of glorious. Such are the forces of his malignancy.

and Mighty One is indeed the God of Israel: I spoke to the people of Judah concerning Zion, who previously lamented, 'The Lord has abandoned me; my God has forgotten me.' You mistakenly believe that your mother's rejection by me was due to my harshness, and that I issued her a divorce because of my mercilessness, not realizing that it was she who chose to leave me. When I instructed her to cease her wicked ways and to learn righteousness, she would not listen and turned away from Me. Thus, I declared to her children, 'Woe to them for straying from Me; they who committed iniquities against Me have been found guilty.' To her, I proclaimed, 'Your departure shall instruct you; your wrongdoing shall bring you wisdom, and you will understand the grave evil of forsaking Me.' Yet perhaps you cannot produce the certificate of divorce, or show any of my creditors who demanded payment when I had nothing to offer. It is not so; I will reveal the reason I allowed a mother to part from her children. Your iniquities and sins sold you to demons, ensnared in the pleasures of this age, leading you to abandon your father and mother, your spouse. Thus, I could no longer retain your unfaithful mother but allowed her to leave when she desired. It is true that each one is sold by his sins, for we, in our own judgment, strive for good or for evil, as taught by the Apostle Paul: 'But I am carnal, sold under sin' (Romans 7:14). For everyone who sins is a servant to sin (John 8:34). Just as those who pursue ill-gotten gain serve as slaves to mammon, so does sin dominate over sinners, to whom it is commanded, 'Do not let sin reign in your mortal body' (Rom. 6:12). To assure you that your mother was not rejected by Me but departed willingly, I, after numerous favors, took on a human form, not through prophets, but in person, saying, 'I came, and there was no man.' For all, having left the likeness of humanity, took on the forms of beasts and serpents. Thus, it was said to Herod because of his wickedness, 'Go and tell that fox' (Luke 13:32), and to the Pharisees, 'You brood of vipers' (Matthew 23:33), and to those consumed with lust, 'They are like stallions in heat' (Jeremiah 5:8). To the unchaste, I said, 'Do not throw your pearls before swine' (Matt. 7:6), and to the shameless, 'Do not give what is sacred to dogs' (Matt. 7:6), and to all: the vision of the four-footed beasts in the wilderness (Is. 30:5). Thus, the Lord comes and finds no man. For man, though in honor, lacks understanding, and is likened to senseless beasts (Ps. 48:13). I called to them, speaking as a rational being, saying, 'Give ear to the words of my mouth' (Psalm 77:1), yet my people would not heed my voice. I cried out and declared, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink' (John 7:37), and elsewhere, 'Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden' (Matthew 11:28): yet none responded. Therefore, I admonished them in the Gospel, 'You neither see the vision of God nor hear His voice; for His word does not dwell in you' (John 5:37-38).