ISAIAH 63
OPENS WITH A PRAYER FROM CAPTIVITY & THE DAY OF VENGEANCE.
Verse 1 gives us a question and an answer: "Who is this?"
"Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, this One who is glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength?; "I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save."
Who is this who comes from Edom...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
This prophecy given ISAIAH by the Lord Jesus himself describes the day of the LORD's vengeance ULTIMATELY TO COME. He has come from Edom in the sense that He has judged there first, and now comes to the land of Israel. As the LORD arrives, He is glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength.
With dyed garments from Bozrah is also significant.
WHY?
Bozrah WAS IN ISAIAH'S day the capital city of ancient Edom, and "The important city of Bozrah is singled out because its name means 'grape-gathering.
AND HAVING STUDIED THE ENDTIMES PROPHECIES OF DANIEL, REVELATION, ZECHARIAH, AND OTHERS...
WE KNOW THE LORD GOD'S act of judgment against Edom is clearly conceived to be a putting right of the wrongs done to Zion, especially since the Edomites took advantage of Judah's weakness after the Fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians.
I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save...
This is the LORD's JESUS HIMSELF REPLYING to the question in the prophecy. He identifies Himself by what He says (I who speak in righteousness) and what He does (mighty to save). Even in the midst of judgment, in His glory and strength, He wants men to know He is mighty to save, not only mighty to judge.
Verses 2-6 gives us another question and an answer: "Why are Your clothes red?"
"Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? "I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, and trampled them in My fury; their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My robes. For the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. I looked, but there was no one to help, and I wondered that there was no one to uphold; therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; and My own fury, it sustained Me. I have trodden down the peoples in My anger, made them drunk in My fury, and brought down their strength to the earth."
Why is Your apparel red...
ALMIGHTY GOD THIS TIME SHOWS ISAIAH THE END-TIMES FUTURE. AND ISAIAH SEES THE RED SPLATTERED ROBES AND ASKS why the garment of the LORD is red.
AND ALMIGHTY GOD answers, "I have trodden the winepress alone … their blood is sprinkled upon My garments."
HIS PRECIOUS SON, JESUS CHRIST, IS ALMIGHTY GOD'S PRECIOUS, PRICELESS, PURE GARMENT.
This promise WILL BE fulfilled when Jesus returns to the earth AT THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON, and this passage is clearly behind passages like Revelation 19:13 and 15, which was confirmed and shown to John himself, which says,
"He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God … Now out of His mouth goes a sharp 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."
I have trodden the winepress alone reminds us that this work of judgment belongs to Jesus Christ and He alone.
AND WONDROUSLY, though THE OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS, THE CHURCH, & THE TRIBULATION'S MARTYRED SAINTS WILL COME WITH JESUS, AS WELL ALL HIS WARRIOR ANGELS FROM HEAVEN AS CONFIRMED TO US IN REVELATION 19:4
THE WORK OF DEFEATING AND AVENGING AND OF JUDGMENT THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY HAS PLACED IN HIS PRECIOUS SON'S HANDS ALONE.
AND WE SEE RIGHT HERE THAT THAT POINT is even emphasized by Isaiah...
From the peoples no one was with Me … My own arm brought salvation for Me; and My own fury, it sustained Me.
In God's great plan of the Ages, Jesus WILL accomplish two things alone.
FIRST, He atones for our sin ALONE.
HOW?
JESUS CHRIST ALONE hung on the cross.
JESUS CHRIST ALONE BORE the FULL WEIGHT of all our guilt.
SECOND, JESUS CHRIST HAS THE RIGHT AND THE AUTHORITY TO JUDGE THE WORLD ALONE.
God does not need us to execute His ultimate judgment; we leave that to Him AND HE PROMISES HIS PRECIOUS SON JESUS CHRIST WILL DO IT AS THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE, AMEN!?
SPURGEON says it well of this scripture, "You will hear one say, that such-and-such a good man was punished for his transgressions; and I have known believers think that their afflictions were punishments sent from God on account of their sins. The thing is impossible; God has punished us, who are his people, once for all in Christ, and he never will punish us again. He cannot do it, seeing he is a just God. Afflictions are chastisements from a Father's hand, but they are not judicial punishments. Jesus has trodden the wine-press, and he has trodden it alone: so we cannot tread it."
The day of vengeance is in My heart...
RIGHT HERE ARE JESUS WORDS...SHOWING US HIS HEART.
AND HE TELLS ISAIAH RIGHT HERE...THAT HE HAS FORGOTTEN NOTHING...
TOO MANY TIMES WE THINK...WHERE IS JESUS...WHY IS HE ALLOWING THIS? WHEN IS HE GOING TO AVENGE THE EVIL AROUND US AND IN THIS WORLD.
BUT RIGHT HERE....700+ YEARS BEFORE HE WAS EVER BORN IN A HUMBLE MANGER IN BETHLEHEM...JESUS REMINDS THOSE OF US WHO LOVE HIM AND CALL HIM LORD, SAVIOR, MASTER, AND FRIEND....
