Jesus was a mighty savior

JESUS WAS A MIGHTY SAVIOR
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Isaiah63:1 1Who is this coming from Edom, from
Bozrah, with his garments stainedcrimson? Who is
this, robed in splendor, stridingforward in the
greatness of his strength? "It is I, proclaimingvictory,
mighty to save."
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Coming Saviour
Isaiah63:1
W.M. Statham
Mighty to save. The question is asked, Who is this?" and the answeris given
in Easternfigures of speech, which representChrist's characterand work.
I. THE SAVIOUR COMES WITHA GREAT SACRIFICE. With "dyed
garments;" for the cross lies at the foundation of the world's recovery. We are
wearyof all theories of atonement from Anselm's day downwards, but the
atonement remains as the centraltruth of our religion. It rests on our Lord's

own authority as well as upon St. Paul's;for he said himself, "This cup is the
new testamentin my blood, which is shed for you for the remissionof sins."
II. THE SAVIOUR COMES IN THE IMAGE OF GOD. He is the express
Image of the Father. "Glorious in his apparel," so that through all the ages
men may see truth turned into life. Once in all history we see One who was
holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners." Christ was "clothed
with light as with a garment,"
III. THE SALVATION IS ATTESTED IN EVERY AGE.
1. Mighty - in his own revealedgrace and power.
2. Mighty - in that every degree ofguilt and sin is reachedby his infinite arm.
3. Mighty - in that he saves right through, which is the meaning of the word
"to the uttermost." - W.M.S.
Biblical Illustrator
Who is this that cometh from Edom?

Isaiah63:1-6
Jehovah's triumph over His people's foes
Prof. S. R. Driver, D. . D.
A passageofunique and sublime dramatic power. The impotence of Israel's
enemies to retard or interfere with their deliverance has been insisted on
before (Isaiah 41:15 f., 49:25, 26, 51:23, 54:17);and it is here developed under
a novel and striking figure. The historicalfact upon which the representation
rests is the long-standing and implacable enmity subsisting betweenIsraeland
Edom. The scene depictedis, of course, no event of actual history; it is
symbolical; an ideal humiliation of nations, marshalled upon the territory of
Israel's inveterate foe, is the form under which the thought of Israel's triumph
is here expressed. The prophet sees in imagination a figure, as of a conqueror,
his garments crimsoned with" blood, advancing proudly, in the distance from
the direction of Edom, and asks, "Who is this that cometh?" etc. In reply, he
hears from afar the words, "I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save," i.e.
I who have announced (Isaiah45:19) a just and righteous purpose of
deliverance, and am able to give "it effect. The answeris not yet sufficiently
explicit, so he repeats the question in a more direct form, "Wherefore art
Thou red in Thine apparel?' etc. (vers. 2, 3). Not Edom only, then, but other
nations also have been trodden down and subdued (vers. 4-6). In the hour
when the contestIsraelcontra mundum was to be decided, no human agent,
willingly or consciously, came forwardto assist;nevertheless, God's purposes
were not frustrated: Israel's opponents were humbled and defeated;but
human means, in so far as use was made of them, were the unconscious
instruments of Providence. And thus the blood-stained colourof the Victor's
garments is explained: it is a token of Jehovah's triumph overHis people's
foes, primarily, indeed, over those foes who would impede the release ofthe
Jews from Babylon, or molest them when settled againin Palestine, but by
implication also, overother foes who might rise up in the future to assailthe
people of God.
(Prof. S. R. Driver, D. . D.)

The Saviour -- God of Israel
Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.
The image presented is one of the most impressive and awe-inspiring in the
Old Testament, and it is difficult to say which is most to be admired, the
dramatic vividness of the vision, or the reticence which concealsthe actual
work of slaughter and concentratesthe attention on the Divine Hero as He
emerges victorious from the conflict.
(Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.)
Who is the Hero?
Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.
It was a serious misapprehensionof the spirit of the prophecy which led many
of the Fathers to apply it to the passionand death of Christ. Although certain
phrases, detachedfrom their context, may suggestthat interpretation to a
Christian reader, there canbe no doubt that the scene depictedis a "drama of
Divine vengeance" (G. A. Smith), into which the idea of propitiation does not
enter. The solitaryFigure who speaks in vers. 3-6 is not the servant of the
Lord, or the Messiah, but JehovahHimself (comp. the parallel, Isaiah 59:16);
the blood which reddens His garments is expressly said to be that of His
enemies;and the "winepress" is no emblem of the spiritual sufferings endured
by our Lord, but of the "fiercenessand wrath of Almighty God' (Revelation
19:15)towards the adversaries ofHis Kingdom. While it is true that the
judgment is the prelude to the redemption of Israel, the passagebefore us
exhibits only the judicial aspectof the Divine dealings, and it is not
permissible to soften the terrors of the picture by introducing soteriological
conceptions whichlie beyond its scope.
(Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.)
The Conqueror from Edom

Bp. Phillips Brooks.
What does it mean — the prophetic Genius waiting, watching, and
questioning; the mighty strangercoming fresh from victorious battle, with the
robe red as if with the stain of grapes, coming up from Edom, with dyed
garments from Bozrah? Edom, remember, was the country where the
Israelites'most inveterate enemies lived. No other nation pressedon them so
constantly or gave them such continual trouble as the Edomites. And Bozrah
was the capital city of Edom, the centre of its power. When the conqueror
comes from Edom, then, and finds Israelanxious and eagerupon the
mountain, and shows her his stained robe in sign of the struggle which he has
gone through, and then tells her that the victory is complete, that because he
saw that she had no defender he has undertaken her defence and trodden
Edom under foot for her, we can -,understand something of the powerand
comfort of such a poetic vision to the Hebrew's heart. There may have been
some specialevent which it commemorated. Some specialdanger may have
threatened on the side of the tumultuous Edomites, and some special
unexpected deliverer may have appearedwho saved the country, and was
honoured by this song of praise. But every such specialdeliverance to the deep
religious and patriotic feeling of the Jew had a much wider meaning. Every
partial mercy to his nation always pointed to the one greatmercy which was
to embrace all others, to the coming of the Messiah, whose adventwas to be
the source ofevery good, and the cure of every evil. And so these words of
Isaiahmount to a higher strain than any that could have greetedan Israelite
warrior who aright have made a successfulincursioninto Edomite soil. The
prophet is singing of the victorious Messiah. This Hebrew Messiahhas come,
and is more than the Hebrew Messiah:He is the Christian's Christ, He is our
Saviour.
(Bp. Phillips Brooks.)
Christ's struggle and triumph

