Deeper Commentary
Isaiah 63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? This one who is glorious in his clothing, marching in the greatness of his strength?- These verses appear to be the Divine fantasy, a potential prophecy, about the Messiah saviour judging Babylon and then also Edom on His way to Zion along with the repentant remnant of both Jews and Gentiles. This is a repeated theme in the prophets- that Babylon was to fall and the nations judged, and thereby both elicit repentance from a Gentile minority and also release the Jews. These things didn't happen as they could have done at the time of the restoration of the exiles. But they will in essence be fulfilled in the future work of the Lord Jesus.
According to Jewish tradition, Nehemiah’s real name was Zerubbabel, the
branch (Sanhedrin 38a)- perhaps the same Zerubbabel as mentioned
in Haggai and Zechariah. The Hippolytus Chronicle 7:3:37 even claims
Nehemiah was a direct descendant of David and in the direct kingly line.
His name, ‘comfort of Yahweh’, invites us to see him as the potential
fulfilment of the Is. 40:1,2 prophecy about a Messiah figure arising to
the exiles, giving them God’s comfort. At the time of Judah's redemption,
while the temple had been trodden down by her enemies, the promised
Messiah figure of Is. 63:1-3,18 was to come from Edom and Bozrah - both
code names for Babylon. The words "Bozrah" and "Babylon" have similar root
meanings ('high / fortified place'). And he was to lament how the people
of Judah were not with him- "of the people there was none with me". But
this is the very spirit of Nehemiah, when he returns to Jerusalem from
Babylon and looks around the 'trodden down' city at night, not telling the
people of the Jews about his inspection- i.e. the people were not with him
(Neh. 2:11-16).
Isaiah 63:2 Why are you red in your clothing-
In
the context of the answer in :3, we could assume that the force of the
question is "Why are you alone red...?".
And your garments like him who treads in the wine vat?- Is. 63:2,3 explains how in the process of obtaining salvation, the Lord’s clothing would be made red. Red clothes in Isaiah suggest sinfulness that needs cleansing (Is. 1:18). He was completely identified with us, to the point of feeling a sinner even although He never sinned. "Treads" is the same Hebrew word used in Num. 24:17 of how the Messianic star out of Jacob would tread down Israel's historical enemies, who would be as it were reincarnated in the last days. This is the time of the 'treading down' of all the peoples of the eretz who were against Israel (s.w. Jer. 25:30), the 'treading down' of the daughter of Babylon (Jer. 51:33 s.w.). But it was not just Gentiles whom the Messianic figure was to tread down; "the Lord has trodden the virgin daughter of Judah as in a winepress" (Lam. 1:15; Mic. 1:3 s.w.). The judgment of Babylon and her supporters, epitomized by Edom (:1), was to be at the same time as the judgment of the apostate people of God. And out of a trodden down wine vat there comes wine- the symbol of blessing and the new covenant.
Isaiah 63:3 I have trodden the wine press alone; and of the peoples there
was no man with Me: yes, I trod them in My anger, and trampled them in My
wrath- The way the Saviour is "alone" would allude to the way that no
other man rose up to the call to be the prophesied servant of the
Messianic prophecies (Is. 59:16). The judgments are likewise performed by
Him "alone" in the sense that the judgments upon the nations will be
supernatural and only later will a repentant remnant be used as Yahweh's
"weapons of war".
And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, and I have stained
all My clothing- There is a
connection between the Lord's death and the judgment of the world; "now is
the judgment of this world" He commented, with reference to His upcoming
crucifixion (Jn. 12:31). He alone has the right to judge, because He alone
had our nature and never sinned. The Lord having
His own clothes put back on Him meant that He would have been dressed in
blood sprinkled garments for the walk to Golgotha. His holy mind
would have been on these Messianic prophecies of Is. 63:3 about a Messiah
with blood sprinkled garments lifted up in glorious victory. Or perhaps He
saw the connection to Lev. 8:30, where the priests had to have blood
sprinkled garments in order to begin their priestly work. This would have
sent His mind to us, for whom He was interceding. Likewise when He
perceived that His garment would not be rent, He would have joyfully
perceived that He was indeed as the High Priest whose garment was not to
be rent (Ex. 39:23).
