The Book Of Isaiah. Day 171, Who Is This?

I'm happy to finally be back to the Bible study. My laptop was a mess and was so slow I couldn't use it. It still has a few weird quirks but those are due to it being old and low on memory; the computer person can't do anything about that. I really need a new one but right now isn't a good time to purchase one because we've had to spend quite a bit on the house my mother-in-law is moving into.

Today we are beginning Chapter 63. Earlier in the book of Isaiah we talked about the prophecies regarding the advent of the Redeemer and also the glory of His eternal kingdom. Today we will talk about the day of His vengeance.

In our last study session the Lord said He would judge Israel's enemies and vindicate the people of Israel. One of Israel's ancient enemies was the nation of Edom. The Edomites were descended from Jacob's brother Esau but the Edomites felt no affection for their close kinsmen. When the Lord led Jacob's descendants out of Egypt, the Edomites refused them passage on the way to the promised land. The Israelites pointed out that they wanted nothing from the Edomites---that they would drink their own water and eat their own food---but the Edomites came out in battle array against them. The beginning of today's passage makes a reference to Edom.

The prophet Isaiah sees someone coming out of Edom wearing robes that are stained red. He wants to know the identity of the person and, since the person is the Lord, I will be capitalizing the pronouns. "Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with His robes stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of His strength?" (Isaiah 63:1a) 

The person in the robes answers him: "It is I, proclaiming victory, mighty to save." (Isaiah 63:1b) Who is mighty to save except the Lord? This is a phrase used for Him a number of times in the Bible. So, having established that this person is the Lord, why is He coming out of Edom and why are His robes stained red? 

We know Christ wasn't born in Edom and that He wasn't descended from Esau, but that's not what the vision is about: the vision is about judgment, not the advent of Christ. We can surely say that Edom was judged in antiquity and that there is no nation of Edom in the world today. Of all the people in the ancient world who should have extended the hand of friendship to the Israelites, it was the Edomites, but they cared nothing about their shared roots and they had come to care nothing about the God their shared ancestors worshiped. The Edomites very quickly fell into idolatry after the time of Jacob and Esau. They hated the Israelites, they did not serve the God of the Israelites, and on the pages of the Old Testament they opposed the Israelites time and time again and joined with their enemies against them. 

So we see that the Lord is coming out of Edom, not because He was born there but because He went there to carry out an act of judgement, and now He is emerging from there. I believe that the segment we are studying today and tomorrow is a metaphor. I believe that Edom represents the unbelievers of the world (and the enemies of the Lord's people) and that Israel represents the believers of the world. I think that this segment is about the judgment of the wicked and the salvation of the godly.

As we learn more about the stained garments in tomorrow's study session, we will look at a reference from the book of Revelation about these garments. We will see that the One striding forward in the greatness of His strength can be no one other than the Lord Jesus Christ.