“Who is this coming from Edom in crimson-stained garments from Bozrah — this One who is splendid in His apparel, rising up proudly in His great might? It is I, proclaiming vindication, powerful to save. Why are Your clothes red, and Your garments like one who treads a winepress? I trampled the winepress alone, and no one from the nations was with Me. I trampled them in My anger and ground them underfoot in My fury; their blood spattered My garments, and all My clothes were stained… I will make known the Lord’s faithful love and the Lord’s praiseworthy acts, because of all the Lord has done for us — even the many good things He has done for the house of Israel and has done for them based on His compassion and the abundance of His faithful love. He said, “They are indeed My people, children who will not be disloyal,” and He became their Savior.” (Isaiah 63:1-3, 7-8 HCSB)
Things are never as simple or as easy as they seem, are they? Something always seems to get into the mix and make it more complicated. I like simple things because I am a simple man. When things get complicated, I just reduce it down to the basics and then I can deal with it. But God is not simple. He’s infinitely complex and beyond our ability to fully understand. Thankfully, He has revealed Himself to us in ways that we can understand. He uses language, images, ideas and experiences to express Himself and His will for us. But even those can be complicated and difficult to grasp. This week, we encounter one of those expressions or pictures of Himself and His will that is complicated and difficult to fully understand. It will be challenging at times, but stay with me. I think it will be well worth your effort.
Last week, we looked at the previous passage regarding the watchmen that God has appointed to stand atop the city walls to watch and alert the residents to impending attacks or dangers. Those watchmen were to be diligent and persistent in their cries of alarm to the people of God and in prayer to God on behalf of His people. In this week’s focal passage, we hear from the resident watchman of the holy city, Zion. As he stands atop the city wall, he sees someone approaching. “Who is this coming from Edom in crimson-stained garments from Bozrah — this One who is splendid in His apparel, rising up proudly in His great might?” While I didn’t include the entire passage (Is. 63:1-14) above, I would encourage you to go read it in its entirety.
First, it is vitally important to understand and unpack who he sees, what He is wearing and from where He comes. Let’s start where Isaiah starts and that’s with where He’s coming from, Edom and Bozrah. The nation of Edom and its capital, Bozrah, are references to Isaac’s twin brother, Esau (see Gen. 25-33) and his descendants who constitute the nation of Edom. Esau and, by extension, Edom and its people are seen as anyone who has rejected God’s authority, His covenant, and His rule over their lives. So, he sees someone who is returning from an encounter with those who have rejected God and His kingdom rule over their lives.
What is He wearing? From a distance, the watchman notices how magnificent and majestic the figure is dressed. There’s some word play occurring that’s lost in the English translation that adds to the garment’s description. Esau/Edom are words that come from the Hebrew word for the color red (see Gen. 25:25). The term Bozrah, the capital city of Edom, is the word for vintage/vineyard and that also adds to the color reference and will come into play in the following verses. For now, just note that the figure is dressed in a way that highlights His magnificence and His majesty.
Then the watchman notes the distant figure’s stride and His strength. He is striding with confidence and strength, but not just human strength or might. There is an emphasis on great, unyielding, and limitless strength. The one who is approaching the holy city is someone of unimaginable strength and power, dressed in majestic clothing and striding with confidence, purpose and intent. But who is it? The final verses of the previous chapter tell us, He is the one who brings our salvation! He responds, “It is I, proclaiming vindication, powerful to save.” This is where things begin to get difficult, so pay close attention.
God is love and He loves us deeply, that’s clearly stated in scripture. But God is so much more than just love. He is very complex, like you and I but even more so. He reveals Himself to us through His Word, His written word and His living Word. But before we get to the part about His love, we must first be confronted by His vengeance. His vengeance is hard for us to handle, but it is necessary. How can He be a God who is love and yet be a God who displays vengeance? Because He is infinitely complex, absolutely holy and completely just. I mentioned a few weeks back, for God to be just requires that injustice must be judged and condemned. His vengeance is a necessary part of His perfect justness. Even in our broken world and from our selfish perspective, we would expect nothing less.
