Isaiah Chapter 63 Verse 1

· This chapter speaks of what the Bible describes as the “Day of Vengeance,” which isn’t just a single day but rather a pre-appointed prophesied time where judgement is dealt to a Christ-rejecting world, the time of The Great Tribulation.

· Isaiah speaks of one coming through and from Edom with dyed garments from Bozrah. Edom in the scriptures is a picture of the world and Bozrah (modern day Petra) was its capital. The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, the firstborn son of Isaac and the twin brother of Jacob. And throughout the Bible there is a duality between Israel, the people of God, and Edom, the people of the world.

· So, this picture in this chapter is a Man coming through and from Edom with dyed garments from Bozrah. “Bozrah” literally means “grape gathering.” Which gives us and the Jewish reader the understanding (as well as the verses yet to come in this chapter) that the vision is of garments stained in a deep crimson red… Traveling in the greatness of His strength…. Speaking in righteousness, mighty to save. It is clear that this is the introduction of the work of judgement upon the earth by the King of kings Himself…

· And I just want to mention this… Even in the midst of intense consequence upon the world, notice Jesus proclaims Himself mighty to save…, not mighty to judge. Even to the end, the arm of the Lord is extended to anyone who would turn to Him…

Isaiah Chapter 63 Verses 2 – 6

· This could sound harsh but if you know the Lord, this reads full of grace and led in love. The winepress is definitely speaking of the nations as Jesus refers to them as “them,” (the winepress that is). And He says that He has trodden them in His anger and fury… sounds harsh. It’s not. His anger and fury are not against the persons. God so loved the WORLD that He gave His only Son… His anger and fury are against the darkness that is in the heart of man that defiles His bride, blasphemes His Father and ruins His people…

· Let me give you a weak worldly example to hopefully explain a bit more of what I just said… If there was a man, bigger than my daughter, stronger than her, far more powerful physically than her… and his intention was to destroy her, I would stop him even if I lost my life in the struggle. With the same love and responsibility I have towards her, I would engage all of that in this war with her attacker… Fury, anger, all of it… Why? Not necessarily because he is a threat. There are threats everywhere…, but because of his explicit intention to harm that which I love so dearly…

· Now, same man…, and his intention was to protect her. To make sure she was ok and to provide for her. I would rejoice! So, you see my hate and anger and fury and war against him is not against him at all but against his relation to my daughter. Likewise, God loves the world and yet fully intends to utterly destroy with great wrath and vengeance the darkness contained therein, even the men and women that have merged themselves with that darkness…

· And so, I read these verses and my heart wells up… And the world calls that hate. Of course they do, He’s not their Father…, He’s mine… And He has done the work of redemption and He will do the work of judgement ALL on His own… He doesn’t need me for either!

Isaiah Chapter 63 Verses 7 – 9

· Don’t miss that character trait of the Lord…, “In all their affliction He was afflicted…” We serve a God that not only understands your pain, He feels it right along with you! Qualifies Him to comfort you like no other…

· And, twice in these verses we see Isaiah speak of the lovingkindnesses of God. Not only is that word wonderful enough in the English, in the Hebrew it’s scandalous. And I want you to know this is God’s heart for you. Forgetting transgression, forgiving sin, awarding where there is no merit on your own…, this word in the Hebrew means lovingkindness and goodness and consistency in faithfulness, and in other places in the Bible it means wickedness! God’s love for me gets all the way to the line of absolutely outrageous… That’s who He is…

· This is the Hebrew word “hesed” which is the closest Old Testament equivalent to the Greek word agape. This is love that is faithful to a covenant… And that can certainly be outrageous and scandalous…

Isaiah Chapter 63 Verses 10 – 14

· Remembering the goodness of God in a season of trial and even consequence is important. And Isaiah makes a clear distinction between the Person of the Father and the Person of the Holy Spirit in these verses, as Isaiah says that God, “put His Holy Spirit within them.” A good and needed reminder for me as well that I didn’t earn the presence of God in my life through right living or being a good person but that God sovereignly, according to His covenant through Jesus, He is the one who has saved me…

Isaiah Chapter 63 Verses 15 – 16

· THIS is the call and cry of the faithful! I love this! No doubt Isaiah’s words are loaded with frustration, failure, and affliction…, and yet He knows…, can’t mute this fact or escape this truth, He knows that God is good and God’s mercy and grace and love are not restrained! He trusts that even in the time of intense hardship and adversity that God is working and He yet trusts in the heart of God!!

Isaiah Chapter 63 Verses 17 – 19

· Check this out, and thus ends the period of The Great Tribulation! Check out verse 1 of the next prophetic chapter! “Rend the heavens!” Precisely what Jesus will do as He returns to claim His right reward in Revelation 19!

· Revelation 19 verses 11 – 16, “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a harp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”