ISAIAH 63

ISAIAH 63

THE DESTRUCTION OF EVIL

THE TRIUMPH OF GOD’S LOVE
AND FAITHFULNESS

NOTE: The next four chapters bring us to the immediate past, the present, and the future of “Re-formed” Israel (ten northern tribes), and include the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, but on an INDIVIDUAL basis ONLY.

The “NEW MAN”, the “NEW CREATURE”, the “HOLY CITY”, the “NEW JERUSALEM”, the “ISRAEL OF GOD” has no distinctions of rank or office. Every person who attains to that Glorious Estate will have attained it by the merits of Jesus Christ, and according to the COVENANT OF PROMISE given to Abraham on the Plains of Mamre 4000 years ago.

Obedience to the Gospel (Faith in Jesus Christ for the Salvation of our Soul) is the ONLY “RITE OF PASSAGE” into “THE SOCIETY OF THE REDEEMED”-- the CHURCH.

Israel had a perpetual enemy even before they were a nation. A seething hatred was developed in the heart of Esau after he sold his birthright to his twin brother Jacob.

Jacob trembled when he thought of meeting his brother Esau after 20 years absence in the land of Padanaram with Uncle Laban. In that time of crisis where “the rubber meets the road”, Jacob met a “man” who wrestled with him until the “break of day”, and he emerged the Victor. This is the essence of becoming an OVERCOMER.

The “wrestling” represented a complete renunciation of the “Jacob” nature of conniving and deception (we all have it), and a receiving of a new nature (one given by the Lord).

Please bear in mind that I BELIEVE that much of the language here is SYMBOLIC, and must be viewed as such.

Many, but maybe not all, of the references to Gods anger, His vengeance, destruction, and other terms, SEEM, to me, to be expressions of His displeasure with the INVENTIONS of man rather than with man himself.

The term “inventions” is an all-inclusive phrase for what the term “Babylon” entails. It is the archenemy of Spirituality. It is diametrically opposed to all forms of belief in and obedience to God.

Man builds mighty empires of Money, manufacturing, trade, learning, (the list is nearly endless). They are all the result of the best efforts of man, and have the same spirit that operates within the heart of man. COMPETITION, SUBJUGATION AND DOMINATION, are three of the many manifestations of that spirit we all take with us everywhere we go.

The Lord does not like it—even a little bit. It is the result of the disobedience of Adam.

So, in examining these last few chapters, let us try to bear in mind that God is NOT angry with the man He has created. Rather, He is determined to destroy those things that man has created, and that have turned on him and enslaved him in their merciless grip.

I can not make extensive comments on much of the material, for I DO NOT KNOW ALL THAT IS GOING ON TODAY AROUND THE WORLD.

Isa 63:1 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
Isa 63:2 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine vat?
Isa 63:3 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.
Isa 63:4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.

Ø Isa 11:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall SET HIS HAND AGAIN THE SECOND TIME TO RECOVER THE REMNANT OF HIS PEOPLE, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. (Seven aspects of man’s slavery to his own inventions)
Ø Isa 11:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Ø Isa 11:13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.

Isa 63:5 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.

Indeed, man COULD NOT HELP. They are powerless to save themselves.

Ø Isa 52:8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.
Ø Isa 52:9 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
Ø Isa 52:10 The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Isa 63:6 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.

Ø Rev 18:21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

The POWER MONGERS of the earth will watch their empires (Political, Religious and Financial) crumble and fall. They will stand and weep.

Ø Rev 18:8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
Ø Rev 18:9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication (divided allegiance) and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
Ø Rev 18:10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
Ø Rev 18:11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
Ø Rev 18:12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
Ø Rev 18:13 And cinnamon, and odors, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, AND SOULS OF MEN.

NOW, THE STUBBORN LOVE,
AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF OUR GOD

Isa 63:7 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.
Isa 63:8 For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Savior.
Isa 63:9 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 bore them, and carried them all the days of old.

Ø Isa 46:3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb:
Ø Isa 46:4 And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.

Isa 63:10 But they rebelled, and vexed his Holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
Isa 63:11 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?

Ø Lev 26:44 And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God.
Ø Lev 26:45 But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.

Isa 63:12 That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name?
Isa 63:13 That led them through the deep, as a horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?
Isa 63:14 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.

Ø 2Sa 7:22 Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
Ø 2Sa 7:23 And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?
Ø 2Sa 7:24 For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee forever: and thou, LORD, art become their God.

Isa 63:15 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?

The Prophet seems to plead with the Lord, reminding Him of His former compassions on the people of His Choosing. It is a very effective manner of intercessory prayer.

Isa 63:16 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.

It has now been over 4000 years since God made the Covenant of Promise to Abraham.

The Patriarchs are gone, but God remains. I believe He will hear us when we pray for Him to have mercy on the People of His Choosing.

Isa 63:17 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.

This sounds like the people (not a nation) of Judah and Benjamin turning from their blindness and rebellion, to acknowledge Jesus as “Him that cometh in the Name of the Lord.” That will be a wonderful day, and will mark the beginning of the Redemption of the Whole House of Israel.

Isa 63:18 The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.

The physical sanctuary (Temple of stone) has long been in decay and ruin. Different races of people are still fighting over the land. Each race (religion) claims that God gave it to them. IN REALITY, IT WAS ONLY A SYMBOL OF THE REAL HABITATION OF THE REDEEMED. It should rightfully be treated like the bird’s nest of last year. (Let ‘em fight over it!)

I submit to you that the CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD knows neither geographic boundaries nor location. IT IS DESTINED TO FILL THE WHOLE EARTH.

Ø Dan 2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image BECAME A GREAT MOUNTAIN, AND FILLED THE WHOLE EARTH.

Ø Isa 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
Ø Isa 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law (GOD’S NATURE), and the word (NEWS) of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Ø Hab 2:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Isa 63:19 We are thine: thou never didst bear rule over them; they were not called by thy name.