Isaiah 63:4 For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My
redeemed has come- see on Ex. 2:11,12. This is the year of
Jubilee pronounced in Is. 61. We note the difference between the single
"day" of vengeance compared to the whole "year" of redemption. Saving is
by far God's preferred activity. Those to be redeemed are not simply
"Israel", but those of them who want the redemption which will come about
through the "vengeance" of the judgments. For as explained on :2, the Jews
are to be judged along with the Gentiles.
This chapter was quoted by Judas Maccabeus, who killed 20,000 from Edom in his campaigns against the Idumeans (:1); and John Hyrcanus, his brother Simon's son and successor, also defeated the Edomites and forced them to become proselytes to the Jewish religion, and to be circumcised. At best it could be argued that the Maccabees were potential fulfillments of the prophecies, but they failed to do so. And so the final fulfilment will be in the Lord Jesus in the last days.
Isaiah 63:5 I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that
there was none to uphold: therefore My own arm brought salvation to Me;
and My wrath, it upheld Me- The arm of Yahweh, the practical
articulation of His power, is ultimately the Lord Jesus. The way the
Saviour is "alone", as in :3, would allude to the way that no other man
rose up to the call to be the prophesied servant of the Messianic
prophecies (Is. 59:16). None of the potential Messiah figures worked
out; and it seems about nobody responded to the prophetic call for the
exiles to repent. God was 'desolated' ["wondered"]about this, so great
were His hopes for some response. And yet God wished to try to save them
anyway by His dramatic intervention, which was to come to full term in the
person and work of His own son.
God sent His prophets to appeal to Israel for repentance. They
could have lead to repentance. But Israel would not. The
marriage feast was totally ready and waiting for the Jewish people; they
could have had it. But they didn’t want it, and so the course of human
history was extended. Therefore finally God sent His Son. The Lord Jesus
Himself was amazed that no other man had achieved the work which He had
to; and therefore He clad Himself with zeal and performed it (Is. 41:28;
50:2; 59:16 cp. Rev. 5:3,4). God knew that salvation in the end would have
to be through the death of His Son. But there were other possible
scenarios for the repentance and salvation of mankind, which no man
achieved. And so, as in the parable of the servants sent to get fruit from
the vineyard, there was left no other way but the death of God’s only Son.
Isaiah 63:6 I trod down the peoples in My anger, and made them drunk in My
wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth- Blood from the
sacrifices was poured out on the earth to symbolize that life is God's
alone. This is the scene of Is. 34:6, where Yahweh has a great sacrifice
to make in Bozrah and Idumea, which is the context here too (:1). The
implication could be that through their heavy judgment, they would become
an acceptable sacrifice to Him; see on Is. 34:2,6.
Isaiah 63:7 I will make mention of the loving kindnesses of Yahweh and the
praises of Yahweh, according to all that Yahweh has bestowed on us, and
the great goodness toward the house of Israel which He has bestowed on
them according to His mercies, and according to the multitude of His
grace- The same words would be said by the Gentiles; they would proclaim Yahweh's praise just as the
Israelites themselves would (Is. 60:6). The Gentiles would now
identify themselves with the Israelites in forming the new multiethnic
people of God which was to be formed on the basis of repentance and
acceptance of the new covenant. This praise is to be the result of His
judgments upon the wicked, both of Israel and the Gentiles. Hence LXX "The Lord is a good judge to the house of
Israel; he deals with us according to his mercy, and according to the
abundance of his righteousness". The term "the house of Israel"
suggests that both Judah and the ten tribe kingdom would be united by the
experience of grace; and that is indeed the basis for unity amongst God's
people to this day.
Isaiah 63:8 For He said, Surely, they are My people, children who will not
deal falsely: so He was their Saviour- The eagerness of the God who was in love with His woman Israel is quite
something. "Surely they are my people, children that will not lie!" (Is.
