Isaiah Chapter 63

Isaiah 63, Prayer from Captivity
A. The Day of Vengeance

1. Isaiah 63:1, A Question and an Answer, “Who Is This?”

Isaiah 63:1, “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”

Isaiah 63 opens with a dramatic prophetic vision. The prophet sees a majestic figure coming from Edom, specifically from Bozrah, with garments dyed red. The question is asked, “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?” The answer comes from the figure Himself, “I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”

This is a vision of the LORD as divine warrior, coming in judgment after executing vengeance upon His enemies. Edom is significant because it was a long standing enemy of Israel. Edom descended from Esau, and throughout Israel’s history the Edomites often stood in opposition to the people of God. Their hostility became especially wicked when they rejoiced over Judah’s fall and took advantage of Jerusalem’s destruction.

Obadiah 1:10-14, “For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. In day that thou stoodest on other side, in day that strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one them. But thou shouldest not have looked on day thy brother in day that he became stranger, neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over children Judah in day their destruction, neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in day distress. Thou shouldest not have entered into gate my people in day their calamity, yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in day their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in day their calamity, Neither shouldest thou have stood in crossway, to cut off those his that did escape, neither shouldest thou have delivered up those his that did remain in day distress.”

Bozrah was an important city of Edom. Its name is connected with the idea of grape gathering, which fits the imagery that follows in Isaiah 63, where the LORD compares His judgment to treading a winepress. The garments are dyed, not with wine, but with blood from judgment.

The One coming is described as “glorious in his apparel, travelling in greatness of his strength.” This is not a defeated sufferer. This is not the Messiah in humiliation. This is the Messiah in glory, majesty, and strength. Isaiah has already shown the Servant who suffers, especially in Isaiah 53. Here, he shows the same divine Redeemer coming as Judge and Warrior.

The answer reveals His character, “I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.” He speaks in righteousness. His words are true, just, holy, and faithful. He is also mighty to save. Even in a context of judgment, He identifies Himself by His saving power. This matters because God’s vengeance is never detached from His righteous purpose to save His redeemed and vindicate His covenant promises.

The same Lord who judges Edom is the One who saves Israel. The same Christ who came first in humility will come again in glory. Revelation 19:11, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold white horse, and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.”

2. Isaiah 63:2-6, A Question and an Answer, “Why Are Your Clothes Red?”

Isaiah 63:2-6, “Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in winefat? I have trodden winepress alone, and of 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. For day vengeance is in mine heart, and year my redeemed is come. 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. And I will tread down people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to earth.”

The prophet now asks why the garments of the glorious One are red. “Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in winefat?” The image is of a man who has been treading grapes in a winepress, whose clothing is stained by the crushed grapes. But the answer makes clear that this is not grape juice. It is the blood of the nations judged by the LORD.

The Messiah answers, “I have trodden winepress alone, and of people there was none with me.” The work of final judgment belongs to Christ alone. Just as He alone accomplished atonement on the cross, He alone executes the ultimate judgment of God. The heavenly armies may accompany Him, but the decisive work is His.

Revelation 19:13-15, “And he was clothed with vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called Word God. And armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out his mouth goeth sharp sword, that with it he should smite nations: and he shall rule them with rod iron: and he treadeth winepress fierceness and wrath Almighty God.”

This passage in Revelation clearly echoes Isaiah 63. The robe dipped in blood, the striking of the nations, and the treading of the winepress all point to the same truth. Christ returns not only as Savior, but as Judge and King.

The phrase “I have trodden winepress alone” also reminds us of the solitary nature of Christ’s redemptive and judicial work. At Calvary, Jesus bore sin alone. No man shared the burden of atonement. His disciples fled. The world mocked. The Father laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way, and LORD hath laid on him iniquity us all.”

1 Peter 2:24, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

Christ also judges alone. Believers do not execute ultimate vengeance. The church is not called to take divine wrath into its own hands. Judgment belongs to the Lord. Romans 12:19, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance mine, I will repay, saith Lord.”

Isaiah continues, “for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury.” This is holy wrath. Modern readers often struggle with the idea of Christ as Judge, but Scripture does not. The same Jesus who saves sinners will judge the wicked. His wrath is not sinful rage. It is righteous fury against evil, rebellion, persecution, blasphemy, and the enemies of God.

