ISAIAH LESSON 72

     We will begin this lesson in Isaiah 63:1 "Who [is] this that
cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this [that is]
glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength?
I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save."

     This is speaking of the destruction of Edom {Idumaea}. Bozrah is
a place in Edom. This is, possibly, speaking of Edom literally, and it
could, also, be speaking spiritually of those who do not regard God.
Edom would not let the children of Israel pass through their land, and
God's wrath was against them. They symbolize the rebellious against
God. Their leader {Esau} sold his birthright for a bowl of soup. Edom
then symbolizes those who reject the Lord for the worldly things. It
appears these garments were blood red. The One glorious in His apparel
would be the Lord. It is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Saviour. He
is full of righteousness.

     Isaiah 63:2 "Wherefore [art thou] red in thine apparel, and thy
garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?"

     Revelation 14:19 " And the angel thrust in his sickle into the
earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the
great winepress of the wrath of God." This winepress is speaking of
the judgement of God against this evil people. Revelation 14:20 "And
the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the
winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand
[and] six hundred furlongs." The red in the apparel could be from this
blood.

     Isaiah 63:3 "I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the
people [there was] none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger,
and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon
my garments, and I will stain all my raiment."

     This is speaking of the Lord, who brings judgement on these evil
people. The Christians are in heaven around the throne of God when
this happens.

     Isaiah 63:4 "For the day of vengeance [is] in mine heart, and the
year of my redeemed is come."

     This is the same time that is mentioned when the sickle is put in
the earth, and the wheat is separated out to be with God in heaven,
and the evil ones are gathered as tares. Matthew 13:30 "Let both grow
together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to
the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in
bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn." The barn,
spoken of here, is heaven. When God redeems the Christians from the
earth, it will be time for God's wrath to be poured out on the wicked.

     Isaiah 63:5 "And I looked, and [there was] none to help; and I
wondered that [there was] none to uphold: therefore mine own arm
brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me."

     God's arm is Jesus Christ. Salvation is by none other but Jesus.
Acts 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

     Isaiah 63:6 "And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and
make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to
the earth."

     This destruction was a judgement from God. It was absolute
destruction. God's fury has come up in His face, because of the sin.
They are of the earth. They are not of heaven.

     Isaiah 63:7  "I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD,
[and] the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath
bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel,
which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according
to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses."

     God is longsuffering, as we see in the following verse. II Peter
3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Verse 7,
above, is a moment set aside to praise God for all of His goodness and
kindness. God offered salvation to everyone, not all accepted His
salvation. I Timothy 4:10 "For therefore we both labour and suffer
reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of
all men, specially of those that believe." The house of Israel is all
who believe, Jew and Gentile. The word bestowed shows us we did not
earn salvation, it is a free gift from God. We do, however, have to
accept the free gift.

     Isaiah 63:8 "For he said, Surely they [are] my people, children
[that] will not lie: so he was their Saviour."

     The Saviour is Jesus. We are His people. He created us. He
breathed the breath of life into us to give us life. Our new birth in
the spirit is through Jesus. John 3:6 "That which is born of the flesh
is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

     Isaiah 63:9 "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the
angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he
redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of
old."

     To me, this is speaking of Jesus taking the punishment we
deserved. He became our Substitute. He did it all for us. John 3:16
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life." Isaiah 53:5 "But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he
was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was]
upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."  Angel of His presence
is speaking of Jesus, I believe.

     Isaiah 63:10  "But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit:
therefore he was turned to be their enemy, [and] he fought against
them."

     Israel rebelled against God over and over. Every time they
repented, He forgave them. "Vexing the Holy Spirit" means they grieved
God. God appeared to be their enemy, when He punished them for their
unfaithfulness. He still loved them, but was trying to make them
repent, and turn back to Him.

     Isaiah 63:11 "Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, [and]
his people, [saying], Where [is] he that brought them up out of the
sea with the shepherd of his flock? where [is] he that put his holy
Spirit within him?"

     God remembered them as He did at the Red Sea when He took them
over to safety on the other side. The Holy Spirit was sent by Jesus
after His crucifixion. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the risen
Christ. He was from the beginning of the world the same as God the
Word, and God the Father. The Shepherd, or the Flame by night and the
Smoke by day that led them across the desert, was the LORD.

     Isaiah 63:12 "That led [them] by the right hand of Moses with his
glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an
everlasting name?"

