Isaiah 63 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Isaiah 63

The Lord’s Day of Vengeance

63:1   Who is this who comes from Edom,
    in crimsoned garments from Bozrah,
  he who is splendid in his apparel,
    marching in the greatness of his strength?
  “It is I, speaking in righteousness,
    mighty to save.”
2   Why is your apparel red,
    and your garments like his who treads in the winepress?
3   “I have trodden the winepress alone,
    and from the peoples no one was with me;
  I trod them in my anger
    and trampled them in my wrath;
  their lifeblood¹ spattered on my garments,
    and stained all my apparel.
4   For the day of vengeance was in my heart,
    and my year of redemption² had come.
5   I looked, but there was no one to help;
    I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold;
  so my own arm brought me salvation,
    and my wrath upheld me.
6   I trampled down the peoples in my anger;
    I made them drunk in my wrath,
    and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”

The Lord’s Mercy Remembered

7   I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD,
    the praises of the LORD,
  according to all that the LORD has granted us,
    and the great goodness to the house of Israel
  that he has granted them according to his compassion,
    according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
8   For he said, “Surely they are my people,
    children who will not deal falsely.”
    And he became their Savior.
9   In all their affliction he was afflicted,³
    and the angel of his presence saved them;
  in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
    he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
10   But they rebelled
    and grieved his Holy Spirit;
  therefore he turned to be their enemy,
    and himself fought against them.
11   Then he remembered the days of old,
    of Moses and his people.⁴
  Where is he who brought them up out of the sea
    with the shepherds of his flock?
  Where is he who put in the midst of them
    his Holy Spirit,
12   who caused his glorious arm
    to go at the right hand of Moses,
  who divided the waters before them
    to make for himself an everlasting name,
13     who led them through the depths?
  Like a horse in the desert,
    they did not stumble.
14   Like livestock that go down into the valley,
    the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest.
  So you led your people,
    to make for yourself a glorious name.

Prayer for Mercy

15   Look down from heaven and see,
    from your holy and beautiful⁵ habitation.
  Where are your zeal and your might?
    The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion
    are held back from me.
16   For you are our Father,
    though Abraham does not know us,
    and Israel does not acknowledge us;
  you, O LORD, are our Father,
    our Redeemer from of old is your name.
17   O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways
    and harden our heart, so that we fear you not?
  Return for the sake of your servants,
    the tribes of your heritage.
18   Your holy people held possession for a little while;⁶
    our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.
19   We have become like those over whom you have never ruled,
    like those who are not called by your name.

Footnotes

[1] 63:3 Or their juice; also verse 6
[2] 63:4 Or the year of my redeemed
[3] 63:9 Or he did not afflict
[4] 63:11 Or Then his people remembered the days of old, of Moses
[5] 63:15 Or holy and glorious
[6] 63:18 Or They have dispossessed your holy people for a little while

Commentary

v1: There still remains a fulfilment of the day of vengeance of our God (61.2). Here is the glorious vision of the Lord, Ps 60.9; 108.10; Song 3.6. God's salvation, by His righteousness, demands that those who will not believe are judged.

The Lord answers, "It is I," proclaiming righteousness and salvation; He is mighty to save.

v2: The crimson stains encourage a second question; the winepress speaking of judgment.

v3: See 59.16; the Lord is alone in salvation and judgment. The judgment upon the nations is specifically God's work, and cannot be shared with men (Luke 12.50; John 4.32). As a man treading out grapes in a winepress, His garments are necessarily spattered and stained.

The picture is disturbing, but we have every confidence in a just God.

v4: The great plan of God, from His heart; the day of vengeance coincides with the day of redemption. For mankind, there is a clear choice between life and death.

v5-6: Again, there was no one to help. God's work of salvation and judgment will be accomplished.

v7-10: Describing God's relationship with His people.

v7: This verse marks the start of a prayer of repentance and intercession, through to 64.12. It is the response to the character of God, as revealed in the previous verses.

The loving-kindnesses of the Lord; many good things, many kindnesses; we are called to declare what God has done for us. We declare our gratitude to God for all that He does for us.

v8: The people are renewed and cleansed, blameless before God, and God delights in them to save them. Pythagoras declared that men are most like God 'when they speak truth.' Here, God is delighted to own as His own, His truthful people.

v9: In their distresses He was distressed; He does know and He does care. When we suffer we know that, in Christ, God has suffered too.

By the angel of His presence He saved them. Looking back, He redeemed and lifted and carried His people. The reference is to the people travelling through the wilderness; see v11-14; 41.10; 43.1-2.

v10: In unbelief they rebelled against Him, Neh 9.16-18. As a result the Lord fought against His people. Eph 4.30 repeats the warning not to grieve His Holy Spirit.

v11-14: Under the threat of judgment, past blessings are remembered, as in Ps 77.

v11: These people looked back to the days of blessing, and turned that into prayer to God, longing that they would enjoy such blessings again. Their concern was that God's tenderness and compassion were now withheld (v15).

v12: The arm of power, the mighty works of God; God is not unable to repeat those things, but is He now unwilling?

God's mighty works, for His own everlasting Name, for His glory. People knew that these works were His, Josh 2.10-11.

v13-14: God gave His Holy Spirit to His people. But He was grieved by their rebellion.

God's guidance was not just the visible cloud and fire, but the inner work of the Holy Spirit. The prophet thus points forward to the time when the Spirit is poured out on all flesh, and Moses' prophecy is fulfilled, Num 11.29.

v15: Remembering the days of old, the people pray that God would prove His faithfulness to Israel; Show your people your love!

v16: Our Redeemer from everlasting; this remains true whatever today's circumstances. Our relationship is directly with God, not with our ancestors. We cannot claim any Name save that of Christ. (This verse also provides a response to those who would pray to the dead on our behalf.) Many seek the blessing of ancestors; but here God is presented as the principle ancestor of all of us.

v17: Israel had become rebellious; could God not have intervened? Again, the plea is that God act on behalf of His people.

v18-19: The people had suffered loss, being dominated by the ungodly. But God still has His people, His Holy people, who are identified with Him.