63:8), He triumphed. But this was because of His mercy and love to them
(:7). That love as it were blinded His eyes to their sin. And this is the
basis of our being counted righteous if we are in His beloved Son. But
with Israel, "then I saw that she was defiled... then my
mind was alienated" (Ez. 23:13,18). How does this square with the
omniscience of God? He stopped restraining His omniscience. He saw them
for who they were, unfaithful, and reacted. He did everything He could for
His vineyard, and was then so bitterly disappointed when it brought forth
wild grapes (Is. 5:4).
The Father is ever seeking for some positive response, and is highly sensitive to it. He told Moses: “If they will not believe… neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign [but] if they will not believe also these two signs…” (Ex. 4:8). The God who knows the end from the beginning gives the impression that He is sure they will believe- even though they didn’t. He is so seeking for faith in His creatures (cp. “surely they will reverence my son”, Mt. 21:37, and Ex. 19:21 cp. 20:18). In this, Isaiah says, He shows His matchless grace: “For He said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so [therefore] He was their Saviour… but they rebelled, and vexed His holy [gracious] spirit” (Is. 63:8,10). Our tendency is to notice the negative in others, and let it outweigh the positive. God works quite the other way. He hopes for positive response, and even speaks as if He will get it when He knows He won’t.
Isaiah 63:9 In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His
presence saved them: in His love and in His pity he redeemed them; and He
bore them, and carried them all the days of old- The same grace shown
in saving Israel from Egypt, despite them still carrying the idols of
Egypt with them and the tabernacle of Remphan, was to be shown in
redeeming the exiles from Babylon. Just as God in love and pity carried
them through the wilderness despite their unfaithfulness. And it will
again be shown in the final salvation of God's people. "The angel of His
presence" was the same Angel which went with Israel through the wilderness,
fulfilling the promise that "My presence shall go with thee" (Ex. 33:14).
But that Angel was intensely representative of God; to the point that the
LXX offers: "not an ambassador, nor a messenger, but
Himself saved them". Thereby in all their affliction, He was afflicted;
and He achieves an even more powerful identity with our experiences
through the work and nature of His Son, who is far greater and more
effective than the ministry of Angels. "Afflicted" is the word used in :18
of the Babylonian "adversaries" who destroyed Jerusalem. Whilst this was
an act of Divine judgment, God still felt for His people all through it.
Jeremiah's laments in Lamentations that God had somehow switched off from
feeling for His people were therefore simply stating things as they seemed
to him at the time. For in reality, in their affliction He was afflicted.
Isaiah 63:10 But they rebelled and grieved His holy spirit: therefore He
was turned to be their enemy, and He Himself fought against them- see on Jn. 14:26,30; Gen. 8:1; Josh. 24:17.
"His holy spirit" refers initially to the Angel of His presence (:9), for
God makes His angels spirits (Ps. 104:4). They refused to follow the
leadership of the Angel; for many of the exiles remained in Babylon /
Persia, as the book of Esther makes clear. Likewise Israel had "rebelled"
in not following God's saving plan in the wilderness and wanting to return
to Egypt rather than go forward to the promised land (s.w. Dt. 9:23). And
it grieved the spirit / Angel, representative of God Himself (:9). This describes the work of the Holy Spirit Angel with regard to punishing Israel in language which hints at the flood: "It repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth (land), and it grieved Him at His heart" (Gen. 6:6) connects with "They rebelled, and vexed His Holy Spirit (cp. grieved at the heart): therefore He was turned to be their enemy (cp. "repented"), and He fought against them". 2 Peter 3:6,7; Mt. 24:37 and Dan. 9:26 (an impressive trio) say that the flood is a type of God's judgement of the earth at the second coming- and we know that Jesus will come with His Angels with Him to do this, in the same way as the Angels were prominent in this earlier "coming" of the Lord at the flood.
God (in the Angel of the presence) "was turned to be (Israel's) enemy" because of their sin (Is. 63:10)- likewise Job complains that his satan-Angel has "turned to be cruel to me" (Job 30:21 AVmg.).