Very often now this sounds strange and incomprehensible; this absorption of
every struggle betweenthe goodand the evil that is going on in the world into
the one greatstruggle of the life and death of Jesus Christ; but it follows
necessarilyfrom any such full idea as we Christians hold of what Jesus Christ
is and of what brought Him to this world. If He be really the Son of God,
bringing in an utterly new way the powerof God to bear on human life; if He
be the natural-Creator-King of humanity, come for the salvation of humanity;
then it would seem to follow that the work of salvationmust be His, and His
alone:and if we see the process ofsalvation, the struggle of the goodagainst
the evil, going on all over the world, we shall be ready still to feelthat it is all
under His auspices and guidance;that the effort of any benighted soulin any
darkestheathen land to get awayfrom its sins, and castitself upon an assured
mercy of its God, is part of His great work, is to the full intelligent faith of the
well-taught Christian believer just what the struggle of a blind plant
underground to reachthe surface is to the free aspiration of the oak-tree,
which in the full glory of the sunlight reaches outits eagerbranches toward
the glorious sun — a result of the same power, and a contribution to the same
victorious success.All forces strive after simplicity and unity. Operations in
nature, in mechanics, in chemistry, which men have long treated as going on
under a variety of powers, are gradually showing themselves to be the fruits of
one greatmightier power, which in many various forms of application is able
to produce them all. This is the most beautiful development of our modern
science. The Christian belief in Christ holds the same thing of the spiritual
world, and unites all partial victories everywhere into one greatvictory which
is the triumph of its Lord. On no other ground can Christianity stand with its
exclusive claims, and Christianity is in its very nature exclusive. In the
susceptibility of all men to the same influences of the highest sort, there comes
out the only valuable proof of the unity of the human race, I think.
Demonstrate whatyou may about the diversity of origin or structure of
humanity, so long as the soul capable of the greathuman struggle and the
greathuman helps is in every man, the human race is one, On the other hand,
demonstrate as perfectly as you will the identity of origin and structure of all
humanity, yet if you find men so spiritually different in two hemispheres that
the same largestobligations do not impress and the same largestloves do not
softenthem, what does your unity of the human race amount to? Here, it

seems to me, Christ in His broad appealto all men of all races, is the true
assorterofthe only valuable human unity. If this be so, then whereverthere is
goodat work in the world, we Christians may see the progress of the struggle,
and rejoice alreadyin the victory of Christ.
The method of Christ's salvation
Let us go on and look, as far as we may, into the method of this salvation;
first, for the world at large, and then for the single soul. And in both let us
follow the story of the old Jewishvision. Who is this that cometh from
Edom?" Sin hangs on the borders of goodness everywhere,as just across the
narrow Jordan valley Edom always lay threateningly upon the skirts of
Palestine. How terribly constantit was!How it kept the people on a strain all
the while! The moment that a Jew steppedacross the border, the Edomites
were on him. The moment a flock or beastof his wandered too far, the enemy
had seizedhim. If in the carelessnessofa festival the Israelites left the border
unguarded, the hated Edomites found it out and came swooping downjust
when the mirth ran highest and the sentinels were leastcareful. If a Jew's field
of wheat was speciallyrich, the Edomite saw the greensignal from his hilltop,
and in the morning the field was bare. There was no rest, no safety. They had
met the chosenpeople on their way into the promised land, and tried to keep
them out; and now that they were safely in, there they always hovered, wild,
implacable, and watchful. There could be no terms of compromise with them.
They never slept. They saw the weak point in a moment; they struck it quick
as lightning strikes. The constantdread, the nightmare, of Jewishhistory is
this Edom lying there upon the border, like a lion crouchedto spring. There
cannot be one greatfight, or one great war, and then the thing done for ever.
It is an endless fight with an undying enemy! Edom upon the borders of
Judah!

1. We open any page of human history and what do we see? There is a higher
life in man. Imperfect, full of mixture, just like that mottled history of
Hebrewdom; yet still it is in human history what Judea was in the old world
— the spiritual, the upward, the religious element; something that believes in
God and struggles afterHim. Nota page can you open but its mark is there.
"Sometimes it is an aspirationafter civilization, sometimes it is a doctrinal
movement, sometimes it is a mystical piety that is developed; sometimes it is
social;sometimes it is ascetic and purely individual; sometimes it is a Socrates,
sometimes it is a St. Francis, sometimes it is a Luther, sometimes it is a
Florence Nightingale. It is there in some shape always:this goodamong the
evil, this power of God among the forces ofmen, this Judah in the midst of
Asia. But always right on its border lies the hostile Edom, watchful,
indefatigable, inexorable as the redoubtable old foe of the Jews. If progress
falters a moment, the whole mass of obstructive ignorance is rolled upon it. If
faith leaves a loophole undefended, the quick eye of Atheism sees it from its
watch-towerand hurls its quick strength there, If goodnessgoesto sleepupon
its arms, sleepless wickednessis across the valley, and the fields which it has
takenmonths of toil to sow and ripen are sweptoff in a night. Is not this the
impression of the world, of human life, that you get, whether you open the
history of any century or unfold your morning newspaper? The recordof a
struggling charity is crowded by the story of the prison and the court. The
world waits at the church door to catchthe worshipper as he comes out. The
goodwork of one century relaxes a moment for a breathing spell, and the next
century comes in with its licentiousness orits superstition. Always it is the
higher life pressed, watched, haunted by the lower: always it is Judah with
Edom at its gates. No one greatbattle comes to settle it for ever: it is an
endless fight with an undying enemy.
2. How is it in these little worlds, which we are carrying about? You have your
good, your Spirituality, your better life; something that bears witness of God.
How evil crowds you! You cannot fight it out at once and have it done. You go
on quietly for days, and think the enemy is dead. Just when you are safest,
there he is again, more alive than ever. We live a spiritual life like the life that
our fathers used to live here in New England, who always took their guns to
church with them and smootheddown the graves of their beloved dead in the