JUST AS JESUS TELLS JOHN IN REVELATION.....
HE AND ALMIGHTY GOD HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN ANYTHING...THAT WE WHO LOVE HIM HAVE FACED AND SUFFERED AT THE HANDS OF SATAN AND THE BLIND LOST DARK WORLD.
JESUS HAS REMEMBERED AND SAVED EVERY SINGLE TEAR HIS FAMILY HAS CRIED IN PURE GOLDEN BOWLS.
HE HAS SAVED AND REMEMBERS EVERY SINGLE DROP OF BLOOD SHED/LOST BY HIS FAMILY.
AND HE HAS REMEMBERED AND SAVED EVERY PRAYER AND EVERY HEART CRY EVER LIFTED TO HIM BY HIS FAMILY.
JESUS HAS AMAZING PATIENCE AND IS LONG-SUFFERING, BECAUSE HE WANTS NONE TO PERISH AND SPEND ETERNITY IN THE LAKE OF FIRE WITH SATAN....BUT HE NEVER FORGETS THE WRONGS DONE TO HIS FAMILY BY THOSE WHO REJECT HIS OFFER OF GRACE AND MERCY AND SALVATION.
AND ONE SWEET DAY...HIS RIGHTEOUS VENGEANCE WILL FALL UPON ALL THOSE WHO CHOSE AND CHOOSE TO REJECT, DISMISS, HIM AND HAVE DARED TO TOUCH HIS FAMILY...
These words, prophetically spoken by Jesus, sound almost foreign to us, don't they?
MOST TEACH AND THINK OF JESUS AS A GENTLE, HUMBLE TEACHER...AND HE WAS AND IS.
MOST TEACH AND THINK OF JESUS AS PATIENT, LONG-SUFFERING, AND WILLING TO HEAL AND FORGIVE ALL....AND HE WAS AND IS.
BUT IN PAINTINGS AND TALKS AND TEACHING....THEY FORGET TO REMEMBER THAT HE IS ALSO THE MIGHTY WARRIOR, THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE, THE PURE HIGH PRIEST, AND ONE DAY WITH A WORD...A BREATH FROM JESUS MOUTH THOSE AGAINST AND REJECTING OF HIM, OF ISRAEL, AND OF HIS FAMILY AND HIS FATHER...WILL BE DESTROYED WITH BUT ONE BREATH...ONE WORD!
We rarely think of vengeance being in the heart of Jesus, but JESUS HIMSELF PROMISED IT IN JOHN 5:22, which says, "The Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son."
And the year of My redeemed has come...
In this, Isaiah prophetically explains why the Messiah can say, "vengeance is in My heart." It isn't because God loves punishing sinners; but He does love vindicating His redeemed.
Notice also the comparison:
It is a mere day of vengeance, but an entire year of My redeemed. Each phrase is simply a poetic way of saying "time," but God fittingly uses the picture of a day in communicating His vengeance, and a year in expressing His grace.
AND MANY TIMES WE HEAR, WHY DOES JESUS ALLOW THOSE WHO LOVE HIM TO DIE, WHILE ALLOWING THE WICKED TO REMAIN LONGER ON THIS EARTH.
WE NEED TO REMEMBER THIS...JESUS HEART IS THAT NONE SHOULD PERISH...SO THE WICKED AND THE LOST...HE PATIENTLY TIME AND TIME AGAIN ALLOWS TO REMAIN GIVING THEM AMPLE TIME AND AMPLE OPPORTUNITY TO HIT THEIR KNEES, REPENT, AND CALL UPON JESUS NAME TO BE SAVED.
AND WE NEED TO REMEMBER THERE IS NO FEAR IN DEATH FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM....EARTHLY DEATH FOR THOSE WHO KNOW AND LOVE JESUS AND CALL HIM LORD, SAVIOR, MASTER, AND FRIEND IS A REWARD...NOT A PUNISHMENT.
THE WORLD AND SATAN SAY OTHERWISE...LOOK HE LOVED JESUS AND HE DIED...LOOK SHE LOVED JESUS AND WHAT DID IT PROFIT HER...SHE DIED...LOOK AT THE CHILDREN THAT WERE KILLED OR ALLOWED TO DIE...HOW CAN YOU CHOOSE A GOD SUCH AS THIS?
BUT WE WHO LOVE JESUS NEED TO REMEMBER THAT TO BE ABSENT FROM THE BODY IS TO BE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD...ALL THOSE UNBORN, THE BABIES, THE YOUNG CHILDREN, AND OUR JESUS LOVING MEN AND WOMEN WHO DIE SUDDENLY CLOSE THEIR EYES TO THIS LIFE...AND IN A FINGERSNAP OPEN THEM AGAIN TO SEE JESUS FACE....THEY ARE INSTANTLY IN HEAVEN AND ARE INSTANTLY TRANSFORMED INTO THEIR ETERNAL BODIES THAT NEVER HURT, NEVER LACK, NEVER AGE, NEVER FEAR, AND ARE NEVER SAD...