The watchman then asks why His clothes are red, like someone who treads a winepress. His answer is both awesome and terrifying; His splendid and majestic clothing is stained red by the blood of the victims from His vengeance. I suspect some of you may be hung up on how God is perfect love while being wholly just and willing to exercise judgment and vengeance on unbelieving nations. I am going to defer to Jesus’ response: “He said to him, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.’” (Matthew 22:37-40 HCSB)
Everything we find in the law and in the prophets rests upon (is built up from) those two commandments. They are the foundation for everything else we find in the scripture. Most people like to pretend that God has no reason to judge them, to condemn their actions, or to execute His vengeance upon them. But the roots of faith are indelibly anchored in the soil of these two commandments. When we refuse or fail to love God in the manner that He deserves – above anyone or anything, then we are guilty of sin. Since it is the greatest command then failure results in the most egregious sin and the greatest condemnation. When the nations fail to bow in humble submission to their creator, He has every right and every responsibility to hold them accountable for their rebellion.
Perhaps I need to bring this a little closer to home for us. When you and I fail or refuse to submit ourselves to God’s authority and His right to reign in and over our lives, then we are also guilty of this great of sin. There are two basic possibilities, one of which is tied to faith and the other is tied to unbelief. If our sin of rebellion emanates from a life of faith, new birth (see John 3:1-21) and of walking with Jesus then God will use any means necessary to discipline us and restore us to repentant, contrite, humble faith and obedience (see Hebrews 12:1-13). But if our sin of rebellion emanates from a life of unbelief then God works, through His Spirit, to bring us into a life of faith where we acknowledge our sin, humbly confess it to God and express our need for Jesus to save us. We then commit to walking each day in humble obedience to Jesus and His commands.
But often, God’s Spirit pleads with us to surrender to faith but we refuse. God is patient and long suffering and continues to woo and try and draw us into faith and to Himself. This time of God’s grace and salvation is what Isaiah refers to as the “year of My redemption (see v. 4).” The Apostle Peter put it this way: “The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 HCSB) God withholds His judgment and wrath upon all mankind because He doesn’t want any to perish, but He wants all to come to repentance and faith. What Isaiah describes in our focal passage is the when the year of God’s redemption ends and the DAY of His vengeance comes.
The Apostle John describes that day like this: “Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and He judges and makes war in righteousness. His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on His head. He had a name written that no one knows except Himself. He wore a robe stained with blood, and His name is the Word of God. The armies that were in heaven followed Him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. A sharp sword came from His mouth, so that He might strike the nations with it. He will shepherd them with an iron scepter. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:11-16 HCSB)
It is both awesome and terrifying…
As I read these familiar words I am overwhelmed with grief for those who will face His vengeance and wrath. I know faith is hard and fully trusting God challenges even the most faithful, but the alternative is terrifying. Some consider this idea nothing more than a scare tactic to drive people into giving money and yielding control of their lives to the church. I don’t want control of your life, I barely have a handle on my own. I also believe that any church who is truly being obedient to God doesn’t need to use these tactics to elicit support for their ministries. Are there charlatans in the church? Absolutely! But they are clearly seen by their false teaching, selfish desires and focus on themselves instead of Christ. Scripture tells us to be watchful and wary.
One last thought before we move into the second half of our focal passage, notice the solitude and loneliness of the Savior’s task. As He carries out God’s judgment, “there was no one to help, and I was amazed that no one assisted; so My arm accomplished victory for Me, and My wrath assisted Me.” Our culture rejects the notion of sin, guilt and the judgment of biblical salvation. Oh, we see sin and guilt in everyone else but we flatly refuse to see it in ourselves. Let me state this very clearly and very directly, we all stand guilty of that first and greatest commandment. We have rejected God’s authority over our lives. That is the sin we all stand guilty of committing and it is the sin God will judge the harshest.
But if we are all rebels and have rejected God’s authority over our lives, then what hope do we have? The first half of our focal passage highlights God’s judgment upon our sin but the second half highlights His mercy and grace. If God is willing to have mercy on us, then why judge us for our sin? Why not just forgive everyone? As I stated above, God is very complex in the same way that He created us to be complex beings. We are able to catch glimpses of what He is like in our own personalities and experiences. I said glimpses of what He’s like because He is perfect in all of His ways and we are not.