churchyard that the hostile and watchful Indians might not know how weak
they were. This is the greatdiscouraging burden of our experience ofsin. "We
look and there is none to help. We wonder that there is none to uphold." No
powerof salvationcomes out of the goodhalf of the heart to conquer and to
kill the bad. We grow not to expect to see the bad half conquered. Every
morning we lift up our eyes, and there are the low, black hill-tops across the
narrow valley, with the black tents upon their sides, where Edom lies in wait.
Who shall deliver us from the bad world and our bad selves? Whatthen? It is
time for the sunrise when the night gets as dark as this. It is time for the
Saviour when the world and the soul have learnt their helplessnessand sin.
"Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this
that is glorious in His apparel, travelling in the greatnessofHis strength?"
The whole work of the Saviour has relation to and issues from the factof sin.
If there had been no sin there would have been no Saviour. He comes from the
right direction, and He has an attractive majesty of movement as He first
appears. This, as to the watcheron the hill-tops of Judea, so to the soul that
longs for some solution of the spiritual problem, some release fromthe
spiritual bondage, is the first aspectof the approaching Christ. He comes from
the right way, and He seems strong.
The righteous Saviour
Let us look at what He says to His anxious questioner; what accountof
Himself He gives; what He has done to Edom; and especiallywhatmean these
blood-stains on His robes.
1. We ask Him, "Who is this?" and He replies, "I that come in righteousness,
mighty to save." Thatreassures us, and is goodat the very outset. The Saviour
comes in the strength of righteousness. Righteousnessis at the bottom of all
things. Any reform or salvationof which the power is righteousness must go
down to the very root of the trouble; must extenuate and coverover nothing;

must expose and convict completely, in order that it may completely heal. And
this is the power of the salvationof Christ. Edom must be destroyed, not
parleyed with; sin must be beaten down, not conciliated;goodmust thrive by
the defeat, and not merely by the tolerance ofevil.
2. The questioner wonders, as the Saviour comes nearer, at the strange signs
of battle and agony upon His robes. "Wherefore artThou red in Thine
apparel, and Thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat?" And the
answeris, "I have trodden the winepress:" "I will tread them in Mine anger,"
etc. It is no holiday monarch coming with a bloodless triumph. It has been no
pageantof a day, this strife with sin. The robes have trailed in the blood. The
swordis dented with conflict. The power of God has struggledwith the enemy
and subdued him only in the agony of strife. What pain may mean to the
Infinite and Divine, what difficulty may mean to Omnipotence, I cannottell.
Only I know that all that they could mean they meant here. This symbol of the
blood bears this greattruth, which has been the powerof salvationto millions
of hearts, and which must make this Conquerorthe Saviour of your heart too,
the truth that only in self-sacrificeand suffering could even God conquer sin.
Sin is never so dreadful as when we see the Saviour with that blood upon His
garments. And the SaviourHimself, surely He is never so dear, never wins so
utter and so tender a love, as when we see what it has costHim to save us. Out
of that love born of His suffering comes the new impulse after a holy life; and
so when we stand at last purified by the power of grateful obedience, it shall
be said of us, binding our holiness and escape fromour sin close to our Lord's
struggle with sin for us, that we have "washedour robes and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb."
3. But He says something more. Not merely He has conqueredcompletely and
conquered in suffering: He has conqueredalone. He brings out victory in His
open hand. From His hand we take it by the power of prayer, and to Him
alone we render thanks here and for ever.
4. Yet once more. What was the fruit of this victory over Edom which the Seer
of Israel discoveredfrom his mountain-top? It setIsrael free from continual
harassing and fear, and gave her a chance to develop along the way that God
had marked out for her. Freedom! That is the word. It built no cities;it sowed

no fields; it only broke off the burden of that hostile presence and bade the
chosennation go free into its destiny. And so what is the fruit of the salvation
that the Divine Saviour brings to the souls of men? It does not finish them at
once;it does not fill and stock their lives with heavenly richness in a moment.
But it does just this. It sets them free; it gives them a new chance.
5. And notice that this Conquerorwho comes, comes strong "travelling in the
greatness of His strength." He has not left His might behind Him in the
struggle. He is all ready, with the same strength with which He conquered, to
enter in and rule and educate the nation He has saved. And so the Saviour has
not done all when He has forgiven you. By the same strength of love and
patience which saved you upon Calvary, He will come in, if you will let Him,
and train your savedlife into perfectness ofgrace and glory.
Mighty to save
F. W. Brown.
I. THE NATURE OF THE CONFLICT CHRIST WAGED IN OUR WORLD
AMONG MEN. It was —
1. Voluntary. Christ came joyfully, willingly, and self-forgetfully.
2. Sanguinary. The victory was not achievedwithout a severe struggle.
3. Substitutionary. The hero was travelling in his strength, and had wrought
deliverance from the foe, had savedthose for whom he had gone forth to the
fray. So our Redeemercame to conquer sin and death, not for Himself, but for
us.
II. THE COMPLETENESS OF THE CONQUEST CHRIST ACHIEVED IN
THE CONFLICT. The victor from Edom was more than a conqueror.
1. He survived the fight. Many a warrior has won a victory, but has lost his
life in winning it. Jesus laid down His life to conquer death, but He took it up
again;"and behold He is alive for evermore."

2. lie subdued the foe. The hero from Edom was travelling peacefully, for the
enemy had been completely vanquished, the conquest finally won of lords."
III. THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE CROWN CHRIST SECURED BYHIS
GREAT CONQUEST. The conquerorfrom Edom appeared clothedin
glorious apparel and in greatstrength; there was a halo of glory around his
head. In this aspectwe geta picture of our triumphant Lord. He assumedthe
vestment of our poor humanity, and was "as a root out of a dry ground;" yet
He was clothed with the beautiful garments of grace and righteousness, of
spotless purity. His crown.of glory consistedin the following facts —
1. That justice was satisfied.
2. That pardon was procured. The full price of redemption was paid.
3. That heavenwas opened.
(F. W. Brown.)
The secondadvent
H. Melvill, B. D.
I. The first thing is to determine the just answerto the question, "Who is this
that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? in other words,
we have to ascertainwho IS THE WARRIOR DELINEATED IN THIS
PROPHECY.
1. The only endeavour to refer this prediction to another than Christ, appears
to be that which would assignas its subject Judas Maccabeus,becausethis
greatJewishcaptain who did so valiantly for the Jews in the days of
Antiochus, overcame the Idumeans in battle; and if every circumstance
favoured that interpretation (and we might, perhaps, suppose that this
illustrious deliverer, in common with Moses,and Joshua, and other saviours
of Israel, may be regarded as a type of the Messiah), stillwe could only plead
for the accommodation, not for the completion of the prophecy. However
splendid the achievements ofJudas Maccabeus, there canbe no sense,