SO ALWAYS REMEMBER...EARTHLY DEATH FOR JESUS FAMILY IS A REWARD....NOT A PUNISHMENT, AMEN!?
Verses 7-14 tells us the EXILES prayer & his remembering the mercy and the might of the LORD.
"I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies, according to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses. For He said, "Surely they are My people, children who will not lie." So He became their Savior. 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. But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; so He turned Himself against them as an enemy, and He fought against them. Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying: "Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within them, who led them by the right hand of Moses, with His glorious arm, dividing the water before them to make for Himself an everlasting name, who led them through the deep, as a horse in the wilderness, that they might not stumble?" As a beast goes down into the valley, and the Spirit of the LORD causes him to rest, so You lead Your people, to make Yourself a glorious name."
I WILL mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD … according to all that the LORD has bestowed on us...
This prayer is prophetically placed in the mouth of one of Judah's Babylonian exiles. Despite the agony expressed later in the prayer, the praying one FIRST will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD. This is a glorious example of how, even in the lowest place, we can praise the LORD and remember His goodness.
Look at all that the troubled one has to thank God for:
great goodness … mercies … He became their Savior … His love … His pity … He bore them and carried them.
If this vocabulary of praise CAN COME FROM AN AFFLICTED ONE, what excuse can we have for not praising The Lord Jesus EVERY day?
AND DID YOU KNOW...
Lovingkindnesses "is the Hebrew word HESED, which means the love that is faithful to the covenant." It can also be translated "steadfast love." It is one of the GREAT words of the Old Testament, probably the closest Hebrew equivalent to the Greek word AGAPE.
Surely these are My people, children who will not lie...
DID YOU KNOW....The Hebrew word for LIE contains even more than our word. It was applied to a fountain, pit or brook that contained no water any more and so disappointed the thirsty person, and to a fruit tree that no longer yielded any fruit told to us in Habakkuk 3:17.
With this ONE significant word, the Lord meant to say that His people will NOT deceive and disappoint Him.
In all their affliction He was afflicted...
AND ONCE AGAIN WE LEARN SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT JESUS....AND HE AND HIS FATHER'S NATURE AND FEELINGS ABOUT US.
Isaiah knows the nature of OUR TRIUNE GOD; that in the afflictions of His people, He is afflicted also. JESUS CHRIST AND HIS FATHER ARE NOT dispassionate, unfeeling observers when His people suffer. He suffers with them when they are afflicted.
AND I CAN TELL YOU IN ALL HONESTY, EVEN AS A FLAWED PERSON, WHEN THOSE I LOVE, ESPECIALLY WHEN MY CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN, FRIENDS, AND FAMILY HURT, AND SUFFER....I SUFFER IN MY HEART RIGHT ALONG WITH THEM...SO HOW MUCH GREATER AND DEEPER IS OUR JESUS LOVE AND CARE FOR US WHO KNOW HIM AND CALL HIM LORD SAVIOR, MASTER, AND FRIEND?!
NEVER EVER DOUBT JESUS LOVE AND CARE FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US...
WHEN WE CRY...SO DOES JESUS...
WHEN WE ARE HURT...SO IS JESUS...
WHEN WE ARE MISTREATED...ABUSED...ABANDONED...JESUS WHO LOVES US BEYOND COMPREHENSION IS HURT TOO.
In all their affliction He was afflicted is another reason why anti-Semitism is so wicked. When the Jewish people are persecuted and afflicted, the LORD GOD, THE HUSBAND OF ISRAEL is afflicted also.
How tragic that institutional Christianity, IN OTHER WORDS, MAN-CREATED RELIGIOSITIES THAT GIVE A NOD TO GOD AND HIS WORD, WHILE TWISTING AND PERVERTING THE LORD'S WORD, NAME, HAVE DOWN THROUGH TIME, pretended to act in the name of Jesus, afflicted the LORD Himself by persecuting the Jewish people.
And the Angel of His Presence saved them...
This refers to the presence and work of Jesus among ancient Israel, especially among those delivered from Egypt.
The angel of His presence is the Messiah …
SOME wrongly teach this is just one of THE LORD'S ANGELS who serves...but we know FAR DIFFERENT.
ONCE AGAIN "THE" ARTICLE OF SPEECH IS VERY IMPORTANT, AND ANOTHER REASON I STAY WITH THE KJV BIBLE....BECAUSE THE ARTICLES OF GRAMMAR AND THE PREPOSITIONS ARE NOT CHANGED...SO WE CAN ALWAYS WHOM THE SCRIPTURES ARE REFERRING TOO.
But of this Angel it is said that He by His love and pity saved Israel; this can hardly be said of a created angel. It is ONLY ONE...IT CAN ONLY BE JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF, AMEN!?
AND ANOTHER CONFIRMING TRUTH AS TO WHO THE LORD IS SPEAKING ABOUT IS THIS...
