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NOTES for Isa 63:1-19

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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.
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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.

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
The nearness of God, and the nearness of the human person to God, is one of the most important themes of the prophetic message. If through Moses God gives a moral law and rules of worship for the right conduct of God's people and the right way to serve Him, then...  Read more

The nearness of God, and the nearness of the human person to God, is one of the most important themes of the prophetic message. If through Moses God gives a moral law and rules of worship for the right conduct of God's people and the right way to serve Him, then through the prophets revelation grows beyond these bounds. It becomes clear that God Himself surpasses the law He gave, showing mercy to those whom their own unfaithfulness has condemned to death, and that love for Him cannot be contained within the rules governing sacrifices.

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 — the agreement, the union that has now been broken — but also a Father for Whom His children remain His children.

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For Isa 63:16-17
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.
Hide
God gives us freedom so that we may love. Love is possible only when there is the frightening possibility of another choice — not to love, to refuse love. God loves us so much that we can refuse His love, and every time we sin, we turn away from Him and reject love. God created us pure and beautiful, in His image and...  Read more

God gives us freedom so that we may love. Love is possible only when there is the frightening possibility of another choice — not to love, to refuse love. God loves us so much that we can refuse His love, and every time we sin, we turn away from Him and reject love. God created us pure and beautiful, in His image and likeness. Sometimes we distort ourselves, seemingly beyond recognition, so that even our own family would not recognize us, or would not want to. "Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us" — that is, our father according to the flesh and our people — our brothers and sisters — do not recognize us. It is as though we become complete strangers to God... but no, His love is not like that. God is faithful; He does not change, and His love for us does not weaken. Even if we are so distorted that no human being can see God's image in us, God is still our Father, we are His children, He knows us by sight, He knows us by name, because He Himself gave us that name — our true being. He Himself breathed the Spirit of life into us. God believes in us, loves us, hopes that one day we will return to Him, and so this is always possible. Even if it seems that we have gone so far, changed so much that there is no longer any way back, God has already redeemed us; He comes out to meet us and leads us to Himself, to our true home, to the Kingdom where we will become children again — God's children — to the place where we will call Him our Father, to the place where we will learn to love.

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For Isa 63:1-64:12
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...  Read more

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.

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