commensurate with the expression, in which the chieftain could describe
himself as "speaking in righteousness," andassertthat the year of his
redeemedwas come, or affirm that his own arm had brought salvation:so
that were it allowedthat the prediction had a primary fulfilment in Judas
Maccabeus, we should still have to searchfor another accomplishment. It
seems, however, satisfactorilyestablishedthat Idumea or Edom at the
prophet's time was a different country from that which Judas conquered. This
circumstance excludes Judas Maccabeusfrom all share in the prophecy
before us; and there remains none but the Redeemerof men in whom we can
look for its accomplishment.
2. When it is admitted that the prophecy delineates Christ, we have to
determine whether it be to an actionalready achievedor yet to be performed
by the Saviour, that so sublime a description refers. It canonly have been
through inattention or oversightthat any have supposedthe prediction to
relate to the death and passionof the Mediator. You observe that though the
Redeemeris introduced as stained with blood, it is with the blood of His
enemies, not with His own. There is a little obscurity in the answerarising
from our translatorhaving used the future tense instead of the past; and,
according to BishopLowth, it should be, "I trod them in anger, and trampled
them in indignation, and their life blood was sprinkled upon My garments,
and I have stainedall My apparel." It was not, therefore, the winepress which
He trod in His agony at the crucifixion, whence He brought these dyed
garments; He must have been engagedin shedding the blood of others rather
than pouring forth His own, ere He breaks forth on the seer's vision travelling
in the greatnessofHis strength. The only circumstance associatedwith the
first advent of Christ to which the prophecy canbe fairly thought to refer, is
the destructionof Jerusalemat that terrible visitation in which the Redeemer
came down in vengeance,and dealt with His enemies with the strongest
retribution. Yet, whateverthere might have been in the desolations ofJudea
answering to the fearful expressions whichChrist applies to this act, it
certainly was not from Edom and Bozrah that He came, when returning from
the overthrow of Jerusalem. Of course it was not from the literal Edom, and
the literal Bozrah, but neither was it from the figurative. We believe that
Edom and Bozrah are here used to denote nations that have been opposedto

Christ and His people, and never was there a fiercer oppositionthan that of
the Jews ere their city was destroyed;still it is quite at variance with the rules
of Scripture metaphor, that the posterity of Jacobshould be describedby
terms which belong rightly to the posterity of Esau. We may add that Christ's
description of vengeance takenis immediately followedby thankful
acknowledgments ofgreatgoodto the house of Israel. If the prophecy have
reference to the destruction of Jerusalem, how comes it to be instantly
succeededby a hymn of praise for God's mercy to the Jews? Onthese various
accounts we do not hesitate to assertthat the prediction finds no fulfilment in
the events of past days; that the future must be chargedwith its
accomplishment, and that the fearful form on which the prophet looked, the
form of a warrior, fresh from the victory, must be that of Christ appearing, as
He shall appear, at the close ofthis dispensation, when He has swepta clear
scene for setting up His kingdom, and purged the earth from the pollutions of
crime. And to those who are familiar with the prophecies which describe the
last times, it will immediately suggestitself, that the sudden transition from
the assertionof the destruction of antichristian powers, to the offering up of
the thanksgiving of the Jews, is in admirable keeping with the whole tenor of
prophecy. It seems clearlythe import of yet unfulfilled predictions of
Scripture, that the restorationof the Jews to their own laud, that greatevent
on which hangs the conversionof the nations, shall not be accomplished
without the opposition and overthrow of the confederatedpowers of
antichrist. If, therefore, we considerthe final destruction of the antichristian
powers as the slaughterof Idumea, from which Christ is returning, it is quite
natural that the praises of the house of Israel should immediately succeedthe
accountof the overthrow.
II. Our business is to show THE JUSTICE OF THE INTERPRETATION
which would associatethe prophecy with the Saviour's secondadvent.
1. We shall examine what Scripture makes knownwith regard to the second
advent.
2. We shall endeavour to establishthe thorough agreementbetweenall we are
thus taught, and the prophecy of ore" text.(1) This coming is representedas
accompaniedby terrific judgements. It appears from the Book ofRevelation

that immediately before the millennium, the scene that is to be introduced by
the coming of Christ, there will be a gathering of the kings of the earth to
battle for the great day of God Almighty. This is the confederacyof
antichristian powers. We not only find that when Christ appears the second
time it will be to take vengeance onHis enemies, but we seemto be furnished
with a thorough answerto the question, "Who is this that comethfrom Edom.
etc.(2)The only point which seems to need illustration, ere we proceedto fix
the meaning of the text, is the use of the terms Edom and Bozrah, to denote
the confederatedpowers ofantichrist. It is common in Scripture to take the
name belonging to some greatfoe, and to give it to others whose wickedness is
the only connectionwith the parties so called(e.g. Isaiah1:10). The
antichristian power which was allowedfor years to persecute and to harass
the Church, and is at last to be thrown down with violence, is expressly
denominated "Babylon." In like manner, names such as Edom and Moab,
belonging originally to the declaredfoes of God and His people, are used for
others who imitate these foes in their enmity. If you examine the predictions
which relate to these nations you will find prophecy, according to the
characterwhich it usually presents, passing on from the past to what we must
believe yet to come; or, rather, describing the fall of those that first bore the
name in language inappropriate, unless designedto apply to others who by
their wickednessshould deserve the same punishment. So far as Edom and
Bozrah are concerned, the expressions are evidently too strong to refer to
those places literally; and it is impossible to read them and not see that they
relate to a yet future judgment.(3) As to the text, we must ascertainthe period
of the judgment it announces. No soonerhas Isaiah assertedthat the visited
land is given up to Christ, as the avenger, than he breaks out into the
exclamation, "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them;
and the desert shall rejoice, and blossomas the rose;" and proceeds with a
glowing accountof the Mediator's kingdom. Hence it will appearevident that
the judgments described are those which shall introduce the millennium, the
thirty-fifth chapter having reference to this scene ofblessedness;and,
therefore, the thirty-fourth chapter delivering, as it does, a fearful visitation
connectedwith subsequent happiness, must be expectedto coincide with other
predictions respecting Christ's secondcoming. But why are we anxious to
prove that the thirty-fourth chapter of Isaiah predicts the judgment that