"Angel of his presence....
LITERALLY MEANS THE ANGEL OF HIS FACE.
JUST AS WE RECOGNIZE PEOPLE BY THEIR FACE...
THERE IS BUT ONE HUMAN FACE OF ALMIGHTY GOD, AND THAT IS IN THE PERSON OF HIS SON JESUS CHRIST, AMEN!?
HIS FACE is the Lord's very one presence told to us in Psalm 139:7.
Among them in the person of his angel - that unique 'THE ANGEL OF THE LORD' spoken of in Genesis 16:7; 21:17; 22:11, 15 and in EXODUS 3:2; 14:19; 23:20-23; and in MALACHI 3:1 ARE ALL JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF.
But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit...
Despite this outpouring of love and mercy from God, His people responded with cold, rebellious, unresponsive hearts. God had to deal with this in His people, so He fought against them.
In these few verses, ISAIAH ONCE AGAIN hears from NOT ONE BUT ALL THREE VOICES OF OUR TRIUNE GOD....God the Father (My people, children who will not lie), God the Son (the Angel of His Presence), and God the Holy Spirit (His Holy Spirit).
THERE ARE VERY FEW TIMES WHEN ALL THREE PERSONS OF ALMIGHTY GOD ARE PRESENT AND SPEAK....AND THIS IS ONE OF THEM!
Then he remembered the days of old...
In the midst of the LORD's discipline - in this case, prophetically speaking, the Babylonians exile - the praying one remembered the days of old. He remembered the mighty hand of God in days of old, and knew that mighty hand could be raised again for His people.
Specifically, in this case, ISAIAH remembered what the LORD did in the days of Moses and the Exodus. Since now they were in a place of exile (Babylon), the story of God's deliverance from Egypt had special relevance.
The praying one wasn't there for the Exodus; he had to read about it in God's Word. But he saw how God's great works in the past had meaning right now.
JESUS SAYS HE CAN NOT LIE
JESUS SAYS HE DOES NOT CHANGE.
JESUS SAYS WHAT HE DID IN THE PAST, HE CAN AND WILL DO IN THE PRESENT.
SO FOR ISAIAH, JUST AS WITH US DURING TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS NEED TO REMEMBER WHAT OUR GOD DID AND PROMISED IN HIS WORD...HE WILL DO FOR US TOO, AMEN?!
As a horse in the wilderness … as a beast goes down into the valley...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Isaiah speaks of the ease of progress that Israel made during the Exodus, and how God will bless Israel again in their regathering and restoration. The result will be that the Spirit of the LORD causes him to rest.
As a horse in the wilderness should be understood in this sense: as a horse in open country. The idea is of unhindered, rapid progress. ISAIAH REMEMBERS THE ISRAELITES HAD NO PROBLEM AND NO TROUBLE IN CROSSING THE RED SEA...THEY CROSSED IT AS FREELY AND SWIFTLY, AND UNHINDERED AS A HORSE GIVEN FREE REIGN TO RUN WITH THE WIND!
Verses 15-19 tells us ISAIAH'S plea for restoration.
"Look down from heaven, and see from Your habitation, holy and glorious. Where are Your zeal and Your strength, the yearning of Your heart and Your mercies toward me? Are they restrained? Doubtless You are our Father, though Abraham was ignorant of us, and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O LORD, are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name. O LORD, why have You made us stray from Your ways, and hardened our heart from Your fear? Return for Your servants' sake, the tribes of Your inheritance. Your holy people have possessed it but a little while; our adversaries have trodden down Your sanctuary. We have become like those of old, over whom You never ruled, those who were never called by Your name."
Where are Your zeal and Your strength?
ISAIAH speaks honest words in the mouth in the praying one. Sometimes it feels that the zeal and the strength of the LORD are far away, and when we feel like that we should do just what ISAIAH did: cry out to God.
Return for Your servant's sake...
DID YOU KNOW THE WORD "RETURN" IS THE SAME ONE USED IN EZEKIEL 43:6-12...
BOTH ARE ASKING FOR AND PROPHESING the return of the shekinah glory to the temple as the symbol of God's dwelling among his people.
We have become like those of old, over whom You never ruled...
ISAIAH looks at the PRESENT condition of God's people, and cries out in agony. Why has God allowed this? ISAIAH KNOWS THE CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE IS NOT GOD'S FAULT.
ISAIAH, JUST LIKE WE TODAY, KNOW THAT THE WICKEDNESS AND CHOICES OF MANKIND HAVE ALWAYS BROUGHT ABOUT THE AGONY AND SUFFERING THEY ARE DEALING WITH.
YET ISAIAH, JUST AS OTHER PROPHETS DOWN THROUGH HISTORY, HAVE HIT THEIR KNEES AND PRAYED FOR FORGIVENESS, MERCY, AND RESTORATION FOR THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TURNED THEIR BACKS ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND CHOSEN SATAN AND THIS WORLD AND ALL IT OFFERS INSTEAD....AND HAVE PAID HEAVY PRICES FOR JUST REJECTIONS AND WRONG CHOICES.
