Isaiah 63:15Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Although God is said to inhabit heaven, we cannot conceive Him in physical terms; we do not claim that the Divine Essence is confined to a specific location and can be defined, but rather that He is simple, incorporeal, and encompasses all creation. Since He dwells among the exalted spirits like the saints, we refer to heaven as His throne and residence. Therefore, they implore, where is Your zeal and strength? Certainly, no one could honestly assert that the Almighty lacks these attributes; yet they express this because they no longer witness them in action, for it is by His zealousness and divine might that the Lord has consistently delivered Israel. Consider, they were oppressed by the Egyptians, enduring hardship as they labored with clay and bricks, suffering under the harshness of their taskmasters. However, the God who is zealous for His people was jealous on their behalf. Thus, He declared, “I will be zealous for Jerusalem and Zion with great fervor; with great wrath I will be indignant against those who oppose them; for I was a little displeased, but they greatly afflicted them” (Zechariah 1:14). He then performed wondrous acts; although Babylon seemed impervious and immensely powerful, He made it desolate by sending Cyrus, the son of Cambyses, against them. Longing to experience that same mercy once more, they cry out, where is Your zeal and strength? Where is the multitude of Your mercy and Your generosity, with which You have borne with us? They yearn again for His mercy, patience, and compassion, which He had shown them despite their numerous transgressions, for He had watched over them, even when they had sorely grieved Him. They grumbled in the wilderness and tested Him in their hearts, asking, “Is God unable to provide a meal in the desert? He struck the rock, and water gushed forth, streams overflowing. Can He also not give us bread?” Furthermore, in the absence of Moses, they fashioned a golden calf, yet through his intercession, they were forgiven. Thus, they implore Him to uphold them, despite their repeated offenses. You are our Father, for Abraham has not estranged us, nor has Israel forgotten us. They do not deny their ancestors, for doing so would serve no purpose in their repentance; rather, they acknowledge that God's love surpasses even that of their earthly fathers, as He is the Father of all. They state, we descend from them, even though they have not seen us; yet You have always shown compassion and love towards us, characteristic of a doting Father. Therefore, deliver us, for Your name is upon us; we are recognized as Your inheritance and Your people. When they rebelled against Christ through their great disobedience and hardened hearts, they severed their spiritual connection with Him and became ignorant of His gifts, failing to comprehend the path of the Gospel. Thus, they rightly voice their sorrow, asking, “Why have You turned us from Your way? Why have You hardened our hearts? Why do we not fear You?” The prophet also speaks to them, urging, “Rend your hearts and not your garments” (Joel 2:13). Yet, the God of all compassion, able to soften their hearts, allowed them to possess a rebellious and obstinate spirit. Since He did not make them tender, it is said that He hardened them; this leads to a loss of the fear of God, which brings about destruction and plunges souls into despair.

You who have done so much for Your people, as indicated in the previous discourse, counting us worthy of the gift of Your Spirit, now look down from above and consider our deeds, if they truly reflect Your worthiness. Why do You turn Your face away from us? Heaven is spoken of as the dwelling of the sacred and the house of His glory; as it is written: Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool (Isaiah 66:1), and furthermore: He who dwells in the heavens shall rejoice in them (Psalm 2:4), and: To You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwells in the heavens (Psalm 122:1). This does not imply that the Almighty, who encompasses the heavens in His grasp and the earth within His palm, is restricted to a specific location, but rather that the holiest of realms are referred to as His abode. Thus, Solomon, who constructed the temple for God, in his prayer addressed to Him, states that even the heavens and the earth cannot contain Him (1 Kings 8:27).

In the Lord's Prayer, we are instructed to pray for Your will to be done, both in heaven and on earth (Matthew 6:10), signifying that wherever God’s will is fulfilled, there is His dwelling place. Therefore, when we ask, where is Your zeal and Your power, it reflects the testimony God imparts through Ezekiel concerning Jerusalem, which sought after its lovers: 'I will no longer be angry with you, and My zeal has departed from you' (Ezekiel 16). This conveys that due to our transgressions, You began to turn away from us, causing Your zeal to wane. Yet, it does not depart completely, as declared through Zechariah: 'I was zealous for Zion and Jerusalem with great zeal' (Zechariah 1:14). Thus, He further states, 'and I will be angry with the nations gathered around him' (Zechariah 15:15). When zeal diminishes, so too does the power of God, and the disposition of paternal goodness wanes, for the extraordinary benevolence of God is overwhelmed by the severity of our sins, rendering Him unable to assist those He once could not overlook in their suffering. You, O Lord, are our Father, the Creator of all. Abraham and Israel do not recognize us, for we have sinned against You; they cannot acknowledge those whom they know are unloved by their God.

This raises a question: why mention Abraham and Israel while omitting Isaac’s name? We respond that when the beginning and the end are mentioned, the middle is implied; Abraham, called to faith from among the nations, received a new name that reflects his transformation through trials, and Jacob, after many struggles, came to be known as Israel. Both Abraham and Jacob had multiple wives, yet Isaac retained his original name from start to finish, symbolizing the purity of the Church in his commitment to one wife. Those who plead for a transformation in the state of sinners are like those whose sorrow is turned into joy. Ultimately, this signifies their petition that He, as their Father, who has honored them with this title, may not forget His children, lest the name of God be profaned among the nations.

The history of this people vividly illustrates how fervently the Lord cared for them, how powerfully He shielded them from adversaries, and how graciously and patiently He approached them during times of their unfaithfulness. The repentant community, recalling the Lord's past acts of mercy, laments the absence of such kindness in their current state of Babylonian captivity. It feels as if the Lord has forgotten His children of Israel. Where is the Lord’s zeal for their welfare, His steadfast strength in defending them, His compassion and patience towards those who have strayed? All of this was true in the past: why should it not hold now?