attends the Redeemer's advent? Simply because, if this be proved, we shall
also prove that by the names Edom and Bozrahare denoted those
antichristian powers that shall be destroyed by the brightness of Christ's
coming. In the fifth and sixth verses of the thirty-fourth chapter, it is on
Idumea and Bozrahthat the prophet fastens the calamity which forms the
subject of his prophecy. Idumea and Bozrah denote the antichristian powers
who shall be confederatedwhen Christ shall appear. It may be contended that
the prophecy was fulfilled in the destruction of the literal Edom. We know
that Edom was laid waste by Nebuchadnezzar, but this event in no degree
justifies so high-wrought a description. It cannotbe without opposition and
convulsions that Satanis driven from his usurped dominion. It is from Edom
the warrioradvances — the land in which dwelt the enemies of righteousness.
We know this Mighty Being; we know the work with which He is busied. It is
the Redeemerwho was crucified in weakness;and who, after a display of
marvellous forbearance, shallcome forth to avenge His own elect, and destroy
them that destroyedthe earth. Therefore, we know what answerto give when
the prophet demands, "Who is this that comethfrom Edom?(4) We have still
to considerthe answerin the text, and show its appropriateness as proceeding
from Christ at His secondappearing. When the prophet asks the name of the
being whom he beheld travelling in the greatness ofHis strength, the reply is,
"I that speak in righteous" "This reply is not only characteristicofthe
Redeemer, but peculiarly appropriate, as the Redeemerreturns from the
slaughterof His enemies. His actions have just proved Him mighty to destroy,
and His words announce Him "mighty to save," so that He is able to confound
every foe, and uphold every friend. "Now it seems to us that in the reply given
to the challenge ofthe prophet, there is a distinct assertionthat He who comes
with dyed garments from Bozrah maintains those principles of righteousness
which cannot be maintained but by an infinite judge. I that speak in
righteousness, mighty to save. The time at which the answeris made canonly
be that of Christ's secondappearing.
(H. Melvill, B. D.)
Christ has achievedsalvation

T. De W. Talmage, D. D.
We behold here a new revelation of a blessedand startling fact. People talk of
Christ as though He were going to do something grand for us after a while. He
has done it. You might as well talk of Washingtonas though he were going to
achieve our national independence in 1950 as to speak ofChrist as though He
were going to achieve our salvationin the future. He did it in the year of our
Lord 33, on the field of Bozrah, the Captain of our salvationfighting unto
death for our emancipation. All we have to do is to acceptthat fact in our
heart of hearts, and we are free for this world, and for the world to come.
(T. De W. Talmage, D. D.)
Christ's victory
E. C. S. Gibson. M. A.
I. TAKE THE WORDS OF THE VICTORY WON ON CALVARY, and how
they bring home to us the greatnessofour need and of our redemption!
Nothing short of a Divine interposition could save us. There was an old rule of
the poet's art which a heathen has left on record, which said that in the drama
the intervention of a god was not to be made use of by the poet, except on an
occasionworthy of it. And in the greatdrama of the world's redemption,
wrought out in the presence ofheaven and earth, God Himself may with all
reverence be said to have actedupon this rule. God waited while human
systems did what they could for the salvationof the world. God waited
through the long ages while Edom — the powerof the world — seemedto wax
mightier and mightier. Eachone of the centuries which rolled on before the
Incarnation only added to the hopelessnessanddespair of humanity. System
after system of philosophy was tried. Eachin its turn promised much, but
performed little; until at length a dull, blank despair seemedto be settling
down upon a decaying and dying world. And then, at length, God Himself
intervened. And the work which the Son of God undertook in His infinite pity
for man was no holiday task, to be enteredupon with a light heart.

II. WE MAY TAKE THE VISION AS RECEIVING A FULFILMENT IN
OUR OWN LIVES, wheneverin the mercy of God we win a victory over the
powerof evil around us. There are times when we need some such vision as
this to comfort and reassure us in the stress ofthe conflict. There is the
Conqueror from Edom. His blood-stainedgarments are the pledge of His
victory over your foe. And that victory which He won for you on Calvary He
will repeatin you, if you will only yield yourself up to Him.
III. BUT THE PROPHECYIS NOT EXHAUSTED YET. Victory after
victory may be won; but there are gaps in the ranks of those who have fought;
and we have sorrowfully to confess that the powerof evil still remains in the
world. Foiledin one quarter, it is successfulin another. And so it goes onfrom
generationto generation. The heart is made sadand the head grows heavy
with the thought that, conquer evil in our ownperson as we may, yet, after all,
it will outlive us. It will give our children after us just the same trouble that it
has given to us. Yet, here too there is comfort for us in the vision of the
prophet, if we only take in its full meaning, for it points forward to a final
victory in the future when the powerof evil is to be destroyed.
(E. C. S. Gibson. M. A.)
The Hero
Homilist., Homilist.
I. THE HERO HERE IS ONE WHO HAD FOUGHT IN THE MIDST OF
ENEMIES. WhatEdom was to Israel, sin is to the universe. Christ fought in
the midst of enemies;entered the very heart of this sinful world, battled with
evil in all its forms.
II. THE HERO HERE IS ONE WHO HAS BEEN DEEPLYWOUNDED. He
returns from Bozrah with dyed garments. Christ was wounded —
1. In HIS body.
2. In HIS reputation. He was representedas a blasphemer, as a political
traitor, ,as the emissaryof Beelzebub.

3. In His soul. "My soul is exceedinglysorrowful, ' etc.
III. THE HERO HERE IS ONE RETURNING FROM BATTLE IN GREAT
MAGNIFICENCE. "Glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness ofhis
strength." With what magnificence Christ returned from the battle of earth to
the scenesofheaven (Acts 1:9-11).
IV. THE HERO HERE IS ONE WHOSE CAREER HAD BEEN
DISTINGUISHED BY RIGHTEOUSNESS."Ithat speak in righteousness.I,
the declarerof righteousness (as some render it). Though a warrior, he had
invented no stratagems to deceive, and had violatedno rights. Christ was
righteous in all His conflicts. He taught righteousness, He practised
righteousness, He fought for righteousness,He died for righteousness.
V. THE HERO HERE IS ONE, WHOSE STRENGTHIS MIGHTINESS TO
SAVE. His form was the very embodiment of strength; but his strength was
not to destroy, but to save.
(Homilist.)
1. "I that speak in righteousness."The very essenceandbeing of Christ is
righteousness. Butthe expressionhere seems to refer to the factof His being
the incarnate righteousness ofGod and the imputed righteousness ofman. He
speaks in our stead. He stands holy in place of our unholiness.
2. "Mighty to save." The victory was for man. He is mighty to save —
(1)From the vengeance ofDivine justice.
(2)From the malignity of Satan.
(3)From the voice of an accusing conscience.
(4)From the powerand fear of death.
(Homilist.)
No man may punish Christ's enemies, but Himself

B. Robinson.
1. We have no authority.
2. We have no prescription, or rules authorized by custom.
3. Persecutiondoes no good.
4. Christians are taught to love their enemies.
5. The certainty of the day of judgment deters goodmen from persecuting. It
is not enough to persecute the enemies of Christ; we are bound by every
solemn tie to perform every duty, yea more, every kind office of friendship
towards them.
(B. Robinson.)
This that is glorious in His apparel
The glory of Christ in His humiliation
J. Witherspoon.
I. IN WHAT RESPECTSTHE GLORY OF OUR REDEEMERWAS
APPARENT EVEN IN HIS SUFFERINGS, and shone through the dark cloud
that coveredHim in His humiliation.
1. From His ready undertaking of the work of our redemption. There can be
little honour to any man in submitting to what he cannot avoid, or doing what
he dare not refuse; but the humiliation of Christ was perfectly" voluntary.
2. From the greatnessofthose sufferings which He endured. A weak personis
crushed by a small weight;but he who is able to endure uncommon sufferings
shows himself to be possessedofuncommon strength. Our blessedLord, in
His life in this world, endured the greatestand most dreadful sufferings.
(1)His afflictions beganearly, with His first entrance into the world.
(2)His afflictions were constant, without interruption.