ISAIAH 63OPENS WITH A PRAYER FROM CAPTIVITY & THE DAY OF VENGEANCE.Verse 1 gives us a question and an answer: "Who is this?""Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, this One who is glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength?; "I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save."Who is this who comes from Edom...WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?This prophecy given ISAIAH by the Lord Jesus himself describes the day of the LORD's vengeance ULTIMATELY TO COME. He has come from Edom in the sense that He has judged there first, and now comes to the land of Israel. As the LORD arrives, He is glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength.With dyed garments from Bozrah is also significant.WHY?Bozrah WAS IN ISAIAH'S day the capital city of ancient Edom, and "The important city of Bozrah is singled out because its name means 'grape-gathering.AND HAVING STUDIED THE ENDTIMES PROPHECIES OF DANIEL, REVELATION, ZECHARIAH, AND OTHERS...WE KNOW THE LORD GOD'S act of judgment against Edom is clearly conceived to be a putting right of the wrongs done to Zion, especially since the Edomites took advantage of Judah's weakness after the Fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians.I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save...This is the LORD's JESUS HIMSELF REPLYING to the question in the prophecy. He identifies Himself by what He says (I who speak in righteousness) and what He does (mighty to save). Even in the midst of judgment, in His glory and strength, He wants men to know He is mighty to save, not only mighty to judge.Verses 2-6 gives us another question and an answer: "Why are Your clothes red?""Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? "I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, and trampled them in My fury; their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My robes. For the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. I looked, but there was no one to help, and I wondered that there was no one to uphold; therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; and My own fury, it sustained Me. I have trodden down the peoples in My anger, made them drunk in My fury, and brought down their strength to the earth."Why is Your apparel red...ALMIGHTY GOD THIS TIME SHOWS ISAIAH THE END-TIMES FUTURE. AND ISAIAH SEES THE RED SPLATTERED ROBES AND ASKS why the garment of the LORD is red.AND ALMIGHTY GOD answers, "I have trodden the winepress alone … their blood is sprinkled upon My garments."HIS PRECIOUS SON, JESUS CHRIST, IS ALMIGHTY GOD'S PRECIOUS, PRICELESS, PURE GARMENT.This promise WILL BE fulfilled when Jesus returns to the earth AT THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON, and this passage is clearly behind passages like Revelation 19:13 and 15, which was confirmed and shown to John himself, which says,"He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God … Now out of His mouth goes a sharp 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."I have trodden the winepress alone reminds us that this work of judgment belongs to Jesus Christ and He alone.AND WONDROUSLY, though THE OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS, THE CHURCH, & THE TRIBULATION'S MARTYRED SAINTS WILL COME WITH JESUS, AS WELL ALL HIS WARRIOR ANGELS FROM HEAVEN AS CONFIRMED TO US IN REVELATION 19:4THE WORK OF DEFEATING AND AVENGING AND OF JUDGMENT THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY HAS PLACED IN HIS PRECIOUS SON'S HANDS ALONE.AND WE SEE RIGHT HERE THAT THAT POINT is even emphasized by Isaiah...From the peoples no one was with Me … My own arm brought salvation for Me; and My own fury, it sustained Me.In God's great plan of the Ages, Jesus WILL accomplish two things alone.FIRST, He atones for our sin ALONE.HOW?JESUS CHRIST ALONE hung on the cross.JESUS CHRIST ALONE BORE the FULL WEIGHT of all our guilt.SECOND, JESUS CHRIST HAS THE RIGHT AND THE AUTHORITY TO JUDGE THE WORLD ALONE.God does not need us to execute His ultimate judgment; we leave that to Him AND HE PROMISES HIS PRECIOUS SON JESUS CHRIST WILL DO IT AS THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE, AMEN!?SPURGEON says it well of this scripture, "You will hear one say, that such-and-such a good man was punished for his transgressions; and I have known believers think that their afflictions were punishments sent from God on account of their sins. The thing is impossible; God has punished us, who are his people, once for all in Christ, and he never will punish us again. He cannot do it, seeing he is a just