Jesus Himself said that judgment has been committed to the Son. John 5:22-23, “For Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto Son: That all men should honour Son, even as they honour Father. He that honoureth not Son honoureth not Father which hath sent him.”

The LORD says, “For day vengeance is in mine heart, and year my redeemed is come.” Vengeance is in His heart because the year of His redeemed has come. This is not vengeance for its own sake. It is vengeance tied to redemption, vindication, and the rescue of His people. God judges the oppressor because He loves righteousness and His redeemed.

The contrast is striking. It is a “day vengeance” but a “year my redeemed.” The language is poetic, but the contrast is fitting. Judgment is real, but grace is the larger horizon of God’s redemptive purpose. His wrath is holy and necessary, yet His delight is in salvation, redemption, and mercy toward His people.

The LORD says, “And I looked, and there was none to help, and I wondered that there was none to uphold.” This repeats the theme from Isaiah 59. No human deliverer was sufficient. No man stood forward to accomplish salvation. Therefore, “mine own arm brought salvation unto me, and my fury, it upheld me.”

Isaiah 59:16, “And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him, and his righteousness, it sustained him.”

The salvation and judgment of God are not dependent upon human strength. God may use servants, prophets, soldiers, kings, and intercessors, but His ultimate purpose rests on His own arm. If no man helps, God still acts. His covenant purpose cannot fail.

The section ends with the LORD declaring, “And I will tread down people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to earth.” The pride, power, military strength, and political confidence of the nations will be brought down. No kingdom can stand against the returning Christ.

Psalm 2:10-12, “Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges earth. Serve LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from way, when his wrath is kindled but little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”

B. The Exile’s Prayer

1. Isaiah 63:7-14, Remembering the Mercy and the Might of the LORD

Isaiah 63:7-14, “I will mention lovingkindnesses LORD, and praises LORD, according to all that LORD hath bestowed on us, and great goodness toward house Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to multitude his lovingkindnesses. For he said, Surely they are my people, children will not lie: so he was their Saviour. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and angel his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them, and he bare them, and carried them all days old. But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them. Then he remembered days old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out sea with shepherd his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him? That led them by right hand Moses with his glorious arm, dividing water before them, to make himself everlasting name? That led them through deep, as horse in wilderness, that they should not stumble? As beast goeth down into valley, Spirit LORD caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself glorious name.”

The tone now shifts from the day of vengeance to a prayer from captivity. Isaiah prophetically places this prayer in the mouth of the afflicted remnant, especially fitting the agony of Judah in exile. The prayer begins wisely, not with complaint, but with remembrance. “I will mention lovingkindnesses LORD, and praises LORD.”

This is a powerful pattern for prayer in suffering. The praying one is honest about pain, but he begins with the character and works of God. He remembers the LORD’s lovingkindnesses, praises, goodness, mercies, and covenant faithfulness. Even in captivity, he finds reasons to praise God.

The word lovingkindness points to God’s covenant loyalty, His steadfast love, His faithful mercy toward His people. The praying one says this goodness was bestowed “according to his mercies, and according to multitude his lovingkindnesses.” Israel’s hope rests not on Israel’s worthiness, but on God’s abundant mercy.

The LORD had said, “Surely they are my people, children will not lie.” God had claimed Israel as His own. He expected covenant faithfulness from them. The tragedy is that Israel disappointed that expectation through rebellion, but the initial statement shows God’s gracious intention toward them. He became their Savior.

The prayer then gives one of the most tender statements in the Old Testament, “In all their affliction he was afflicted.” God was not a distant observer of Israel’s suffering. He was afflicted in their affliction. This does not mean God suffers as a helpless creature. It means His covenant love is deeply involved with His people. Their pain matters to Him.

This is one reason anti Jewish hatred is so wicked. To afflict the Jewish people is not a light thing before God. Israel remains the people connected to His covenant promises, and Scripture shows that the LORD is grieved by their affliction.

Zechariah 2:8, “For thus saith LORD hosts, After glory hath he sent me unto nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth apple his eye.”