(3)Of the severestkind.
(4)The afflictions of our Lord not only continued, but increased, through His
life, till they at lastissued in an extraordinary conflict with the powers of
darkness, and an immediate subjectionto the wrath of a sin-arching God.
3. From the purity of His carriage, andthe perfectionof His patience.
4. From the end He had in view in His sufferings, and which He so effectually
obtained. The glory of God, and the salvationof sinners.
II. PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENT.
1. We are here canedto admire and adore the unsearchable wisdomand
unspeakable love of God.
2. The guilt and danger of all who are not reconciledto God.
3. The encouragementof sinners to return to God through Christ.
4. Be is able to uphold the weakestChristianin the midst of the most
dangerous temptations, though He often suffers the self-sufficientto fall
before His enemies. Wherefore believe in the almighty power of your
Redeemer.
5. The comfort of every disconsolatesoul.
(J. Witherspoon.)
Mighty to save.
Might and mercy
Julius Brigg.
Mostof our ideas of might are associatedwith the "terrible majesty of God.
E.g. the deluge; destruction of the cities of the plain; earthquakes, etc. These
show might in connectionwith judgment. The text directs our thoughts to
might in connectionwith mercy.

I. POWER IN THE WORKING OUT OF THE GREAT REDEMPTIVE
PLAN.
1. Typical sacrifices.
2. Prophetic ministry.
3. Christ's atonementand intercession.
II. POWER IN THE SAVING AGENCY AT WORK IN THE WORLD.
1. The Divine Spirit.
2. The Church of Christ.
III. POWER AS SEEN IN THE LIVES OF THOSE SAVED BY DIVINE
MERCY.
1. Their numbers. "A great multitude."
2. Their characters. MaryMagdalene;Saul of Tarsus;the Corinthians (1
Corinthians 6:11).
IV. POWER IN THE COMPLETION OF THE WORK OF MERCY.
Resurrectionof body, and eternal union of body and soul in glory.
Conclusion:
1. The divine fight of mercy does not render personaleffort unnecessary.
2. The fact that the Divine power and mercy are united in seeking our
salvationshould lead us to immediate and hearty surrender to God.
(Julius Brigg.)
Glorious Almightiness of the Redeemer
U. R. Thomas, B. A.
The Redeemer's mightiness to save may be seen —

I. IN THE NATURE OF THE EVIL FROM WHICH HE saws. So we
measure the success ofa physician, a statesman, a warrior. Christ saves from
sin, the most malignant disease — from sin, the wildest internal revolt — from
sin, the strongestaggressive foe. In this saving work this "Announcer of
Righteousnessis almighty in atonement and in redemption. He makes a man
right with God, right with self, right with the universe.
II. IN THE BIOGRAPHIES OF THOSE HE HAS SAVED. The Christ of the
ages has transformed multitudes. His victory on the Cross overthe heart of
the dying thief is but a pledge and specimenof His victory by the Cross overa
million others. Mary, Saul, Augustine, Bunyan, are but conspicuous instances
out of a greatmultitude which no man can number.
III. IN THE WORK HE HAS YET TO ACCOMPLISH. The Divine
predictions are, "As I live, the whole earth shall be filled with My glory." "He
must reign," etc. How vast the work of the Redeemeryet to be done! Its
vastness is illustrated in —
1. Individual characters yet to be renewedand perfected. Introspection helps
us to understand this.
2. The vast area of human lives to be regenerated. The redemptive work is to
girdle the entire globe.
3. The ages through which this work will continue. For such stubborn, widely-
extended, and long-enduring sinners, only He can be equal who is "mighty to
save."
(U. R. Thomas, B. A.)
A mighty Saviour
I. WHAT ARE WE TO UNDERSTAND BYTHE WORDS "TO SAVE"?
Something more than just delivering penitents from going down to hell. By the
words "to save, I understand the whole of the greatwork of salvation, from
the first holy desire, the first spiritual conviction, onward to complete
sanctification. All this done of God through Jesus Christ.

II. HOW CAN WE PROVE THAT CHRIST IS " MIGHTY TO SAVE"? The
argument is, that He has done it. We need no other; it were superfluous to add
another. He has savedmen in the full extent and meaning of the word, which
we have endeavoured to explain. The best proof you can ever have of God's
being mighty to save is, that He savedyou.
III. WHY IS CHRIST "MIGHTY TO SAVE"?
1. Becauseofthe infinite efficacyof his atoning blood.
2. Becauseofthe omnipotent influence of His Divine Spirit.
IV. WHAT ARE THE INFERENCESTO BE DERIVED FROM THE FACT
THAT JESUS CHRIST IS "MIGHTY TO SAVE "?
1. Ministers should preachin faith.
2. There is encouragementfor men and women who are praying to God for
their friends.
3. Here is encouragementforthe seeking sinner.
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
Omnipotent to save
W. Craig.
I. IN THE DIGNITY OF THE NATURE OF CHRIST, AND THE
MYSTERIOUS CONSTITUTION OF HIS PERSONWE HAVE THE BEST
OF REASONS FOR CONCLUDINGTHAT HE IS OMNIPOTENTTO
SAVE.
II. IN THE TRIUMPH OF CHRIST OVER ALL HIS AND OUR ENEMIES
WE HAVE ANOTHER REASON FOR BELIEVING THAT HE IS
OMNIPOTENT TO SAVE.

