Isaiah 63

Isaiah 63:1

Isaiah: God controls the nations God’s promises to his special people An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on Isaiah chapters 58 to 66 www.easyenglish.info Norman Hillyer This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 63 The *Lord’s judgement against the nations v1 Someone is coming from the country called Edom (the name means ‘red’). He comes from Edom’s capital called Bozrah. He is wearing magnificent red clothes. He is very powerful. He is marching along with power and strength.

‘It is I, your *Lord. I am coming to announce complete victory (success). Because of my great power, I have saved you.’

v2 Someone asks why his clothes are all red. They are like the clothes of someone who has been stepping heavily on *grapes to make wine.

v3 The *Lord replies: ‘I have in fact stepped as men step heavily on *grapes. But I acted alone. In my great anger I stepped heavily on my enemies, as if they were *grapes. It is their blood that you see on my clothes.

v4 I selected the day for judgement, when I rescue my people from their enemies. v5 I looked in vain for somebody to come to help me. It astonished me that nobody supported me. So my strong arm alone won the battle. Alone I carried out judgement. My fierce anger made me strong. v6 In my great anger I stepped heavily on the wicked nations. I caused them to become drunks. They trembled greatly and fell to the ground. Their blood poured out upon the earth.’

Verses 1-6

These verses paint an impressive picture of God’s punishment for the country called Edom (see Isaiah, chapter 34).

Verse 1

Edom was the name of the country to the south-east of the Dead Sea. But the Bible often uses the name ‘Edom’ as a word picture, to describe the nations that do not obey God.

Verse 3

This picture of *Messiah’s action appears again in Revelation 19:11-18.

Verse 5

God often uses people to carry out his purposes. But the great God, who has all power, does not actually need human help. What surprises God is his people’s failure to understand the reason for his direct action. (‘Direct action’ means the action that he carries out himself, without any agent.)

 God’s special people have still not realised the purpose of their special relationship with the *Lord. He did not choose them merely for their own comfortable benefit. His people should be an active witness to all the other nations. They should show to the other nations the behaviour that the holy God orders. The *Lord’s goodness to his people v7 I will gladly tell of the kind-hearted acts of the *Lord. That is, all his generous deeds for us who are his people. I remember with joy his great kindness on our behalf. I remember his goodness and love in all that he has done. v8 The *Lord said, ‘These people belong to me. I chose them. They will not again neglect to be loyal to me.’ v9 So the *Lord saved them from all their trouble and pain. And the *Lord was himself their Rescuer. He did not send someone to act on his behalf. The *Lord came personally to save them. In his love he pitied them, so he rescued them. He had always taken care of them in the past.

v10 But the *Lord’s people again turned away from him. That made his Holy Spirit sad. So the *Lord turned against them. And he attacked them as their enemy. v11 Then the people remembered what had happened in the past when Moses was their leader. That was the time when the *Lord brought his people safely through the sea. And then the *Lord placed his Holy Spirit among them. v12 God’s great power made a path through the sea in front of them.

So they saw the power of God’s strong arm as Moses raised his hand. God did this so that he (God) would always deserve fame and honour. v13 The *Lord led them through the deep sea. And like powerful horses they did not trip on the way. v14 Then the Spirit of the *Lord gave them rest, just as a farmer’s animals find rest in a quiet valley. The *Lord guided his people perfectly. And he brought great honour to his name.

Verses 7-9

Isaiah is speaking on behalf of God’s people. They can look back in their history and remember the *Lord’s many kind-hearted acts.

 In the original language, ‘kind-hearted’ translates a word that means ‘*covenant love’. The *Lord acts in this kind manner because of the *covenant that he made with the *Israelites (see Exodus chapter 24). This serious agreement established a strong relation between the *Lord and his people.

Verse 10

The *Lord’s hope in verse 8 was again in vain (see Psalms 106:40-43).

Verses 11-13

God’s choice of Moses as leader was plain to everybody (see Exodus chapter 14). But the purpose of Moses’ leadership was not to give fame to Moses. It was the *Lord who was Israel’s real leader. And Moses simply acted as the *Lord’s agent.

Verse 14

The *Lord’s gift to his people of a peaceful life came with the promise of a land of their own (see Deuteronomy 12:10). A prayer for sympathy and help v15 *Lord, look at us from heaven! Look down from your high and holy place where you live in *glory. Show us that you still care. Show us your power to help. Show us again your love and sympathy. Do not leave us alone without you. v16 In any case, you are still our Father. Even if Abraham and Jacob would not recognise us as genuine relatives, you would still be our Father. ‘Our Rescuer’ has been your name from ancient times.

v17 But *Lord, you have allowed us to live in a manner that does not please you. We are like travellers that have wandered from the right path. You have made us unwilling to respect you. Our hearts seem hard, like stones, because they are so unwilling to give you honour. Come back again to us, because we are your servants. We are the people who belong to you. v18 We possessed *Jerusalem for such a short time. Now our enemies have destroyed both the city and your holy *Temple. v19 For a long time now, you have been acting towards us as if we had never been your people.

Verse 16

The people’s relation with the *Lord in Isaiah’s day is not the relation that their *ancestors would have recognised.

 To use the two personal names, Abraham and Jacob (Abraham’s grandson), is a convenient way to refer to *ancestors in general. *Ancestors lived long ago, so they would not be aware of the people’s present situation. No *ancestor could act as a father and give them help. But God is much more wonderful than any human *ancestor. Through the centuries, he has continued to act as ‘our Father’.

 The *Lord’s promise always to be ‘Our Rescuer’ to his special people was an ancient promise. God made this promise at the time of Moses (see Deuteronomy 30:1-3). The *Lord rescued his people from Egypt (see Exodus 12:42). And later, he rescued them from Babylon (see Isaiah 11:11; Zechariah 10:9-10). God will never die. So God’s people can always trust him to be their Father, and he will help them.

Verse 17

The people may seem to be blaming God for their troubles. Such an attitude is not uncommon in the *Old Testament. People considered that God was the cause of even bad events (see Job 2:10; Amos 3:6). But at the same time, Isaiah’s people did realise their own failures (see Isaiah 64:6-7).

 We think it impossible to hold opposite opinions at the same time. But see the struggle between God and the Pharaoh (king of Egypt) in Exodus chapters 10 and 11. Many times God makes the king’s heart hard (see, for example, Exodus 10:1). But many times the king makes his own heart hard (see, for example, Exodus 10:11). (A ‘hard heart’ means attitudes that are unwilling to change. It is as if the person’s heart has become like stone, without normal feelings or reactions.)

Clearly, the people are praying this prayer because they are desperate. They have remembered how the *Lord acted to save their nation in the past. And now they need his help again. So they confess their wrong attitudes. And they urge him to rescue them.

Verse 19

God may seem to have cancelled his choice of the *Israelites as his special people. But God has not changed. If his people return to him, he will return to them (see Malachi 3:6-7).

© 2007, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

October 2007

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var w13 = new Array;w13[0]=’<b%3ELord</b%3E ~ God’s name in the Bible. In the original language, God’s names mean ‘head over all’ and ‘God always’.’;w13[1]=’<b%3Egrapes</b%3E ~ small sweet fruit of the vine; the fruit makes wine.