The verse continues, “and angel his presence saved them.” This points to the divine presence of the LORD with Israel, and most specifically to the Angel of the LORD, who is distinct from the LORD and yet speaks and acts as the LORD. This is best understood as a preincarnate manifestation of the Son of God, the Messiah before His incarnation.

The Angel of the LORD appeared in key moments of redemptive history.

Exodus 3:2-6, “And angel LORD appeared unto him in flame fire out midst bush: and he looked, and, behold, bush burned with fire, and bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why bush is not burnt. And when LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out midst bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am God thy father, God Abraham, God Isaac, and God Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.”

The Angel appears, yet God speaks from the bush and identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This points beyond a created angel. Isaiah 63 says this Angel saved them, loved them, pitied them, redeemed them, bore them, and carried them. These are divine works.

The prayer says, “in his love and in his pity he redeemed them, and he bare them, and carried them all days old.” God’s redemption of Israel from Egypt was not cold power. It was love and pity. He carried them as a father carries a child.

Deuteronomy 1:31, “And in wilderness, where thou hast seen how that LORD thy God bare thee, as man doth bear his son, in all way that ye went, until ye came into this place.”

But then comes the sad contrast. “But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit.” Israel responded to love with rebellion. They grieved the Holy Spirit of God. This is one of the clearest Old Testament texts showing the personal involvement of the Holy Spirit with God’s people. The Spirit is not an impersonal force. He can be grieved.

The New Testament warns believers similarly. Ephesians 4:30, “And grieve not holy Spirit God, whereby ye are sealed unto day redemption.”

Isaiah 63 has clear Trinitarian overtones. The Father speaks of His people. The Angel of His presence saves, a reference best understood in relation to the Son. The Holy Spirit is grieved by Israel’s rebellion. The Old Testament does not unfold the doctrine of the Trinity with the same clarity as the New Testament, but the foundations are here.

Because Israel rebelled, “therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.” This does not mean God stopped being faithful to His covenant. It means His holiness required discipline. The God who redeemed Israel also fought against Israel when Israel persisted in rebellion. Covenant privilege does not make sin safe.

Hebrews 12:6, “For whom Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”

In the midst of discipline, the praying one remembered the days of old. “Then he remembered days old, Moses, and his people.” He looked back to the Exodus. This is the right use of biblical history. The afflicted believer looks to what God has done in the past in order to seek Him in the present. The prayer asks, where is the God who brought Israel through the sea? Where is the God who put His Spirit among them? Where is the God who led Moses by His glorious arm?

The Exodus was the great Old Testament pattern of redemption. God brought His people up out of the sea, led them by Moses, divided the waters before them, and made for Himself an everlasting name.

Exodus 14:21-22, “And Moses stretched out his hand over sea, and LORD caused sea to go back by strong east wind all that night, and made sea dry land, and waters were divided. And children Israel went into midst sea upon dry ground: and waters were wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.”

God did this “to make himself everlasting name.” Redemption displays God’s name. The Exodus was not only rescue for Israel. It was revelation of the LORD’s power, faithfulness, and glory.

Isaiah says He led them “through deep, as horse in wilderness, that they should not stumble.” The idea is smooth and unhindered progress. What should have destroyed them became the road of their deliverance. The sea became a path because God was leading them.

Then Isaiah says, “As beast goeth down into valley, Spirit LORD caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself glorious name.” The image is of a beast descending into a valley where there is rest, pasture, and relief. God’s Spirit gave rest to His people. He led them in order to glorify His own name.

This is the prayer’s argument. The God who delivered before can deliver again. The God who redeemed from Egypt can redeem from Babylon. The God who carried His people in the wilderness can restore His people after discipline.

2. Isaiah 63:15-19, A Plea for Restoration

Isaiah 63:15-19, “Look down from heaven, and behold from habitation thy holiness and thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, sounding bowels and thy mercies toward me? are they restrained? Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer, thy name is from everlasting. O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, tribes thine inheritance. people thy holiness have possessed it but little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary. We are thine: thou never barest rule over them, they were not called by thy name.”