III. IN THE RESURRECTIONOF CHRIST FROM THE STATE OF THE
DEAD WE HAVE ANOTHER REASON TO BELIEVE THAT HE IS
OMNIPOTENT TO SAVE.
IV. IN THE EXALTATION OF CHRIST TO GLORY WE HAVE
ANOTHER AND A CONVINCING EVIDENCE THAT HE IS MIGHTY TO
SAVE.
V. IN THE POSITIVE DECLARATIONS OF SCRIPTURE ON THIS
SUBJECT, AND IN PLAIN MATTERS OF FACT, IN THESE
SCRIPTURESRECORDED, WE HAVE THE MOST INTELLIGIBLE
EVIDENCE THAT HE IS MIGHTY TO SAVE.
VI. IN THEIR OWN EXPERIENCEALL GOOD CHRISTIANS HAVE AN
EVIDENCE OF THE FACT THAT CHRIST IS OMNIPOTENTTO SAVE.
Conclusion:
1. Let us beware of trusting in any powerbut that of Christ.
2. Let us rejoice that He is in all points such a Saviour as we require.
(W. Craig.)
Christ's powerto save
EssexCongregationalRemembrancer.
I. SHOW THAT THIS IS A PREDICTIONOF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
II. CONSIDERTHAT ATTRIBUTE OF THE LORD JESUS TO WHICH
THE TEXT REFERS. "Mightyto save."
III. DRAW SOME PRACTICALINFERENCES.If Christ is mighty to save
—
1. Ministers have the bestmotives to preachthe Gospelwith unlimited
freedom, energyand zeal.

2. Abundant encouragementis provided even for those who are ready to sink
in despair.
3. Whateverdisastrous events may come, the Church is secure.
4. If you have experiencedHis might and His mercy, let it be your uniform
aim to show forth His praise both by your lips and by your life.
(EssexCongregationalRemembrancer.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
LXIII.
(1) Who is this that cometh from Edom? . . .—There is no apparent
connectionbetweenIsaiah63:1-6 and what precedes and follows. Theymust
be dealt with, accordingly, as a separate section, thoughnot, as some critics
have suggested, by a different writer. To understand its relation to the
prophet’s mind, we must remember the part which Edom had taken during
the history of which Isaiahwas cognisant, perhaps also that which he foresaw
they would take in the period that was to follow. That part had been one of
persistenthostility. They had been allied with the Tyrians againstJudah, and
had been guilty of ruthless atrocities (Amos 1:9-11). They had carried off
Jewishprisoners as slaves (Obadiah 1:10-11). They had been allies of the
Assyrian invaders (Psalm 83:6), and had smitten Judah in the days of Ahaz
(2Chronicles 28:17). If we think of the prophet as seeing in spirit the working
of the old enmity at a later period, we may extend the induction to their
exultation at the capture of Jerusalem(Psalm 137:7;Lamentations 4:21). The
memory of these things sank deep into the nation, and the first words of the
last of the prophets echo the old hatred (Malachi 1:2-4). In the later days of
Judaism, where Rabbis uttered their curses againsttheir oppressors, Edom

was substituted for Rome, as St. John substitutes Babylon (Revelation18:2).
Isaiah, possibly starting from the memory of some recent outrages in the reign
of Hezekiah, and taking Edom as the representative of all the nearer
hereditary enemies of Israel, into an ecstacyofjubilation, and sees the
conquering king returning from his work of vengeance. The form is that of a
warrior coming from the Idumsean Bozrah (as distinct from that in the
Haurân, Jeremiah48:24)in bright-red garments. And the colour(as in
Revelation19:13)is not that of the scarletdress wornby soldiers (Nahum
2:3), but that of blood just shed.
Travelling.—The Hebrew verb (bending, or tossing the head) indicates the
movement and gestures of a conquerorexulting in his victory.
I that speak . . .—The hero-avenger, the righteous king who represents
Jehovah, hears the wondering question, and makes answerfor himself.
“Righteousness” and“salvation,” whichhe claims as his attributes, show that
he is none other than the ideal Servant of the Lord of Hosts, sharing His
attributes.
MacLaren's Expositions
Isaiah
MIGHTY TO SAVE
Isaiah63:1.
We have here a singularly vivid and dramatic prophecy, thrown into the form
of a dialogue betweenthe prophet and a strangerwhom he sees fromafar
striding along from the mountains of Edom, with elastic step, and dyed
garments. The prophet does not recognise him, and asks who he is. The
Unknown answers, ‘Ithat speak in righteousness,mighty to save.’Another

question follows, seeking explanationof the splashedcrimson garments of the
stranger, and its answertells of a tremendous actof retributive destruction
which he has recently launched at the nations hostile to ‘My redeemed.’
Now we note that this prophecy follows, both in the order of the book and in
the evolution of events, on those in Isaiah 61:1 - Isaiah 61:11, which referred
to our Lord’s work on earth, and inIsaiah 62:1 - Isaiah62:12, which has for
part of its theme His intercessionin heaven. And we are entitled to take the
view that the place as well as the substance of this prophecy referred to the
solemn actof final Judgment in which the returning Lord will manifest
Himself. Very significantis it that the prophet does not recognise in this
Conqueror, with blood-bespatteredrobes, the meek sufferer of Isaiah 53:1 -
Isaiah53:12, or Him who in Isaiah62:1 - Isaiah62:12 came to bind up the
broken-hearted. And very instructive is it that the title in our text comes from
the stranger’s ownlips, as relevant to the tremendous actof judgment from
which He is seenreturning. The title might seemrather to look back to the
former manifestationof Him as bearing our griefs and carrying our sorrows.
It does indeed, thank God, look back to that never-to-be-forgottenmiracle of
mercy and power, but it also brings within the sweepof His saving might the
judgment still to come.
I. The mighty Saviour as made knownin the past and present.
We think much of the meek and gentle side of Christ’s character. Perhaps we
do not think enough of the strength of it. We trace His greatsacrifice to His
love, and we cannever sufficiently adore that incomparable manifestation of a
love deeperthan our plummets canfathom. But probably we do not
sufficiently realise whatgigantic strength went to the completion of that
sacrifice. We know the solemn imagining of a greatartist who has painted a
colossalDeathoverbearing the weak resistanceofa puny Love; but here love
is the giant, and his sovereigncommand brings Death obedient to it, to do his

work. Yes, that weak man hanging on the Cross is therein revealedas ‘the
powerof God.’Strange clothing of weaknesswhichyet cannot hide the mighty
limbs that wearit!
And if we think of our Lord’s life we see the same combination of gentleness
and power. His very name rings with memories of the captain whose one
commanded duty was to ‘be strong and of a goodcourage.’
In Him was all strength of manhood-inflexible, iron will, unchanging purpose,
strength from consecration, strengthfrom righteousness. In Him was the
heroism of prophets and martyrs in supreme degree.
In Him was the strength of indwelling Divinity. He fought and conquered all
man’s enemies, routed sin, and triumphed over Death.
In the Cross we see divine powerin operation in its noblest form, in its
intensestenergy, in its widest sweep, in its most magnificent result. He is able
to save, to save all, to save any.
He is mighty to save, and is able to save unto the uttermost, because He lives
for ever, and His power is eternal as Himself.
II. The mighty Saviour as to be manifested in the future.
Clearly the imagery of the context describes a tremendous act of judgment.
And as clearly the Apocalyptic Seerunderstood this prophecy as not only
pointing to Christ, but as to be fulfilled in the final actof judgment. He quotes