God. Afflictions are chastisements from a Father's hand, but they are not judicial punishments. Jesus has trodden the wine-press, and he has trodden it alone: so we cannot tread it."The day of vengeance is in My heart...RIGHT HERE ARE JESUS WORDS...SHOWING US HIS HEART.AND HE TELLS ISAIAH RIGHT HERE...THAT HE HAS FORGOTTEN NOTHING...TOO MANY TIMES WE THINK...WHERE IS JESUS...WHY IS HE ALLOWING THIS? WHEN IS HE GOING TO AVENGE THE EVIL AROUND US AND IN THIS WORLD.BUT RIGHT HERE....700+ YEARS BEFORE HE WAS EVER BORN IN A HUMBLE MANGER IN BETHLEHEM...JESUS REMINDS THOSE OF US WHO LOVE HIM AND CALL HIM LORD, SAVIOR, MASTER, AND FRIEND....JUST AS JESUS TELLS JOHN IN REVELATION.....HE AND ALMIGHTY GOD HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN ANYTHING...THAT WE WHO LOVE HIM HAVE FACED AND SUFFERED AT THE HANDS OF SATAN AND THE BLIND LOST DARK WORLD.JESUS HAS REMEMBERED AND SAVED EVERY SINGLE TEAR HIS FAMILY HAS CRIED IN PURE GOLDEN BOWLS.HE HAS SAVED AND REMEMBERS EVERY SINGLE DROP OF BLOOD SHED/LOST BY HIS FAMILY.AND HE HAS REMEMBERED AND SAVED EVERY PRAYER AND EVERY HEART CRY EVER LIFTED TO HIM BY HIS FAMILY.JESUS HAS AMAZING PATIENCE AND IS LONG-SUFFERING, BECAUSE HE WANTS NONE TO PERISH AND SPEND ETERNITY IN THE LAKE OF FIRE WITH SATAN....BUT HE NEVER FORGETS THE WRONGS DONE TO HIS FAMILY BY THOSE WHO REJECT HIS OFFER OF GRACE AND MERCY AND SALVATION.AND ONE SWEET DAY...HIS RIGHTEOUS VENGEANCE WILL FALL UPON ALL THOSE WHO CHOSE AND CHOOSE TO REJECT, DISMISS, HIM AND HAVE DARED TO TOUCH HIS FAMILY...These words, prophetically spoken by Jesus, sound almost foreign to us, don't they?MOST TEACH AND THINK OF JESUS AS A GENTLE, HUMBLE TEACHER...AND HE WAS AND IS.MOST TEACH AND THINK OF JESUS AS PATIENT, LONG-SUFFERING, AND WILLING TO HEAL AND FORGIVE ALL....AND HE WAS AND IS.BUT IN PAINTINGS AND TALKS AND TEACHING....THEY FORGET TO REMEMBER THAT HE IS ALSO THE MIGHTY WARRIOR, THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE, THE PURE HIGH PRIEST, AND ONE DAY WITH A WORD...A BREATH FROM JESUS MOUTH THOSE AGAINST AND REJECTING OF HIM, OF ISRAEL, AND OF HIS FAMILY AND HIS FATHER...WILL BE DESTROYED WITH BUT ONE BREATH...ONE WORD!We rarely think of vengeance being in the heart of Jesus, but JESUS HIMSELF PROMISED IT IN JOHN 5:22, which says, "The Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son."And the year of My redeemed has come...In this, Isaiah prophetically explains why the Messiah can say, "vengeance is in My heart." It isn't because God loves punishing sinners; but He does love vindicating His redeemed.Notice also the comparison:It is a mere day of vengeance, but an entire year of My redeemed. Each phrase is simply a poetic way of saying "time," but God fittingly uses the picture of a day in communicating His vengeance, and a year in expressing His grace.AND MANY TIMES WE HEAR, WHY DOES JESUS ALLOW THOSE WHO LOVE HIM TO DIE, WHILE ALLOWING THE WICKED TO REMAIN LONGER ON THIS EARTH.WE NEED TO REMEMBER THIS...JESUS HEART IS THAT NONE SHOULD PERISH...SO THE WICKED AND THE LOST...HE PATIENTLY TIME AND TIME AGAIN ALLOWS TO REMAIN GIVING THEM AMPLE TIME AND AMPLE OPPORTUNITY TO HIT THEIR KNEES, REPENT, AND CALL UPON JESUS NAME TO BE SAVED.AND WE NEED TO REMEMBER THERE IS NO FEAR IN DEATH FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM....EARTHLY DEATH FOR THOSE WHO KNOW AND LOVE JESUS AND CALL HIM LORD, SAVIOR, MASTER, AND FRIEND IS A REWARD...NOT A PUNISHMENT.THE WORLD AND SATAN SAY OTHERWISE...LOOK HE LOVED JESUS AND HE DIED...LOOK SHE LOVED JESUS AND WHAT DID IT PROFIT HER...SHE DIED...LOOK AT THE CHILDREN THAT WERE KILLED OR ALLOWED TO DIE...HOW CAN YOU CHOOSE A GOD SUCH AS THIS?BUT WE WHO LOVE JESUS NEED TO REMEMBER THAT TO BE ABSENT FROM THE BODY IS TO BE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD...ALL THOSE UNBORN, THE BABIES, THE YOUNG CHILDREN, AND OUR JESUS LOVING MEN AND WOMEN WHO DIE SUDDENLY CLOSE THEIR EYES TO THIS LIFE...AND IN A FINGERSNAP OPEN THEM AGAIN TO SEE JESUS FACE....THEY ARE INSTANTLY IN HEAVEN AND ARE INSTANTLY TRANSFORMED INTO THEIR ETERNAL BODIES THAT NEVER HURT, NEVER LACK, NEVER AGE, NEVER FEAR, AND ARE NEVER SAD...SO ALWAYS REMEMBER...EARTHLY DEATH FOR JESUS FAMILY IS A REWARD....NOT A PUNISHMENT, AMEN!?Verses 7-14 tells us the EXILES prayer & his remembering the mercy and the might of the LORD."I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies, according to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses. For He said, "Surely they are My people, children who will not lie." So He became their Savior. 