The prayer now becomes a plea for restoration. “Look down from heaven, and behold from habitation thy holiness and thy glory.” The praying one appeals to God in His heavenly holiness and glory. Though the temple may be desolate and the people may be in captivity, God’s true throne is not destroyed. He still reigns from heaven.

The question follows, “where is thy zeal and thy strength, sounding bowels and thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?” This is honest prayer from deep affliction. The praying one knows God has zeal, strength, compassion, and mercy, but it feels as though they are restrained. He does not deny God’s character. He asks God to display it again.

There are times when believers feel the same kind of tension. We know God is merciful, but we do not yet see deliverance. We know God is strong, but we still feel weak. We know God is zealous for His name, but evil seems to advance. The right response is not unbelief, but prayer. The afflicted heart should cry out to God.

The prayer then says, “Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant us, and Israel acknowledge us not.” Even if the patriarchs were not present to help, and even if the people felt cut off from their own history, the LORD remained their Father. Their deepest identity rested not in human ancestry alone, but in covenant relationship with God.

Deuteronomy 32:6, “Do ye thus requite LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?”

The prayer confesses, “thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer, thy name is from everlasting.” This is rich theology in the middle of pain. God is Father. God is Redeemer. God is eternal. The praying one anchors his plea in who God is.

Then comes a difficult and emotionally raw question, “O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear?” This does not mean God is morally responsible for their sin. Scripture is clear that God is not the author of evil. James 1:13, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.”

The prayer expresses the agony of a people under divine discipline. When men persistently reject God, He may give them over to the hardness they have chosen. This is judicial hardening. The prayer is not a careful theological treatise. It is a cry from a broken heart asking why God has allowed them to continue in such hardness and wandering.

The plea is simple, “Return for thy servants' sake, tribes thine inheritance.” They ask God to return to them. This may suggest the longing for the return of God’s visible glory and favor among His people. They appeal to their identity as His servants and His inheritance.

The next line grieves over the sanctuary. “people thy holiness have possessed it but little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.” The holy people possessed the land and sanctuary for a time, but enemies trampled it down. This would fit the grief of exile after the temple was destroyed. The sanctuary, the visible center of worship, had been violated.

Psalm 79:1, “O God, heathen are come into thine inheritance, thy holy temple have they defiled, they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.”

The prayer ends, “We are thine: thou never barest rule over them, they were not called by thy name.” The contrast is between Israel and the nations. Israel belongs to the LORD in covenant relationship. The enemies are not called by His name. The plea is that God would act for His own people, His own name, His own inheritance, and His own glory.

The praying one may not express every theological point with precision, but he does express the pain of the faithful remnant. He knows God’s mercy, remembers God’s works, confesses God as Father and Redeemer, grieves over sin and desolation, and pleads for restoration.

Theological Summary of Isaiah 63

Isaiah 63 begins with a vision of the Messiah as divine warrior. He comes from Edom, from Bozrah, with garments stained red from judgment. He is glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength, speaking in righteousness, and mighty to save. The passage looks forward to the day of the LORD’s vengeance, ultimately fulfilled when Christ returns to judge the nations and vindicate His redeemed.

The winepress imagery shows the severity of divine judgment. Christ treads the winepress alone. Just as He alone accomplished atonement at the cross, He alone executes final judgment. His vengeance is not sinful anger. It is holy justice. The day of vengeance is in His heart because the year of His redeemed has come.

The second half of the chapter becomes a prayer from captivity. The afflicted remnant begins by remembering the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, His mercies, His goodness, His love, His pity, and His redemption. Even in affliction, the faithful remember the character and past works of God.

The prayer also reveals deep theology. In all Israel’s affliction, God was afflicted. The Angel of His presence saved them, pointing to the preincarnate work of Christ among Israel. Yet Israel rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit, bringing divine discipline. The passage contains clear Trinitarian overtones, with the Father, the Angel of His presence, and the Holy Spirit all present in the text.

The prayer closes with a plea for restoration. The remnant asks God to look down from heaven, display His zeal and strength, remember His mercies, and return for the sake of His servants, the tribes of His inheritance. They confess the LORD as Father and Redeemer from everlasting and grieve that enemies have trampled His sanctuary.