Let’s begin by seeing the ways Isaiah remembers God’s past grace upon His people. He remembers all of the “praiseworthy acts” of God’s faithful love and compassion upon them. Notice verse nine, “In all their suffering, He suffered, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. He redeemed them because of His love and compassion…” When God’s people suffered, He suffered. When they hurt, He hurt. When they cried, He cried. That’s what love does. But God was able and willing to do more than just feel their pain. The Angel of His “presence” saved them, redeemed them, lifted them up and carried them.
Who is this angel of God’s presence? The wording implies that it is someone who is intimate with or face-to-face with God. Someone who knows and wants God’s will and is able to act on His behalf. Throughout the Old Testament, there are times when God physically shows up and intervenes for His people. Yet, scripture also tells us that God is spirit and cannot be seen by any man. How can both be true? Just as Jesus is the physical presence of God in the New Testament, He is also the physical presence of God in the Old Testament. He is the “angel” or messenger of God’s presence in our focal passage. In theological terms, this is called the pre-incarnate Christ; God in physical form at work in the lives of His people.
We see the pre-incarnate Christ in the garden when He walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening. We see this with Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses and the Israelites as they fled Egypt (see Gen. 3:8, 5:24, 6:13, 16:13, 17:1, 18:1, 32:25; Ex. 3, 14). We’ve even seen this earlier in Isaiah when God appeared to Isaiah in the Temple (see Is. 6). When God acts in a physical way, it is His Son who is carrying out the Father’s will. When the Father speaks, Jesus is the manifested Word of God. This is why the Suffering Servant and Angel of His Presence of Isaiah is undoubtedly the incarnate Word of God, Jesus.
But when God works in His children’s lives, they often rebel against His will. We definitely see this throughout the Old Testament and much of what we’ve studied in Isaiah emphasizes this fact. Certainly, what we see in our focal passage emphasizes it: “But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He became their enemy and fought against them (v. 10).” At first glance, that sounds a bit harsh. But if you’ve ever raised a child through their teenage years, I suspect it sounds a bit more realistic. Of course, even young children exhibit evidence of this rebellious nature but when they begin to reach the age where their independence is blooming, the struggle grows.
When children rebel we try to react in an appropriate way. How strongly we react depends entirely on how dangerous the situation is. The greater the danger the stronger the reaction. That’s why our focal passage says: “So He became their enemy and fought against them.” When God fights He’s fighting for our lives but we tend to think He’s overreacting. But God knows that when we walk away from Him, we’re headed into a serious, life threatening situation. God never forces us to love Him and walk with Him, but He sure does everything He can to convince us it is what’s best for us. He fights against our stubborn and willful rebellion and tries to get us back on track and walking in His will.
This is where mercy and grace come into play. There’s a series of “where is He” questions. Where is He? He’s fighting with His rebellious creatures to bring them into His perfect will. His Spirit working with our spirit regarding sin, judgment and righteousness (see John 16:8-11). Why? Because the path they follow is leading them to death and destruction. His Spirit working to convince and convict them of the destructive nature of their sin and their refusal to believe in Jesus. His Spirit working to make them recognize the inevitable judgment of all rebellion against Him, including their own. And His Spirit working in them to help them see the righteousness of Jesus and His work to redeem and save us.
Where is He? He’s right here with those of us who strive to follow Him, even when we’re unable to see Him or His efforts. He’s guiding, nudging, working in and through every situation to bring us into His will and into the image of His Son (see Rom. 8:28). He’s leading us like a horse through the wilderness, to keep us from stumbling (v. 13). He’s guiding us like cattle down into the valley, so we can experience His rest. When we’re in obedient fellowship with Him then we are the crown of His glory.
It is hard for us to imagine how God’s wrath and grace can coexist. Why must He be a God of judgment and mercy? His justice demands accountability and judgment but His love overflows with mercy and compassion. We are completely unable to save ourselves from God’s wrath, so He took up the task Himself and sent His own Son to take our punishment, if we will but believe and confess Him as Lord (see Rom. 10:9-10).
We face a choice… will we know and experience His wrath or will we cast ourselves upon His mercy. Will we confess our sin of rebellion, abandon our own path and walk with Him or will we stand in defiance and experience His judgment? Divine Wrath or Amazing Grace? It’s a choice only you can make.
Hilltop Baptist Church - Shawnee, OK 
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