     It was actually breath from the nostrils of God that held the Red
Sea back for the children of Israel to cross safely. Exodus 15:8 "And
with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the
floods stood upright as an heap, [and] the depths were congealed in
the heart of the sea."  The crossing of the Red Sea was symbolic of
water baptism. They went into the sea as worldly men. They came out of
the sea to new life in Him. The crossing of the Red Sea still lives on
today showing the power of God to the unsaved world. The miracles done
on the journey to the promised land were to bring honor and praise to
the name of God. Exodus 9:16 "And in very deed for this [cause] have I
raised thee up, for to shew [in] thee my power; and that my name may
be declared throughout all the earth."

     Isaiah 63:13 "That led them through the deep, as an horse in the
wilderness, [that] they should not stumble?"

     God went before them. His presence led them. A horse must be
guided, or he will get lost. God is our Guide. When you walk in the
Light of God, you can see the path clearly.  You will not stumble.

     Isaiah 63:14 "As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit
of the LORD caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make
thyself a glorious name."

     A beast finds a restful place in the valley to lie down and rest.
The Spirit of God decided when the children of Israel should move on.
When the presence of the smoke and fire, stood still they rested. When
the presence of God in the fire and smoke moved, they moved. God, in
all of this, made Himself a name with even the heathen nations around
them.

     Isaiah 63:15  "Look down from heaven, and behold from the
habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where [is] thy zeal and
thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me?
are they restrained?"

     This is the beginning of a prayer from God's people to help them.
The habitation of God is heaven. When Isaiah wrote this, the people
were in captivity in Babylon. The temple in Jerusalem was out of
service. They would automatically assume that God was seated in
heaven. They felt forgotten of God. They are pleading for God to once
again be merciful to them.

     Isaiah 63:16 "Doubtless thou [art] our father, though Abraham be
ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, [art] our
father, our redeemer; thy name [is] from everlasting."

     They were physical descendents of Abraham, but that did not get
them any help. God had redeemed them over and over. Moses had actually
been a type of the great Redeemer Jesus Christ, when he redeemed them
from Egypt. The only time they looked to God, was when they were in
trouble.

     Isaiah 63:17  "O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy
ways, [and] hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants'
sake, the tribes of thine inheritance."

     They are trying to blame their sins on God, here. They say He
made them err. They readily admit that they have erred, but they want
to know why God let them do it? I can answer. They rebelled against
God with their own free will. When they turned their back on God, He
stopped seeking them, until they repented. The tribes of thy
inheritance they thought was all of the Jews. God's inheritance was
actually in those who were faithful to Him.

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

     Now they are saying that the enemy trod down the sanctuary.
Really, the problem with the sanctuary was caused by them. They had
not kept it holy, as God wished. In a sense, they brought the
sanctuary down with their sin.

     Isaiah 63:19 "We are [thine]: thou never barest rule over them;
they were not called by thy name."

     This is saying, the people who had captured them were not God's
people. God allowed the heathen to take them to teach them a lesson.
God controls everyone, even these Babylonians. They did not realize
it, but it was God's wishes that the Babylonians take them, to cause
them to repent. We and the Jewish people are God's chosen, as long as
we obey Him and are faithful to Him.
                          Isaiah 72 Questions


1.  What is another name for Edom?
2.  Where is Bozrah?
3.  Who is verse one speaking of spiritually?
4.  Who was Edom's leader?
5.  What had he done that angered God?
6.  Who was the One glorious in His apparel?
7.  Quote Revelation chapter 14 verse 19.
8.  The red in the apparel could be from ________.
9.  Who brings judgement on these evil people.
10. What is the time mentioned in verse 4?
11. Quote Matthew chapter 13 verse 30.
12. What is the barn in the above verse?
13. Who brought salvation?
14. Quote Acts chapter 4 verse 12.
15. The destruction was a _____________ from God.
16. Quote 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 9.
17. Who is Jesus the Saviour of?
18. Quote John chapter 3 verse 6.
19. Quote Isaiah chapter 53 verse 5.
20. What does "vexing the Holy Spirit" mean?
21. What is the Holy Spirit?
22. What led God's people in the wilderness?
23. Quote Exodus chapter 15 verse 8.
24. Quote Exodus chapter 9 verse 16.
25. When you walk in the Light, you will not ___________.
26. Who decided when the children of Israel should move {during their
    wilderness wanderings}?
27. Verse 15 is the beginning of what?
28. Who did they accuse of making them err?
29. Who really had trodden down the sanctuary?
30. Why had God allowed the heathen to capture them?