The gift of the Spirit, a new heart and opened
eyes, was to be part of the new covenant deal offered to the exiles. They
refused it, and so in a different form it is now offered to all who are
baptized into Christ. The same gift of the Spirit is now available to us-
but we are not forced to follow where we are led, towards salvation in the
same reestablished Kingdom of God on earth. Thus
Eph. 4:30 is a
quotation from Is. 63:10- a lament about how Israel in the wilderness
"vexed His holy spirit" with their continued provocations. Ps. 78:40 says
the same: "How often did they provoke Him in the wilderness, and grieve
Him in the desert!". Putting these verses together, we see that to provoke
God, to grieve Him, is the same as vexing or grieving His spirit. Paul's
point was that the Ephesian believers had likewise been redeemed from
'Egypt' and had been sealed by God "with that holy spirit of promise"
(Eph. 1:13). I understand this to mean that God's spirit works upon and
merges with the human spirit in the heart and life of the baptized
believer in Christ. But by turning away from that leading, we are vexing
or grieving God through frustrating the way of His spirit which He has put
within us. Clearly it was God whom Israel grieved in the
wilderness, and it is God whom we grieve by provoking and
frustrating His spirit in us.
Isaiah 63:11 Then He remembered the days of old, Moses and His people,
saying, Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds
of His flock? Where is He who put His holy spirit in their midst?-
see on Ex. 34:27.
It could be argued that this is the same "Spirit of the Lord [which] caused him (Moses) to rest: so didst Thou lead Thy people" (by
an Angel in the wilderness, :14), the Spirit-Angel of :9,10. This shows
God as it were looking back to the days when He led them through the wilderness
by the Angel, and in wrath remembering mercy. "Where is He that brought them up... " He asked
Himself.
We have here an insight into the thought processes of God Almighty,
recalling, as it were, how He had been with them at the exodus. Although
the pole of His love and grace wins out within His personality over the
pole of judgment, a struggle is involved; and the summary conclusion that
"God is love" is not arrived at without appreciating this tension and
struggle within Him.
Yahweh had promised that He would lead His people on that wilderness
journey from Babylon to Zion just as He had earlier led His people from
Egypt to the same promised land. Jer. 31:2 had encouraged them that Israel
“found grace in the wilderness” before, and they would do again, “When I
go to cause [Israel] to go to their place of rest” (RV). God had promised
in Jer. 31:9 that He would bring Israel on their journey from Babylon to
Judah along the fertile crescent- He would “cause them to walk by the
rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble”. This
is why Isaiah’s prophecies of the restoration from Babylon are shot
through with allusion to the exodus and wilderness journey (e.g. Is. 43:2;
51:10; 63:11).
Isaiah 63:12 Who caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses?
Who divided the waters before them, to make Himself an everlasting name?-
Israel were led by God’s hand (Heb. 8:9; Is. 63:13); but in practice by Moses’ hand (Ps. 77:20; Is. 63:12).
The Name of Yahweh is not simply a word, a lexical item, pronounced
something like Yahoovah or Yahweh. His Name is His character and
personality, which has been developed and exhibited historically. His
salvation of His sinful, idol worshipping people from Egypt exhibited and
exemplified His saving grace; and He wished again to show that same "arm"
and "Name" in saving the exiles and bringing them to the Kingdom of God.
They too frustrated His saving plans; and so that same mighty arm is
outstretched in redeeming a new people, who are to leave the things of
this world and likewise allow themselves to be led on a spiritual journey
towards God's Kingdom.
Isaiah 63:13 Who led them through the depths, as a horse in the
wilderness, so that they didn’t stumble?-
Jer.