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. But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; so He turned Himself against them as an enemy, and He fought against them. Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying: "Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within them, who led them by the right hand of Moses, with His glorious arm, dividing the water before them to make for Himself an everlasting name, who led them through the deep, as a horse in the wilderness, that they might not stumble?" As a beast goes down into the valley, and the Spirit of the LORD causes him to rest, so You lead Your people, to make Yourself a glorious name."I WILL mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD … according to all that the LORD has bestowed on us...This prayer is prophetically placed in the mouth of one of Judah's Babylonian exiles. Despite the agony expressed later in the prayer, the praying one FIRST will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD. This is a glorious example of how, even in the lowest place, we can praise the LORD and remember His goodness.Look at all that the troubled one has to thank God for:great goodness … mercies … He became their Savior … His love … His pity … He bore them and carried them.If this vocabulary of praise CAN COME FROM AN AFFLICTED ONE, what excuse can we have for not praising The Lord Jesus EVERY day?AND DID YOU KNOW...Lovingkindnesses "is the Hebrew word HESED, which means the love that is faithful to the covenant." It can also be translated "steadfast love." It is one of the GREAT words of the Old Testament, probably the closest Hebrew equivalent to the Greek word AGAPE.Surely these are My people, children who will not lie...DID YOU KNOW....The Hebrew word for LIE contains even more than our word. It was applied to a fountain, pit or brook that contained no water any more and so disappointed the thirsty person, and to a fruit tree that no longer yielded any fruit told to us in Habakkuk 3:17.With this ONE significant word, the Lord meant to say that His people will NOT deceive and disappoint Him.In all their affliction He was afflicted...AND ONCE AGAIN WE LEARN SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT JESUS....AND HE AND HIS FATHER'S NATURE AND FEELINGS ABOUT US.Isaiah knows the nature of OUR TRIUNE GOD; that in the afflictions of His people, He is afflicted also. JESUS CHRIST AND HIS FATHER ARE NOT dispassionate, unfeeling observers when His people suffer. He suffers with them when they are afflicted.AND I CAN TELL YOU IN ALL HONESTY, EVEN AS A FLAWED PERSON, WHEN THOSE I LOVE, ESPECIALLY WHEN MY CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN, FRIENDS, AND FAMILY HURT, AND SUFFER....I SUFFER IN MY HEART RIGHT ALONG WITH THEM...SO HOW MUCH GREATER AND DEEPER IS OUR JESUS LOVE AND CARE FOR US WHO KNOW HIM AND CALL HIM LORD SAVIOR, MASTER, AND FRIEND?!NEVER EVER DOUBT JESUS LOVE AND CARE FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US...WHEN WE CRY...SO DOES JESUS...WHEN WE ARE HURT...SO IS JESUS...WHEN WE ARE MISTREATED...ABUSED...ABANDONED...JESUS WHO LOVES US BEYOND COMPREHENSION IS HURT TOO.In all their affliction He was afflicted is another reason why anti-Semitism is so wicked. When the Jewish people are persecuted and afflicted, the LORD GOD, THE HUSBAND OF ISRAEL is afflicted also.How tragic that institutional Christianity, IN OTHER WORDS, MAN-CREATED RELIGIOSITIES THAT GIVE A NOD TO GOD AND HIS WORD, WHILE TWISTING AND PERVERTING THE LORD'S WORD, NAME, HAVE DOWN THROUGH TIME, pretended to act in the name of Jesus, afflicted the LORD Himself by persecuting the Jewish people.And the Angel of His Presence saved them...This refers to the presence and work of Jesus among ancient Israel, especially among those delivered from Egypt.The angel of His presence is the Messiah …SOME wrongly teach this is just one of THE LORD'S ANGELS who serves...but we know FAR DIFFERENT.ONCE AGAIN "THE" ARTICLE OF SPEECH IS VERY IMPORTANT, AND ANOTHER REASON I STAY WITH THE KJV BIBLE....BECAUSE THE ARTICLES OF GRAMMAR AND THE PREPOSITIONS ARE NOT CHANGED...SO WE CAN ALWAYS WHOM THE SCRIPTURES ARE REFERRING TOO.But of this Angel it is said that He by His love and pity saved Israel; this can hardly be said of a created angel. It is ONLY ONE...IT CAN ONLY BE JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF, AMEN!?AND ANOTHER CONFIRMING TRUTH AS TO WHO THE LORD IS SPEAKING ABOUT IS THIS..."Angel of his presence....LITERALLY MEANS THE ANGEL OF HIS FACE.JUST AS WE RECOGNIZE PEOPLE BY THEIR FACE...THERE IS BUT ONE HUMAN FACE OF ALMIGHTY GOD, AND THAT IS IN THE PERSON OF HIS SON JESUS