Fear not, for thou shalt not be confounded, nor blush: for thou shalt not be put to shame, because thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt remember no more the reproach of thy widowhood.
אַל־תִּֽירְאִי֙ כִּי־לֹ֣א תֵב֔וֹשִׁי וְאַל־תִּכָּלְמִ֖י כִּ֣י לֹ֣א תַחְפִּ֑ירִי כִּ֣י בֹ֤שֶׁת עֲלוּמַ֙יִךְ֙ תִּשְׁכָּ֔חִי וְחֶרְפַּ֥ת אַלְמְנוּתַ֖יִךְ לֹ֥א תִזְכְּרִי־עֽוֹד׃
4 Church Fathers comment on this verse
You will no longer recall the disgrace of your youth or the humiliation of your widowhood. The Lord grants such blessings that they not only alleviate grief but also erase the recollection of that grief. This exemplifies the greatness of God’s gifts.
You need not fear that you will be embarrassed; neither should you feel ashamed when reproached, for you will forget the shame of the past and will no longer remember the disgrace associated with being a widow. The Lord, your Creator, whose name is the Lord of Hosts, is the one who has redeemed you. He is the God of Israel, and the entire earth will be known by Him. We are justified through Christ, not by our own righteous deeds, but according to His abundant mercy, as the wise Paul has articulated. We have been released from darkness, from folly, and from the sins of our ancestors, in which we served created beings rather than our Creator, having tried every form of wickedness the nations practiced.
As the Psalmist declares, "All have turned aside; together they have become useless; there is none who does good, not even one." This represents the disgrace of the Gentiles, stemming from this very delusion and the ensuing harm. What could tarnish the human soul more than turning away from the living God to worship foul spirits, sinking instead into sinful depravity? Yet, the kindness shown towards those called to repentance through faith in Him is this: do not be afraid, for you will not be embarrassed. Just as a father generously provides for his children, the Lord generously blesses those who revere Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Should we not let go of the fears linked to our past sins when God justifies us by His grace without holding our sins against us? Thus, Christ, when He appointed the time for His merciful coming, proclaimed that God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it but to save it through Him. Freed from judgment and the anticipation of punishment for our offenses, we find our minds unburdened by fear, forgetting former humiliations; for the grace that justifies conquers evil and liberates those who are forgiven from all shame, as Paul wisely asserts: "Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies." If the Lord of all does not hold unforgiving attitudes, who could attribute the stain of unknowing sins to us? Therefore, He proclaims, you will forget the everlasting stigma and no longer recall the reproach of your widowhood. The reproach of widowhood signifies that the Gentiles, while lost, lacked the ability to offer sacrifices to God, as they did not have a divine Bridegroom, the source of spiritual generation who instills goodness in every soul. This is depicted in the Gospel parables, where it is said, "A sower went out to sow his seed." And how will the reproach of widowhood be removed? He clarifies, saying, "As the Lord, your Creator, is His name." He who forms you brings renewal and prepares you for a new vocation, for a life of beauty in Christ. We are transformed into the renewal of a holy and evangelistic existence, rising in spirit to reflect His glory so that we become noticeably different. Through Ezekiel's words, God speaks of the Gentiles, "I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and replace it with a heart of flesh that they may know that I am the Lord." Frequently referring to Gentile believers as the coming generation, Paul states, "We all, with unveiled faces, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord." Thus, Christ has united both peoples into one new humanity, establishing peace and reconciling both in one body to the Father. We are therefore encouraged to take off the old self, influenced by earthly desires, and to put on the new self, which is renewed in the image of its Creator, Jesus Christ. Therefore, He emphasizes: I am the Lord of Hosts, who transforms you; He who creates and re-makes you; and to underscore His significance, He identifies Himself as the Lord of Hosts once more for clarity. The transformation or renewal commences, as it is evident that He who redeems you is the God of Israel, who is called throughout the earth. This came to fruition with Christ's coming, as He reigned over all nations, as the prophet states, "And the Lord shall be one, and His name one, over all the earth." Previously, God was primarily acknowledged in Judea, but with the calling of the multitudes of the Gentiles in faith to His knowledge, every knee shall bow before Him and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Thus, across the earth, God will be recognized as the one who delivers us, having freed us from the snares of the devil and brought us under His authority. The blessed David echoes this, declaring, "All nations shout with joy; raise cries to the God of Jacob; for the Lord of hosts is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth," and in another Psalm, "The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice."
In his writings about the Church, Isaiah proclaims: “Rejoice, O barren, thou that bringest not forth; exclaim and cry, O thou that hast failed in childbirth: for she that is forsaken hath many more children than she that hath a husband, saith the Lord. Spread out the place of thy tent, enlarge the coverings of thy dwellings; be not shy, let thy ropes be longer, and strengthen thy stakes. For thou shalt spread to the right and to the left, and thy offspring shall take possession of the nations, and inhabit the desolate cities. Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed; be not troubled, for thou shalt not be in disgrace; thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt remember no more the ignominy of thy widowhood.
For your Creator is your spouse; the Lord of hosts is His name, and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He shall be called the God of all the earth” (Isaiah 54:1-5).
These words warrant further elucidation, yet they contain enough clarity that even our opponents must grasp their meaning.
Do not fear, for you will not experience disgrace, nor will you feel embarrassment. The shame from your youth will be forgotten, and the disgrace of your widowhood will be no longer remembered. For the one who formed you, the Lord of Hosts, by His name, will rule over you, and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, is known as the God of all the earth.
It is asked, if it is declared to the Church, which has been gathered from the Gentiles, “Rejoice, you who have been barren, you who have not given birth;” and “The one who is alone has more children than the one who has a husband,” indicating that the one who was without a husband bore many, while the one who had a husband became barren; how is it said to her who was without a husband, “You shall no longer remember your widowhood, and the shame of your youth will be forgotten”? The Jewish perspective may suggest that everything stated refers to Jerusalem, which, abandoned by God, will be restored by Him. They can easily be disproven by what is proclaimed in the name of God in Zechariah: “I will take for myself two staffs, one I will call Favor, and the other I will call Union, and I will shepherd the flock” (Zech. 11:7). We have discussed this previously and shall touch on it again. The two staffs represent the two peoples, the Gentiles and the Jews. The first staff symbolizes the Gentile nation, which has the natural law written upon their hearts, as Paul powerfully articulates in his letter to the Romans (Rom. 2). This staff is beautiful, as all creation is invited to honor its Creator. The second staff, representing the Jewish nation, is associated with the bond; following the transgressions of the Gentiles, it is referred to as the Lord’s portion and the bond of His inheritance—Israel (Deut. 32:9). Therefore, after Israel was called through Abraham, the Lord declares, “I will take My good staff, and I will reject it to abolish My covenant made with all humanity” (Zech. 11:10). With the coming of Christ, it is stated to the rejected staff, “Do not be afraid, do not blush, and do not let shame cover your face. For you will no longer experience the shame you once did, nor will you remember the disgrace of your youth or the widowhood when you were forsaken by God. Your Creator will reign over you, the Almighty, who governs not just one nation of Jews, but the entire world.” Ultimately, it is affirmed: He who created you has redeemed you with His own blood and will be called the God of all the earth, referring to all who dwell upon it. This clearly indicates that this message is not directed at Jerusalem, which has never ruled over the entirety of creation, but instead to the Church of Christ, to whom the inheritance encompasses the whole world.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS