Isaiah 63 Study Notes: The Winepress and a Prayer for Mercy
The LORD appears as a warrior coming from Edom in stained garments, having crushed the nations in judgment like grapes, with no helper beside Him. A prayer then recalls His faithful love in the exodus and Israel’s rebellion against His Spirit, and pleads with God as Father and Redeemer to return to His people.
General
According to 63:8-9, how did the LORD respond to His people’s distress in their early history?
Answer: He shared in their affliction and redeemed them
A new section begins as the speaker resolves to tell of the loving devotion of the LORD, that is, His faithful covenant love, and of His praiseworthy deeds and all the good He has done for Israel out of great compassion (63:7). God had said they were truly His people, sons who would not be false, and so He acted as their Savior (63:8). He shared their affliction in every trouble, the Angel of His Presence rescued them, and out of love and mercy He redeemed them and carried them throughout their early history (63:9). At the burning bush God said He had seen His people’s affliction and knew what they were suffering (Exodus 3:7); He promised that His Presence would go with them (Exodus 33:14); and Moses reminded Israel that God carried them in the wilderness the way a father carries his son (Deuteronomy 1:31).
- Isaiah 63:7-9 (BSB)“I will make known the LORD’s loving devotion and His praiseworthy acts, because of all that the LORD has done for us—the many good things for the house of Israel according to His great compassion and loving devotion. For He said, “They are surely My people, sons who will not be disloyal.” So He became their Savior. In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”The prayer recalls the LORD’s loving devotion, His saving deeds, and His sharing in Israel’s distress.
- Exodus 3:7 (BSB)“The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.”At the burning bush God says He has seen and knows His people’s suffering.
- Exodus 33:14 (BSB)“And the LORD answered, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.””The LORD promises that His Presence will go with His people.
- Deuteronomy 1:31 (BSB)“and in the wilderness, where the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way by which you traveled until you reached this place.””Moses reminds Israel that God carried them through the wilderness like a father carrying his son.
Theological
What does 63:8-9 say about the LORD’s involvement in His people’s past distress?
Answer: He shared in their affliction and redeemed them
The prayer opens by recounting the loving devotion of the LORD and His praiseworthy deeds, done out of great compassion (63:7). Having claimed Israel as His sons, He acted as their Savior (63:8); He entered into their affliction, the Angel of His Presence rescued them, and in love and mercy He redeemed and carried them throughout their early history (63:9). The exodus narrative supplies the background: God saw and knew His people’s suffering (Exodus 3:7), pledged His Presence (Exodus 33:14), and carried Israel through the wilderness as a father carries his son (Deuteronomy 1:31).
- Isaiah 63:7-9 (BSB)“I will make known the LORD’s loving devotion and His praiseworthy acts, because of all that the LORD has done for us—the many good things for the house of Israel according to His great compassion and loving devotion. For He said, “They are surely My people, sons who will not be disloyal.” So He became their Savior. In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”The prayer recalls the LORD’s loving devotion, His saving deeds, and His sharing in Israel’s distress.
- Exodus 3:7 (BSB)“The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.”At the burning bush God says He has seen and knows His people’s suffering.
- Exodus 33:14 (BSB)“And the LORD answered, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.””The LORD promises that His Presence will go with His people.
- Deuteronomy 1:31 (BSB)“and in the wilderness, where the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way by which you traveled until you reached this place.””Moses reminds Israel that God carried them through the wilderness like a father carrying his son.
General
63:5 closely repeats which earlier scene in Isaiah?
Answer: The LORD finding no one to intervene, in 59:16
The warrior says vengeance filled His heart and the time to redeem had arrived (63:4). He looked, but no one helped; He was appalled to find no support, and His own arm won Him salvation and His wrath upheld Him (63:5). This nearly repeats 59:16, where the LORD found no intercessor and acted to save by His own arm. Isaiah 61:2 likewise pairs the LORD’s favor with the day of God’s vengeance, and 34:8 speaks of a time of vengeance and recompense on Zion’s behalf. In each case judgment on God’s enemies and redemption for His people come together, and both are accomplished by God alone.
- Isaiah 63:4-5 (BSB)“For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redemption had come. I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled that no one assisted. So My arm brought Me salvation, and My own wrath upheld Me.”Finding no helper, the warrior’s own arm brings salvation in the time of vengeance and redemption.
- Isaiah 59:16 (BSB)“He saw that there was no man; He was amazed that there was no one to intercede. So His own arm brought salvation, and His own righteousness sustained Him.”The LORD earlier saw no intercessor, and His own arm brought salvation.
- Isaiah 61:2 (BSB)“to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn,”Isaiah pairs the LORD’s favor with the day of God’s vengeance.
- Isaiah 34:8 (BSB)“For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.”Isaiah speaks of a day of vengeance and a year of recompense for Zion.
Theological
With which earlier passage does 63:5 stand in close verbal parallel?
Answer: The LORD finding no one to intervene, in 59:16
With vengeance in His heart and the time of redemption arrived (63:4), the warrior finds no helper, is appalled, and is upheld by His own wrath as His own arm wins salvation (63:5). The wording closely recalls 59:16, where the LORD found no intercessor and acted by His own arm. The pairing of vengeance and redemption also recalls 61:2 and 34:8. Judgment on God’s enemies and the redemption of His people are a single divine act, accomplished by God alone.
- Isaiah 63:4-5 (BSB)“For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redemption had come. I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled that no one assisted. So My arm brought Me salvation, and My own wrath upheld Me.”Finding no helper, the warrior’s own arm brings salvation in the time of vengeance and redemption.
- Isaiah 59:16 (BSB)“He saw that there was no man; He was amazed that there was no one to intercede. So His own arm brought salvation, and His own righteousness sustained Him.”The LORD earlier saw no intercessor, and His own arm brought salvation.
- Isaiah 61:2 (BSB)“to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn,”Isaiah pairs the LORD’s favor with the day of God’s vengeance.
- Isaiah 34:8 (BSB)“For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.”Isaiah speaks of a day of vengeance and a year of recompense for Zion.
General
According to 63:12-14, why did God divide the waters and lead His people through the depths?
Answer: To make a glorious, lasting name for Himself
In their trouble the people looked back to the time of Moses and asked where the God was who had led them across the sea together with the people’s shepherds and placed His Holy Spirit in their midst (63:11). His glorious arm went alongside Moses; He split the waters to win everlasting renown, and brought them safely through the deep without a stumble, as surefooted as a horse on open ground (63:12-13). As livestock descend into a valley to rest, they were given rest by the LORD’s Spirit; so God led His people to make for Himself a glorious name (63:14). The exodus account says the LORD pushed the sea back and split the waters (Exodus 14:21); a psalmist says God saved them for His name’s sake, to display His power (Psalm 106:8); and Nehemiah recalls God giving His good Spirit to teach them (Nehemiah 9:20).
- Isaiah 63:11-14 (BSB)“Then His people remembered the days of old, the days of Moses. Where is He who brought them through the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is the One who set His Holy Spirit among them, who sent His glorious arm to lead them by the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to gain for Himself everlasting renown, who led them through the depths like a horse in the wilderness, so that they did not stumble? Like cattle going down to the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. You led Your people this way to make for Yourself a glorious name.”The people recall how God led them through the sea by Moses to make a glorious name for Himself.
- Exodus 14:21 (BSB)“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided,”The exodus account records the LORD dividing the sea for Israel.
- Psalm 106:8 (BSB)“Yet He saved them for the sake of His name, to make His power known.”The psalmist says God saved Israel for the sake of His name.
- Nehemiah 9:20 (BSB)“You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold Your manna from their mouths, and You gave them water for their thirst.”Nehemiah recalls God giving His good Spirit to instruct Israel in the wilderness.
Theological
What divine purpose does 63:12-14 assign to the exodus?
Answer: To make a glorious, lasting name for Himself
Looking back to the time of Moses, the people ask where the God is who led them across the sea together with the people’s shepherds and placed His Holy Spirit in their midst (63:11), whose glorious arm went alongside Moses and split the waters to win everlasting renown (63:12), and who brought them safely through the deep without a stumble and gave them rest by His Spirit (63:13-14). The stated end is God’s own glorious name (63:14). The exodus narrative (Exodus 14:21), the psalmist’s confession that God saved Israel for His name’s sake (Psalm 106:8), and Nehemiah’s memory of God’s good Spirit instructing Israel (Nehemiah 9:20) all agree.
- Isaiah 63:11-14 (BSB)“Then His people remembered the days of old, the days of Moses. Where is He who brought them through the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is the One who set His Holy Spirit among them, who sent His glorious arm to lead them by the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to gain for Himself everlasting renown, who led them through the depths like a horse in the wilderness, so that they did not stumble? Like cattle going down to the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. You led Your people this way to make for Yourself a glorious name.”The people recall how God led them through the sea by Moses to make a glorious name for Himself.
- Exodus 14:21 (BSB)“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided,”The exodus account records the LORD dividing the sea for Israel.
- Psalm 106:8 (BSB)“Yet He saved them for the sake of His name, to make His power known.”The psalmist says God saved Israel for the sake of His name.
- Nehemiah 9:20 (BSB)“You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold Your manna from their mouths, and You gave them water for their thirst.”Nehemiah recalls God giving His good Spirit to instruct Israel in the wilderness.
General
How does the figure coming from Edom describe Himself in 63:1?
Answer: As one who announces vindication and has power to save
A voice asks who is approaching from Edom and the city of Bozrah, in crimson-stained clothes, splendidly robed and marching in great strength (63:1). The answer comes in the first person: He is the one proclaiming vindication and powerful to save. In the verses that follow He speaks of His own arm bringing salvation (63:5), just as the LORD’s arm did in 59:16, so the warrior is the LORD Himself coming in judgment. Edom, the nation descended from Esau and a long-time enemy of God’s people, is named first, but 63:6 widens the judgment to the nations. Isaiah 34:8 had already tied Edom’s judgment to the LORD’s time of vengeance on Zion’s behalf. Zephaniah calls the LORD mighty to save (Zephaniah 3:17), and Obadiah announces that the LORD’s day is near for every nation and that Edom’s deeds will return on its own head (Obadiah 1:15).
- Isaiah 63:1 (BSB)“Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah with crimson-stained garments? Who is this robed in splendor, marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I, proclaiming vindication, mighty to save.””A splendidly robed figure in red-stained garments comes from Edom and identifies Himself.
- Zephaniah 3:17 (BSB)“The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.””Zephaniah also calls the LORD mighty to save.
- Obadiah 1:15 (BSB)“For the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head.”Obadiah announces the LORD’s day on all nations, with Edom repaid for what it has done.
- Isaiah 34:8 (BSB)“For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.”Isaiah earlier links Edom’s judgment to the LORD’s day of vengeance for Zion’s cause.
Theological
What self-description does the warrior from Edom give in 63:1?
Answer: As one who announces vindication and has power to save
The questioner sees a figure advancing from Edom and Bozrah in crimson-stained, splendid garments and great strength; the answer comes in the first person: He proclaims vindication and is powerful to save (63:1). The following verses, in which His own arm brings salvation (63:5) as in 59:16, show that the warrior is the LORD acting in judgment. Edom, Esau’s nation and Israel’s persistent enemy, is named first, while 63:6 extends the judgment to the nations, as 34:8 had tied Edom’s fall to the LORD’s time of vengeance for Zion. The LORD as mighty to save appears also in Zephaniah 3:17, and Edom’s repayment in kind in Obadiah 1:15.
- Isaiah 63:1 (BSB)“Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah with crimson-stained garments? Who is this robed in splendor, marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I, proclaiming vindication, mighty to save.””A splendidly robed figure in red-stained garments comes from Edom and identifies Himself.
- Zephaniah 3:17 (BSB)“The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.””Zephaniah also calls the LORD mighty to save.
- Obadiah 1:15 (BSB)“For the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head.”Obadiah announces the LORD’s day on all nations, with Edom repaid for what it has done.
- Isaiah 34:8 (BSB)“For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.”Isaiah earlier links Edom’s judgment to the LORD’s day of vengeance for Zion’s cause.
General
According to 63:10, how did Israel respond to the LORD’s kindness, and with what result?
Answer: They rebelled and caused His Spirit grief, so He opposed them
Despite all God’s kindness, the people rebelled and brought grief to His Holy Spirit, and in response God turned against them as an enemy and fought against them (63:10). The Holy Spirit is spoken of here as one who can be grieved, which fits the New Testament’s teaching that the Spirit is a person, not merely a force. Paul, in an echo of this verse, warns believers against grieving God’s Holy Spirit, in whom they are sealed until the day they are fully redeemed (Ephesians 4:30). A psalmist recalls how often Israel grieved God in the wilderness (Psalm 78:40), and Stephen told the council that they always resisted the Holy Spirit, as their fathers had (Acts 7:51).
- Isaiah 63:10 (BSB)“But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.”Israel’s rebellion grieved God’s Holy Spirit, and He turned to fight against them.
- Ephesians 4:30 (BSB)“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”Paul warns believers not to grieve the Holy Spirit, echoing this verse.
- Psalm 78:40 (BSB)“How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert!”The psalmist recalls how often Israel grieved God in the wilderness.
- Acts 7:51 (BSB)“You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.”Stephen charges his hearers with resisting the Holy Spirit as their fathers did.
Theological
What response and consequence does 63:10 record?
Answer: They rebelled and caused His Spirit grief, so He opposed them
Israel answered God’s compassion with rebellion and brought grief to His Holy Spirit, and He then fought against them as an enemy (63:10). The Spirit is presented as personal, one who can be grieved, in keeping with the New Testament’s witness to the Spirit as a divine person. Paul echoes the verse in warning believers against grieving God’s Holy Spirit, in whom they are sealed until the day they are fully redeemed (Ephesians 4:30). The wilderness pattern of grieving God (Psalm 78:40) is what Stephen charged against his hearers, who always resisted the Holy Spirit as their fathers had (Acts 7:51).
- Isaiah 63:10 (BSB)“But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.”Israel’s rebellion grieved God’s Holy Spirit, and He turned to fight against them.
- Ephesians 4:30 (BSB)“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”Paul warns believers not to grieve the Holy Spirit, echoing this verse.
- Psalm 78:40 (BSB)“How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert!”The psalmist recalls how often Israel grieved God in the wilderness.
- Acts 7:51 (BSB)“You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.”Stephen charges his hearers with resisting the Holy Spirit as their fathers did.
General
In 63:2-3, what does the image of treading the winepress represent?
Answer: The LORD’s judgment on the nations
Asked why His garments are red like those of someone treading grapes (63:2), the warrior answers that He has trampled the grapes by Himself, with no one from any people beside Him, acting in His anger (63:3). Grapes were crushed by foot in a winepress, and the juice stained the clothes of those treading; here the image pictures God’s judgment on the nations that opposed Him and His people. It describes God’s just anger against wickedness, not a pattern for human violence. Joel 3:13 uses the same image of a full winepress for nations whose wickedness is great, and Revelation echoes Isaiah when it says that the heavenly rider who defeats the nations tramples out the winepress of God’s fierce wrath (Revelation 19:15). Revelation 14:19 also pictures grapes thrown into the winepress of divine wrath.
- Isaiah 63:2 (BSB)“Why are Your clothes red, and Your garments like one who treads the winepress?”The warrior is asked why His garments look like those of someone treading grapes.
- Joel 3:13 (BSB)“Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because their wickedness is great.”Joel uses a full winepress as an image for judging nations whose wickedness is great.
- Revelation 19:15 (BSB)“And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.”The heavenly rider who defeats the nations treads the winepress of God’s wrath, echoing Isaiah’s image.
- Revelation 14:19 (BSB)“So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.”Revelation also pictures the earth’s grapes thrown into the winepress of God’s wrath.
Theological
What does the winepress imagery of 63:2-3 signify?
Answer: The LORD’s judgment on the nations
The red garments of one treading grapes (63:2) belong to the LORD, who has trampled the winepress by Himself with no one from any people beside Him, acting in anger (63:3). The image is of judicial wrath against the nations that opposed Him, grounded in His justice and never a license for human violence. Joel 3:13 applies the full winepress to nations ripe in wickedness, and Revelation takes up Isaiah’s picture for the heavenly rider who defeats the nations and tramples out the winepress of God’s fierce wrath (Revelation 19:15; compare 14:19).
- Isaiah 63:2 (BSB)“Why are Your clothes red, and Your garments like one who treads the winepress?”The warrior is asked why His garments look like those of someone treading grapes.
- Joel 3:13 (BSB)“Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because their wickedness is great.”Joel uses a full winepress as an image for judging nations whose wickedness is great.
- Revelation 19:15 (BSB)“And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.”The heavenly rider who defeats the nations treads the winepress of God’s wrath, echoing Isaiah’s image.
- Revelation 14:19 (BSB)“So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.”Revelation also pictures the earth’s grapes thrown into the winepress of God’s wrath.
General
What does the question in 63:17 assume about God?
Answer: That He rules even over their hardened hearts
The people ask why the LORD makes them wander from His ways and hardens their hearts against fearing Him, and they plead with Him to return on behalf of His servants, the tribes that belong to Him (63:17). Their enemies have trampled His sanctuary, and they have become like people never ruled by Him or called by His name (63:18-19). The question assumes that God rules even over human hearts and that hardening can be His judgment on persistent rebellion, yet the same prayer has already confessed that the people themselves rebelled and brought grief to His Spirit (63:10). Scripture holds both truths together: God hardens whom He wills (Romans 9:18), and His hardening confirms people in a blindness they chose, as Isaiah’s own commission foretold and as John applies to those who would not believe in Jesus (Isaiah 6:10; John 12:40). God is never the author of sin, and people remain fully responsible for it.
- Isaiah 63:17-19 (BSB)“Why, O LORD, do You make us stray from Your ways and harden our hearts from fearing You? Return, for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage. For a short while Your people possessed Your holy place, but our enemies have trampled Your sanctuary. We have become like those You never ruled, like those not called by Your name.”The people ask why God lets them stray and harden, and plead with Him to return.
