Bible Study Isaiah 63
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Isaiah 63 · WEB

The Divine Warrior and a Prayer of Lament

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Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? This who is glorious in his clothing, marching in the greatness of his strength? "It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save."
2Why is your clothing red, and your garments like one who treads in the wine vat?
3"I have trodden the wine press alone. Of the peoples, there was no one with me. I trod them in my anger, and trampled them in my wrath. Their lifeblood is sprinkled on my garments, and I have stained all my clothing.
4For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redeemed has come.
5I looked, and there was no one to help; and I wondered that there was no one to uphold. Therefore my own arm brought salvation to me; and my wrath upheld me.
6I trod down the peoples in my anger, and made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth."
7I will tell of the loving kindnesses of Yahweh and the praises of Yahweh, according to all that Yahweh has given us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he has given them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.
8For he said, "Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely." So he was their Savior.
9In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and in his pity he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
10But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. Therefore he turned and became their enemy, and he himself fought against them.
11Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying, "Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put his Holy Spirit among them?
12Who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses? Who divided the waters before them, to make himself an everlasting name?
13Who led them through the depths, as a horse in the wilderness, so that they didn't stumble?
14As the livestock that go down into the valley, the Spirit of Yahweh caused them to rest. So you led your people, to make yourself a glorious name."
15Look down from heaven, and see from the habitation of your holiness and of your glory. Where are your zeal and your mighty acts? The yearning of your heart and your compassion is restrained toward me.
16For you are our Father, though Abraham doesn't know us, and Israel doesn't acknowledge us. You, Yahweh, are our Father. Our Redeemer from everlasting is your name.
17O Yahweh, why do you make us wander from your ways, and harden our heart from your fear? Return for your servants' sake, the tribes of your inheritance.
18Your holy people possessed it but a little while. Our adversaries have trodden down your sanctuary.
19We have become as they over whom you never ruled, as those who were not called by your name.
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Summary

Isaiah 63 opens with a stunning theophany — God appears as a solitary warrior returning from Edom, his garments blood-red from treading the winepress of divine judgment on the nations. He announces that the day of vengeance has come and that no one was found to help him, so his own arm brought salvation. The chapter then pivots dramatically to a communal lament in which the people recall God's great acts of lovingkindness in the Exodus — how he carried them, saved them through the angel of his presence, and bore them up — yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. The lament ends with the people crying out to God as their Father and Redeemer, pleading for him to look down and return, since their enemies have trampled his sanctuary.

Themes

  • Divine judgment: God alone treads the winepress of wrath against the nations
  • God's compassionate identification with his people's suffering
  • Israel's rebellion and grieving of the Holy Spirit
  • Lament and appeal to God as Father and Redeemer
  • The tension between God's past faithfulness and the people's present desolation

Key verses

  • Isa 63:1 — “Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? This who is glorious in his clothing, marching in the greatness of his strength? 'It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.'”
  • Isa 63:10 — “But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. Therefore he turned and became their enemy, and he himself fought against them.”
  • Isa 63:16 — “For you are our Father, though Abraham doesn't know us, and Israel doesn't acknowledge us. You, Yahweh, are our Father. Our Redeemer from everlasting is your name.”
  • Isa 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. He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”

Context & background

Isaiah 63 begins with a vision set at Bozrah, the ancient capital of Edom (modern Busayra in southern Jordan), a nation historically hostile to Israel. The image of the divine warrior with blood-stained garments echoes ancient Near Eastern battle imagery and functions as a picture of total, decisive judgment. The chapter then shifts into a communal lament (extending through Isaiah 64) that draws heavily on the Exodus tradition — recalling the crossing of the Red Sea, the leadership through the wilderness, and God's sustaining Spirit — events tied to the Sinai Peninsula and ancient Egypt. The reference to the sanctuary being trampled (v. 18) likely reflects the trauma of Babylonian conquest and the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in modern-day Israel, lending urgency to the people's cry for God to intervene again as he did in the days of Moses.

Cross-references

  • Eph 4:30 — "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit" — a direct New Testament application of the warning in Isaiah 63:10
  • Exod 14:19; 23:20 — The angel of God's presence who led Israel in the Exodus, referenced in Isaiah 63:9
  • Joel 3:13 — "Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe" — a parallel winepress-of-judgment image
  • Ps 89:26 — "You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation" — parallels Israel's appeal to God as Father in Isaiah 63:16
  • Rev 19:13–15 — The rider on the white horse with a robe dipped in blood, treading the winepress of God's wrath, echoes Isaiah 63:1–6

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  1. Observe

    From which place does the divine warrior come in verse 1?

  2. Observe

    According to verses 7–9, how does the prophet describe God's posture toward Israel's affliction?

  3. Interpret

    What is the theological significance of God treading the winepress alone (vv. 3, 5)?

  4. Interpret

    Why does the lament appeal to God as Father even though Abraham and Israel do not acknowledge them (v. 16)?

  5. Apply

    How should believers respond when, like Israel, they have drifted from God after experiencing his faithfulness?

  6. Apply

    What does the people's honest lament about God's apparent absence (vv. 15, 17–19) teach about prayer?

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