Isaiah 63

Isaiah saw a vision of the Warrior Messiah in this chapter. He asked a series of questions since he wants to know Who it is. “Who is this who comes from [the direction of] Edom?” (v. 1a). The garments are of glowing/crimson colors (v. 1b). Probably in Bozrah similar garments were produced. Bozrah was on the Kings Highway running from Egypt through Transjordan just south-east of the lowest end of the Dead Sea. [Who is this who is]”marching in the greatest of His strength?” (v. 1d). The Warrior Messiah answered “It is I Who speak in righteousness, mighty to save” (v. 1e). What makes Christ mighty is His righteousness and this righteousness is expressed in His salvation of mankind. Isaiah asked again: “Why is your apparel red and Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press?” The imagery is the Hell event when God’s wrath is described in farmers language in the Bible as trodding in the wine press (Revelation 19:13, 15). The Warrior Messiah answered “I have trodden the wine trough alone and from the peoples there was no man with Me” (v. 3a-b). When the Warrior Messiah goes out to fight the evil in the last battle of God, the saints are safely in Zion (Psalm 46) and He goes out to fight alone. “I also trod them in My anger and trampled them in My wrath and their lifeblood is sprinkled on my garments and I stained all My rainment” (v. 3e-f). Christ has the authority and legality given by all heavenly courts to do what God in justice knew all along to be just, to exterminate the evil in finality. “For the day of vengeance was in My heart and My year of redemption has come” (v. 4a-b). “And I [Christ the Warrior Messiah] looked, and there was no one to help. I was astonished and there was no one to uphold” (v. 5a-b). When the glorious King of Kings do His Warrior Messiah role there will be no one to uphold Him when the pain of the death of His creatures takes place. He will feel very sad about it. No one is there to comfort Him in this extermination of people who could have been saved if they only permitted God to work in their lives. “So My own arm brought salvation to Me and My wrath upheld Me” (v. 5c-d). Christ’s divinity upheld Him since it is God the Warrior. In the Hell event at the end of history and before eternity proper starts, “I trod down the peoples in My anger and made them drunk in My wrath and I poured out their lifeblood on earth” (v. 6a-c). With this eschatological panel ending, Isaiah opened up another panel that speaks to Isaiah in his own days and the condition of the remnant through the ages. Isaiah knows about the coming Hell but while there is still time for repentance, he wants to “mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, the praises of the Lord” (v. 7a). He wants to list all the things that the Lord has done to Israel, the goodness toward the house of Israel (v. 7c). God granted these good things to them according to His compassion and His lovingkindnesses (v. 7d-e). God remembered His covenant with the faithful remnant members and all those who desire to become faithful “Surely, they are my people, sons who will not deal falsely” (v. 8a-b). Due to these aspects of the Lord He became their Savior (v. 8c). When His remnant suffered, He suffered with them “in all their affliction, He was afflicted” (v. 9a). “The Messenger/Angel of His face/presence saved them” (v. 9b). The Messenger/Angel of His face/presence is Christ. He redeemed them with mercy and with love (v. 9c). He will lift them and carry them all the days of eternity (v. 9d). However, despite the fact that they became faithful and was saved by God in history past, the remnant “they [wehemmah = Aramaic] rebelled” (v. 10a). Due to their rebellion they grieved the Holy Spirit and He turned to become their enemy (v. 10b-c). So He will have to fight against them as the Warrior Messiah (v. 10d). The remnant remembered they days of old when God led them through Moses, they studied the Pentateuch well and learn about that. The remnant also asks “where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock” (v. 11b). They are asking where God is Who has put the Holy Spirit in their midst (v. 11c). They could see that the Pentateuch mentioned that the glorious arm go at the right hand of Moses that God divided the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name; Who led them through the depths (v. 12). The remnant was in a good condition then, since they were like a horse in the wilderness that do not stumble (v. 13), like cattle the Spirit gave them rest (v. 14) in the same way the Lord has “lead Your people” (v. 14c). He made for Himself a glorious name by all these deeds in history to the remnant (v. 14d). Isaiah saw in the first panel the Warrior Messiah, in the second the characteristics of God and in the third their rebellion as to why God will fight against the weeds in the Remnant (v. 10d). All the wondrous works of God in the history of the Remnant is then listed (vv. 11-14). The prayer of Isaiah then is that of the remnant that do not include ethnic Israel. He asked the Lord to look from heaven and pray for zeal and mighty deeds. He feels that the strings of the heart of the Lord and the compassion of the Lord is restrained from them, this global remnant. “For You are our Father though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not recognize us” (v. 16a-b). From old the Lord is known as their redeemer (v. 16d). The remnant then asks the question why the Lord allows them to be strayed from the ways of the Lord, why their hearts is hardened from fearing the Lord (v. 17a-c). They pray then “return for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage” (v. 17c). The remnant possessed the sanctuary of the Lord on earth “for a little while” (v. 18a). The adversaries of the remnant in history through the ages “have trodden down” (v. 18b). The adversaries are Satan and his instruments. The remnant will experience in future, like in history, that “we become those over whom You has never ruled, those who were not called by Your name” (v. 19). This will especially be the case during the Time of Trouble. That is because they will stand alone during this Time before the Second Coming since the Door of Mercy already closed.

Dear God

Grant that we may cherish the hope to accept the things we cannot change but the things we can, we do. Amen

Koot van Wyk, (DLitt et Phil; ThD) Kyungpook National University, Department of Liberal Education, Sangju, South Korea; conjoint lecturer of Avondale College, Australia