- Romans 9:18 (BSB)“Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.”God has mercy on whom He wants and hardens whom He wants.
- Isaiah 6:10 (BSB)“Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.””Isaiah’s commission announced a judicial hardening of the people.
- John 12:40 (BSB)““He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.””John applies Isaiah 6:10 to those who did not believe in Jesus.
Theological
What does the complaint of 63:17 presuppose about God’s relation to the people’s hardness?
Answer: That He rules even over their hardened hearts
The lament asks why the LORD makes His people stray and hardens their hearts against fearing Him, pleading that He return on behalf of His servants (63:17), as their sanctuary lies trampled and they seem no longer His (63:18-19). The question presupposes God’s sovereignty over the heart, with hardening as judgment on persistent rebellion, while the prayer has already confessed Israel’s own culpable rebellion against His Spirit (63:10). God hardens whom He wills (Romans 9:18), and His hardening confirms people in chosen unbelief, as in Isaiah’s commission (Isaiah 6:10) and John’s application of it to those who rejected Jesus (John 12:40). God is never the author of sin, and human responsibility remains real.
- Isaiah 63:17-19 (BSB)“Why, O LORD, do You make us stray from Your ways and harden our hearts from fearing You? Return, for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage. For a short while Your people possessed Your holy place, but our enemies have trampled Your sanctuary. We have become like those You never ruled, like those not called by Your name.”The people ask why God lets them stray and harden, and plead with Him to return.
- Romans 9:18 (BSB)“Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.”God has mercy on whom He wants and hardens whom He wants.
- Isaiah 6:10 (BSB)“Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.””Isaiah’s commission announced a judicial hardening of the people.
- John 12:40 (BSB)““He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.””John applies Isaiah 6:10 to those who did not believe in Jesus.
General
In 63:15-16, on what basis do the people appeal to God even though Abraham and Israel do not know them?
Answer: He is their Father and their Redeemer from of old
The people ask God to look from heaven, His holy and glorious dwelling, and they ask where His zeal, His might, and His tender compassion have gone (63:15). Yet they cling to Him: He is their Father, even though Abraham and Israel do not recognize them; the LORD is their Father, whose name is Redeemer from Everlasting (63:16). Their hope rests not on their ancestry but on God’s own relationship to them. Moses called the LORD Israel’s Father and Creator (Deuteronomy 32:6), Isaiah 64:8 continues the same prayer, calling the LORD Father and potter, and Jesus taught His disciples to address God as their Father in heaven (Matthew 6:9).
- Isaiah 63:15-16 (BSB)“Look down from heaven and see, from Your holy and glorious habitation. Where are Your zeal and might? Your yearning and compassion for me are restrained. Yet You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O LORD, are our Father; our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.”The people plead with God from heaven, appealing to Him as their Father and Redeemer.
- Deuteronomy 32:6 (BSB)“Is this how you repay the LORD, O foolish and senseless people? Is He not your Father and Creator? Has He not made you and established you?”Moses calls the LORD Israel’s Father and Creator.
- Isaiah 64:8 (BSB)“But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.”The prayer continues by calling the LORD Father and potter.
- Matthew 6:9 (BSB)“So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.”Jesus teaches His disciples to address God as their Father in heaven.
Theological
What ground of appeal do the people invoke in 63:15-16?
Answer: He is their Father and their Redeemer from of old
Asking God to look from His holy and glorious dwelling and lamenting that His zeal and compassion seem withheld (63:15), the people rest their plea on God’s fatherhood: though Abraham and Israel do not recognize them, the LORD is their Father, whose name is Redeemer from Everlasting (63:16). Their claim rests on God’s covenant relation to them, not on their descent. The same address appears in Deuteronomy 32:6 and in the continuation of the prayer in 64:8, and Jesus taught His disciples to address God as their Father in heaven (Matthew 6:9).
- Isaiah 63:15-16 (BSB)“Look down from heaven and see, from Your holy and glorious habitation. Where are Your zeal and might? Your yearning and compassion for me are restrained. Yet You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O LORD, are our Father; our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.”The people plead with God from heaven, appealing to Him as their Father and Redeemer.
- Deuteronomy 32:6 (BSB)“Is this how you repay the LORD, O foolish and senseless people? Is He not your Father and Creator? Has He not made you and established you?”Moses calls the LORD Israel’s Father and Creator.
- Isaiah 64:8 (BSB)“But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.”The prayer continues by calling the LORD Father and potter.
- Matthew 6:9 (BSB)“So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.”Jesus teaches His disciples to address God as their Father in heaven.