31:9 had prophesied of the restoration: “They shall come with weeping, and
with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the
rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not
stumble”. Likewise Is. 63:13 reminded the returnees that when they had
been led through the wilderness to Canaan under Moses, they did not
stumble [s.w.]. But both Ezra and Nehemiah wanted to have a Babylonian
military escort on the journey back; they weren’t sure that they would be
given “a straight way” with Yahweh’s protection. Neh. 4:10 records that
“Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed
[s.w. “stumble”, Jer. 31:9], and there is much rubbish; so that we are not
able to build the wall”. They were easily discouraged by the words of the
surrounding world, by the apparent hopelessness of their task; and thus
they stumbled. Ezra 8:21 LXX describes how Ezra fasted for them to be
given a “straight way”, as Jeremiah had foretold they could have. He saw
the need for them to make the effort to fulfill the prophecy. Note how
Ezekiel’s vision of the cherubim featured “straight” progress; the wheels
on earth surely connect with how Israel should have been, moving in a
straight way back to the land, in harmony with the Angel-cherubim above
them likewise moving in a straight way. But they failed to “keep in step
with the Spirit”... They were to walk “each one straight before him” (Is.
57:2 RVmg.), as each of the cherubim went straight ahead (Ez. 1:12). Ps.
107:2,7 RV speak of Israel being gathered out of the nations and being led
in a “straight way” to Zion, as they had [potentially] been enabled to do
on their departure from Egypt. Yet then they spent 38 years walking a
distance coverable in just 11 days- because they did not walk in the
“straight way”.
Isaiah 63:14 As the cattle that go down into the valley, the spirit of
Yahweh caused them to rest; so You led Your people- see on Dt. 34:5,6. The "rest" was the promised land,
and it was that same land to which Yahweh was willing to lead Israel from
Babylon; but it was a redemption refused. We too as a new Israel are being
led toward the "rest" of the Kingdom (Heb. 4:9). If we follow AV "the
spirit of the Lord caused him to rest", we could make the referent of
"him" to be Moses, who was led to his rest in death by an Angel, the
"spirit of Yahweh" of :9-11. But more essentially the reference is to God
leading His people as a shepherd, into the valley of rest.
To make Yourself a glorious name- See on :12.
Isaiah 63:15 Look down from heaven, and see from the habitation of Your
holiness and of Your glory: where are Your zeal and Your mighty acts? The
yearning of Your heart and Your compassion is restrained toward me-
Isaiah, or the faithful remnant, seek to remind God of His compassion
shown at the exodus to an equally apostate people who took the idols of
Egypt with them through the Red Sea. He Himself had this memory within Him
(:11), and they are appealing for Him to recall that and act with a
similar saving grace. Or it could be that here we are being told how the
situation in :11 came about. Why did God recall His previous acts of
saving grace toward sinful Israel? Because He had been 'reminded' of it by
this prayer of the faithful. They were His rememberancers, the watchmen on
Zion's walls reminding Him, as it were, of His previous saving actions and
grace towards His very immature and faithless people. The tension within
His heart we commented upon on :11 had been provoked by this prayerful
appeal to recall the yearning of His heart toward His people. God had
earlier accepted that throughout the captivity He had been "restrained
toward" Israel, but now He would be restrained no longer (s.w. Is. 42:14).
But He did so because of the prayer of the faithful not to restrain
Himself longer (Is. 63:15; 64:12). The tragedy is that His unrestrained
desire to save and redeem the exiles was still refused by them; and
perhaps there were few who really begged Him to no longer restrain
Himself. For they were quite happy with their prosperous lives in Babylon
and Persia. And so the events of the last days will elicit this more
intense prayer, and Yahweh will finally act unrestrainedly in this earth.
Isaiah 63:16 For You are our Father, though Abraham doesn’t know us, and
Israel does not acknowledge us: You, Yahweh, are our Father- This is
a prayer of penitence, recognizing that although Yahweh is their Father,
they have not acted as the seed of Abraham and Jacob. It is such penitence
from God's people which is required for His saving arm to be fully
revealed in the last days.
Our Redeemer from everlasting is Your name- God's essential preference for saving grace rather than judgment is an essential part of His character; see on :11. That Name or personality was eternal and didn't change, and it is this which is being appealed to through the recollection of how He had historically articulated that grace within His Name. And His imputation of righteousness, the things of His Name placed upon His people, may be in view if we follow the LXX: "Thy name has been upon us from the beginning".
