Isaiah 63:14Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He recalled, He says, the eternal days, which are days of remembrance, due to the many remarkable miracles enacted during that time. Who is He that remembers? Who is He who has raised up the shepherd of the flock from the earth? These statements seem to invoke the resurrection of Christ, our Savior. It is He who announced, rather than simply raised the supreme Shepherd of all from the dead, who transcended death and was manifest among humanity; for the only begotten Word of the Father chose to engage with us, being incarnate of the flesh from the woman.

Yet, as I have noted, the prophet perceived that Israel lacked any acknowledgment of the magnificent deeds of God, and he lamented over those who had succumbed to such spiritual insensibility, inquiring, Where is He who bestowed the Holy Spirit upon them, meaning the One who shared His divine and saving Spirit? For, he affirms, the Spirit descended from the Lord and led them. And the holy David articulated, Send forth your word, and heal me (Ps. 106:20). The Lord is indeed the Spirit, for He operates through the indivisible Spirit. Where then can we find Him? Rather than neglecting or failing to pursue Him, it is clear that to remember and cherish Him is essential. Where is He who raised Moses with His right hand? Moses stood as a figure of great renown and eminence, as indicated by the phrase—He who elevated him—because God's right hand acted through him. The power of His glory subdued, or rather triumphed over, the very nature of the waters, solidifying them, causing them to act as a barrier of water, or conquering the waters themselves so that they became firm, despite their inherent liquid nature (Exodus 14:29, Exodus 8:14, Exodus 22:29; Psalm 77:13).

He replenished it, he says, to forge an everlasting name for Himself; for though it was accomplished through the wise Moses, it was ultimately for God's glory. Having solidified the waters, He directed them as one would a horse or cattle, conducting them through the sea as if it were an open field. The Psalmist also teaches this, stating, And He led His people like sheep; He guided me as a flock through the wilderness (Psalms 77:52). Thus, the Spirit of the Lord directed them, as I have mentioned. In this way, You have led Your people so that Your name may be glorified. Two things were achieved simultaneously: not only was Israel saved and liberated from their oppressors, but the culmination of these miraculous acts ensured that the sovereign God would receive the glory due to Him.

The days of antiquity were remembered by Him who shepherded the flocks from the land. Where is the one who placed the Holy Spirit within them, who delivered them with the right hand of Moses, the might of His splendor? He led His people through the great waters ahead of them, to create for Himself an everlasting name. He guided them through the abyss, as a horse across the open fields, and they did not tire; as cattle through the meadows, the Spirit came from the Lord and led them: so you have directed your people, that you might bring glory to Your name.

The Lord, who had shifted from being a protector to an opponent of the Jewish nation, provoking His Holy Spirit to anger and waging war against them, recalled the ancient days when Moses interceded for them in the wilderness, saying, "Either forgive them this sin, or if not, blot me out of the book You have written" (Ex. 32). Therefore, Isaiah, reflecting on the past, asks, Where is that Moses who brought them through the Red Sea? Where is the shepherd of the sheep? Where is he who labored alongside the other shepherds of the Lord's flock? Who attained the Spirit of God and through prayer and supplication implanted Him in the Lord's people?

Or perhaps it should be interpreted as: Where is the Lord's mercy, through which He once showed compassion to His people and granted them the grace of the Holy Spirit, who led Moses, His servant, mightily, who parted the waters before them to establish an everlasting name, that His power might be proclaimed to this day? For He guided His people through the boundless depths of the waters, as a horse through the open fields, and cattle across the plains, with the Spirit of the Lord as their guide, that is, the flock of the Lord (Ex. 14).

In referring to the Spirit, we should understand it as the angel who guided the people of Israel, as it is written: He makes His angels spirits, and His servants a flame of fire (Ps. 104:4), and in the epistle to the Hebrews: They are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation (Heb. 1:14). We should note what is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles: The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, so that he saw him no more (Acts 8:39): should we not understand this in connection with an angel? Some believe it was an angel who performed this act concerning the Holy Spirit. We often hurry past the clearer matters to explore the more obscure ones.