CHRIST, AMEN!?HIS FACE is the Lord's very one presence told to us in Psalm 139:7.Among them in the person of his angel - that unique 'THE ANGEL OF THE LORD' spoken of in Genesis 16:7; 21:17; 22:11, 15 and in EXODUS 3:2; 14:19; 23:20-23; and in MALACHI 3:1 ARE ALL JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF.But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit...Despite this outpouring of love and mercy from God, His people responded with cold, rebellious, unresponsive hearts. God had to deal with this in His people, so He fought against them.In these few verses, ISAIAH ONCE AGAIN hears from NOT ONE BUT ALL THREE VOICES OF OUR TRIUNE GOD....God the Father (My people, children who will not lie), God the Son (the Angel of His Presence), and God the Holy Spirit (His Holy Spirit).THERE ARE VERY FEW TIMES WHEN ALL THREE PERSONS OF ALMIGHTY GOD ARE PRESENT AND SPEAK....AND THIS IS ONE OF THEM!Then he remembered the days of old...In the midst of the LORD's discipline - in this case, prophetically speaking, the Babylonians exile - the praying one remembered the days of old. He remembered the mighty hand of God in days of old, and knew that mighty hand could be raised again for His people.Specifically, in this case, ISAIAH remembered what the LORD did in the days of Moses and the Exodus. Since now they were in a place of exile (Babylon), the story of God's deliverance from Egypt had special relevance.The praying one wasn't there for the Exodus; he had to read about it in God's Word. But he saw how God's great works in the past had meaning right now.JESUS SAYS HE CAN NOT LIEJESUS SAYS HE DOES NOT CHANGE.JESUS SAYS WHAT HE DID IN THE PAST, HE CAN AND WILL DO IN THE PRESENT.SO FOR ISAIAH, JUST AS WITH US DURING TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS NEED TO REMEMBER WHAT OUR GOD DID AND PROMISED IN HIS WORD...HE WILL DO FOR US TOO, AMEN?!As a horse in the wilderness … as a beast goes down into the valley...WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?Isaiah speaks of the ease of progress that Israel made during the Exodus, and how God will bless Israel again in their regathering and restoration. The result will be that the Spirit of the LORD causes him to rest.As a horse in the wilderness should be understood in this sense: as a horse in open country. The idea is of unhindered, rapid progress. ISAIAH REMEMBERS THE ISRAELITES HAD NO PROBLEM AND NO TROUBLE IN CROSSING THE RED SEA...THEY CROSSED IT AS FREELY AND SWIFTLY, AND UNHINDERED AS A HORSE GIVEN FREE REIGN TO RUN WITH THE WIND!Verses 15-19 tells us ISAIAH'S plea for restoration."Look down from heaven, and see from Your habitation, holy and glorious. Where are Your zeal and Your strength, the yearning of Your heart and Your mercies toward me? Are they restrained? Doubtless You are our Father, though Abraham was ignorant of us, and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O LORD, are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name. O LORD, why have You made us stray from Your ways, and hardened our heart from Your fear? Return for Your servants' sake, the tribes of Your inheritance. Your holy people have possessed it but a little while; our adversaries have trodden down Your sanctuary. We have become like those of old, over whom You never ruled, those who were never called by Your name."Where are Your zeal and Your strength?ISAIAH speaks honest words in the mouth in the praying one. Sometimes it feels that the zeal and the strength of the LORD are far away, and when we feel like that we should do just what ISAIAH did: cry out to God.Return for Your servant's sake...DID YOU KNOW THE WORD "RETURN" IS THE SAME ONE USED IN EZEKIEL 43:6-12...BOTH ARE ASKING FOR AND PROPHESING the return of the shekinah glory to the temple as the symbol of God's dwelling among his people.We have become like those of old, over whom You never ruled...ISAIAH looks at the PRESENT condition of God's people, and cries out in agony. Why has God allowed this? ISAIAH KNOWS THE CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE IS NOT GOD'S FAULT.ISAIAH, JUST LIKE WE TODAY, KNOW THAT THE WICKEDNESS AND CHOICES OF MANKIND HAVE ALWAYS BROUGHT ABOUT THE AGONY AND SUFFERING THEY ARE DEALING WITH.YET ISAIAH, JUST AS OTHER PROPHETS DOWN THROUGH HISTORY, HAVE HIT THEIR KNEES AND PRAYED FOR FORGIVENESS, MERCY, AND RESTORATION FOR THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TURNED THEIR BACKS ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND CHOSEN SATAN AND THIS WORLD AND ALL IT OFFERS INSTEAD....AND HAVE PAID HEAVY PRICES FOR JUST REJECTIONS AND WRONG CHOICES.