As Hosea ‘redeemed’ Gomer in His attempt to force through His fantasy for her (Hos. 3:1), so Yahweh is repeatedly described in Isaiah as Israel’s go’el , redeemer (Is. 41:14; Is. 43:14; Is. 44:6,24; Is. 47:4; Is. 48:17; Is. 49:7,26; Is. 54:5,8). The redeemer could redeem a close relative from slavery or repurchase property lost during hard times (Lev. 25:25,26, 47-55; Ruth 2:20; Ruth 3:9,12). The redeemer was also the avenger of blood (Num. 35:9-28; Josh. 20:3,9). All these ideas were relevant to Yahweh’s relationship to Judah in captivity. But the promised freedom didn’t come- even under Nehemiah, Judah was still a province within the Persian empire. And those who returned complained: “We are slaves this day in the land you gave…” (Neh. 9:36). The wonderful prophecies of freedom and redemption from slavery weren’t realized in practice, because of the selfishness of the more wealthy Jews. And how often is it that the freedom potentially enabled for those redeemed in Christ is in practice denied them by their autocratic and abusive brethren
Isaiah 63:17 O Yahweh, why do You make us to err from Your ways, and
harden our heart from Your fear? Return for Your servants’ sake, the
tribes of Your inheritance-
God
does in fact lead men in a downward spiral as well as in an upward spiral
of relationship with Him – Pharaoh would be the classic example. It is perhaps this situation more than any which we should fear
– being hardened in sin, drawing ever closer to the waterfall of
destruction, until we come to the point that the forces behind us are now
too strong to resist... Saul lying face down in the dirt of ancient
Palestine the night before his death would be the classic visual image of
it. And the Lord urges us to pray earnestly that we are not led in that
downward spiral of temptation. This recognition that they have been
hardened in their ways can be read as part of the confession of sin in
:16. The request to restore all the tribes suggests that those
praying this prayer have moved on from the sectarian division between
Israel and Judah. Again, it is the experience of repentance and receipt of
restoring grace which is the ultimate basis for unity between God's
people. And yet it could be argued that :16-19 is the cynical complaint of
a sector within Jewish society who accepted that they had not been as
Abraham and Jacob (:16), but still lamented all the judgment which had
come upon them without specifically joining the dots and realizing it was
their lack of repentance which was responsible for the situation.
Isaiah 63:18 Your holy people possessed it but a little while: our
adversaries have trodden down Your sanctuary- Eternal inheritance had
been promised, and compared to eternity, Judah had possessed the land only
a little while before being driven out. Or as LXX "that we may inherit a
small part of thy holy mountain". The mountain or Kingdom of Yahweh was
envisaged as filling the entire eretz promised to Abraham, and
only a small part of it, Palestine, was being possessed by Judah. The hope
and prayer was therefore, in this case, that the entire land would be
possessed. "Afflicted" in :9 is the word used here in :18 of the
Babylonian "adversaries" who destroyed Jerusalem. Whilst this was an act
of Divine judgment, God still felt for His people all through it.
Jeremiah's laments in Lamentations that God had somehow switched off from
feeling for His people were therefore simply stating things as they seemed
to him at the time. For in reality, in their affliction He was afflicted
(:9).
Isaiah 63:19 We have become as they over whom You never bear rule, as those who were not called by Your name- LXX "We are become as at the beginning, when thou didst not rule over us, and thy name was not called upon us". This is a request, therefore, to start over with Israel, giving them a new covenant and a new land inheritance, but for ever. I suggested on :16,17 that we have here a confession of sin; and this involves here recognizing that they are no better than Gentiles.
Or we can read with AVmg. :
"We are thine: thou never barest rule over them; thy name was not called
upon them". God's Name was called upon us at baptism into the Name.
This bearing of His Name means that the principles of that Name bear rule
over us in our lives. The Name is called upon us;
and therefore and thereby we are Yahweh's servants, dominated by His
principles and character. Because the Name was called upon the temple,
therefore it was simply impossible that those who realized this could
worship idols in it (2 Kings 21:4,7); whatever has God's Name called upon
it, whatever bears His image, must be devoted to Him alone. The Lord
pointed out that this applies to our very bodies, which being in God's
image should be given over to Him.
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