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NOTES for Isa 63:1-64:12

Printable version
1 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
2 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?
3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.
5 And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me.
6 And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.
7 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
8 For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.
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 bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him?
12 That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name?
13 That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?
14 As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.
15 Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?
16 Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.
17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.
18 The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.
19 We are thine: thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by thy name.
1 Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,
2 As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!
3 When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.
4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
5 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
9 Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
10 Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste.
12 Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O LORD? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?
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In the prophetic vision, the Savior appears walking in garments red with blood, but we know that Christ will come not in order to shed the blood of sinners. No, it is His blood that will be shed, and together with the many sins of the human race He will take upon Himself the consequences of countless acts of bloodshed. What, then, does Isaiah’s vision mean?

It seems permissible to suppose that the prophecy warns that the consequences of sins inevitably become deadly for sinners. But on Golgotha the Savior will take upon Himself the blow that justice assigns to them. Christ will remind the people accustomed to calling themselves children of Abraham that the Lord is able to raise up children for Abraham from stones; therefore, while understanding the importance of the historical unfolding of the Truth, let us remember Him who stands above history. But though He stands above human affairs, He does not keep aloof from them. And it is precisely here that the prophet utters words so familiar to us who live in the New Testament era, but not yet often heard in Old Testament times: God is called the true Father; He is not the distant “God of philosophers and scholars.” Therefore genuine humanity is possible only with God and is unattainable by human powers alone.

Other notes

 
For Isa 63:1-19
1 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
2 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?
3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.
5 And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me.
6 And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.
7 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
8 For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.
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 bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him?
12 That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name?
13 That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?
14 As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.
15 Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?
16 Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.
17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.
18 The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.
19 We are thine: thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by thy name.
Hide
Today's reading continues the theme of the people's redemption and renewal, and in a somewhat unusual aspect...  Read more

Today's reading continues the theme of the people's redemption and renewal, and in a somewhat unusual aspect. It is no surprise that the people's fate changes only when God Himself intervenes in events. No one else cares about the people of God, and so God acts alone (vv. 1-6). It is quite logical that, in connection with this divine intervention, the prophet turns his thoughts to the history of the Jewish people, which provided more than enough material for analogies (vv. 7-14). But the conclusion of his reflections is rather unexpected: he comes to the conclusion that the people whom God saves from destruction are, in a certain sense, strangers to the former Israel (vv. 15-16).

Of course, this also means that a people who have turned away from God, as sadly happened more than once before the exile, in fact cease to be the people of God. Spiritually they are truly alien both to Abraham and to the Israel that was born at Sinai on the day the covenant was made. But the matter is not only this spiritual discrepancy. Apparently the prophet understands perfectly well that the renewal of the people, which happened solely by God's mercy and completely changed their fate, made them qualitatively different. Post-exilic Jewry is different; it cannot be regarded simply as the descendants of Jerusalem's inhabitants deported several decades earlier.

The history of pre-exilic Jewry really had ended. The former people no longer existed; they had traveled their path and lived out the span of natural historical life allotted to them, a span that every people has just as each individual person has a natural span of life. And what was happening before Isaiah's eyes was plainly a true miracle: God gave His people another, new life, one that by no natural, social, or historical laws could or should have existed.

Isaiah has no illusions about the spiritual condition and historical fate of his own people (vv. 17-19). And he understands that all the coming centuries of his people will be one continuous miracle. The miracle of God's redemption and God's love.

Hide
 
For Isa 63:1-19
1 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
2 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?
3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.
5 And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me.
6 And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.
7 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
8 For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.
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 bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him?
12 That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name?
13 That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?
14 As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.
15 Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?
16 Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.
17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.
18 The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.
19 We are thine: thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by thy name.
Hide
The theme of God's nearness—and of the human person's nearness to God—is one of the most important themes of the prophetic message. If through Moses God...  Read more

The theme of God's nearness—and of the human person's nearness to God—is one of the most important themes of the prophetic message. If through Moses God gives a moral law and a liturgical rule for the right conduct of God's people and the right worship of God, then through the prophets revelation grows beyond these limits. It turns out that God Himself transcends the law He has given, showing mercy to those condemned to death by their own unfaithfulness, and that love for Him cannot be contained within the sacrificial regulations. Israel learns that God is altogether above law, whether divine or human. Those who have renounced the faith of Abraham and Jacob feel that their election has thereby lost its meaning and that “Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us as his own.” But God is different. He is not only a party to the covenant—that is, to an agreement, a union that has now been broken—but also the Father for whom children remain children.

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For Isa 64:1-12
1 Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,
2 As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!
3 When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.
4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
5 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
9 Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
10 Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste.
12 Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O LORD? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?
Hide
Today's reading brings us back to one of the central themes of both the Old and New Testaments: the theme of righteousness. To...  Read more

Today's reading brings us back to one of the central themes of both the Old and New Testaments: the theme of righteousness. To understand the meaning of the chapter offered to us today, it is important to remember that the traditional idea of righteousness in the Jewish community, both before the exile and partly after the exile, was formed in the context of traditional religious ideas.

Every religion presupposes that righteousness is in principle attainable, provided certain religious norms are observed. In other words, righteousness is attained by a person with God's help, but through the person's own human efforts. And God rewards the righteous person for his efforts by easing and simplifying the external circumstances of his life so that the righteous person can devote more time and attention to his religious life. After all, the more time he has left for fulfilling his religious duties, the more good deeds he will manage to do for God, reaching an even greater degree of righteousness.

The prophet, however, speaks about something else. He understands perfectly well that a person's righteousness is worth nothing without God's support: it is enough for God to turn away, to "hide His face," and all human righteousness scatters like smoke (vv. 6-7). The Hebrew text of v. 7 implies just this meaning: where the Russian text has "therefore," the Hebrew text has "because."

Such an understanding of righteousness ran counter to established views. It made human righteousness only a shadow of God's righteousness. But, on the other hand, only with this understanding of righteousness did the fate of the people of God become intelligible. God wanted His people in His hands to be like clay in the hands of a potter (v. 8). Yet achieving such complete obedience from the people was far from simple. They had to pass through a historical catastrophe in order not only to understand in words, but also to feel in reality their absolute dependence on God. And only now, when the lesson had been given and learned, could they ask God to intervene (vv. 9-12). For the people had truly become different, and the plea for help meant help for this different, new people, a people ready to take the next step on the path to the Kingdom.

Hide
 
For Isa 64:1-12
1 Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,
2 As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!
3 When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.
4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
5 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
9 Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
10 Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste.
12 Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O LORD? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?
Hide
Perhaps it is in prayer that the essence of a person is revealed most deeply. In this prayer of Isaiah is the heart...  Read more

Perhaps it is in prayer that the essence of a person is revealed most deeply. In this prayer of Isaiah is the heart of an Old Testament prophet, a person standing at the very center of the whirlwind of Sacred History. It reflects every aspect of Old Testament revelation, but this is not abstract theology: it is prayer, a living relationship, a living impulse toward the Living God to whom this History is directed. Knowledge of God is not enough for the human heart; faith is not enough; hope is not enough. Yes, He is the Creator of the world, the lawgiver, the judge... but that is not enough: He is the Father who loves His children... yet even that is not enough—“Oh that You would rend the heavens and come down!”...

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