its words when he paints his magnificent vision of the Conquerorriding forth
on his white horse, with garments sprinkled with blood and treading the
‘winepress of the fiercenessand wrath of Almighty God.’ And the vision is
interpreted unmistakably when we read that, though this Conqueror had a
name unknown to any but Himself, ‘His name is calledthe Word of God.’So
the unity of person in the Word made flesh who dwelt among us, full of grace
and of this Mighty One girt for battle, is taught.
Keeping fast hold of this clue, the contrastbetweenthe characteristics ofthe
historicalJesus and of the rider on the white horse becomes solemnand full of
warning. And the contrastbetweenthe errand of the historical Jesus and that
of the Conqueror bids us ponder on the possibilities that may sleepin perfect
love. We have to widen our conceptions, if we have thought of our Jesus only
as love, and have thought of love as shallow, as most men do. We are
sometimes told that these two pictures, that of the Christ of the Gospels and
that of the Christ of the Apocalypse, are incapable of being fused togetherin
one original. But they can be stereoscoped, if we may say so. And they must
be, if we are ever to understand the greatnessofHis love or the terribleness of
His judgments. ‘The wrath of the Lamb’ sounds an impossibility, but if we
ponder it, we shall find depths of graciousnessas wellas of awe in it.
Let us learn that the righteous Judge is logicallyand chronologicallythe
completion of the picture of the merciful Saviour. In this age there is a
tendency to treat sin with too much pity and too little condemnation. And
there is not a sufficiently firm graspof the truth that divine love must be in
irreconcilable antagonismwith human sin, and can do nothing but chastise
and smite it.
III. The saving purpose of even that destructive might.

Through the whole Old Testamentruns the longing that God would ‘awake’
to smite evil.
The tragedy of the drowned hosts in the RedSea, and Miriam and her
maidens standing with their timbrels and shrill song of triumph on the bank,
is a prophecy of what shall be. ‘Ye shall have a song as in the night a holy feast
is kept, and gladness ofheart as when one goethwith a pipe to come unto the
mountain of the Lord.’ And at the thought of that solemn actof judgment
they who love the Judge, and have long known Him, ‘may lift up their heads’
in the confidence that ‘their redemption draweth nigh.’ That is the last, and in
some sense the mightiest, greatestactby which He shows Himself ‘mighty to
save His redeemed.’
So we may, like the prophet, see that swift form striding nearerand nearer,
but, unlike the prophet, we need not to ask, ‘Who is this that cometh?’for we
have known Him from of old, and we remember the voice that said, ‘This
same Jesus shallso come in like manner as ye have seenHim go into heaven.’
‘Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness before Him in the
day of judgment.’
BensonCommentary
Isaiah63:1. “The very remarkable passage,”says BishopLowth, “with which
this chapter begins, seems to be in a manner detachedfrom the rest, and to
stand singly by itself; having no immediate connectionwith what goes before,
or with what follows, otherwise than as it may pursue the generaldesign, and
stand in its proper place in the order of prophecy. It is by many learned
interpreters supposed, that Judas Maccabeus andhis victories make the
subject of it. What claim Judas canhave to so greatan honour will, I think, be
very difficult to make out; or how the attributes of the greatperson
introduced can possibly suit him. Could Judas callhimself the Announcer of
righteousness, mighty to save? Could he talk of the day of vengeance being in
his heart, and the year of his redeemed being come? or that his own arm

wrought salvationfor him? Besides, whatwere the greatexploits of Judas in
regard to the Idumeans? He overcame them in battle, and slew twenty
thousand of them. And John Hyrcanus, his brother Simon’s son and
successor, who is calledin to help out the accomplishmentof the prophecy,
gave them another defeatsome time afterward, and compelled them, by force,
to become proselytes to the Jewishreligion, and to submit to circumcision:
after which they were incorporated with the Jews, and became one people
with them. Are these events adequate to the prophet’s lofty prediction? Was it
so greatan actionto win a battle with considerable slaughterof the enemy; or
to force a whole nation, by dint of the sword, into Judaism? Or was the
conversionof the Idumeans, howevereffected, and their admission into the
church of God, equivalent to a most grievous judgment and destruction,
threatened in the severestterms?
“I conclude that this prophecy has not the leastrelation to Judas Maccabeus.
It may be asked, to whom, and to what event, does it relate? I can only
answer, that I know of no event in history to which, from its importance and
circumstances, itcan be applied; unless, perhaps, to the destruction of
Jerusalemand the Jewishpolity; which, in the gospel, is called, the coming of
Christ, and the days of vengeance,Matthew 24:16-28;Luke 21:22. But,
though this prophecy must have its accomplishment, there is no necessityof
supposing that it has been already accomplished. There are prophecies which
intimate a greatslaughter of the enemies of Godand his people, which remain
to be fulfilled; these in Ezekiel, chap. 38., and in the RevelationofSt. John,
chap. 20., are calledGog and Magog. This prophecy of Isaiahmay possibly
refer to the same or the like event. We need not be at a loss to determine the
person who is here introduced, as stained with treading the wine-press, if we
considerhow St. John, in the Revelation, has applied this image of the
prophet, Revelation19:13;Revelation19:15-16. Compare chap. 34.”
Who is this, &c. — Either the prophet, as in some vision or ecstasy, orthe
church, makes inquiry, and that with admiration, who it is that appears in

such a habit or posture, Isaiah63:1, and why, Isaiah 63:2; that cometh from
Edom — That is, Idumea, the country where Esau, sometimes calledEdom,
dwelt. It is here put for all the enemies of God’s church, as it is also Isaiah
34:5-6, where see the notes. “The Idumeans,” it must be observed, “joined
with the enemies of the Jews in bringing on the destruction of Jerusalem, in
the time of the captivity, for which they were severelyreproved by the
prophets, and threatenedwith utter destruction, which accordingly came to
pass;the prophets, therefore, generallyapply the name of this people to
signify any inveterate and cruel enemy, as in this place. But the words Edom
and Bozrah may be takenin the appellative sense, to denote in general, a field
of blood, or a place of slaughter;the word Edom signifying red, and Bozrah a
vintage, which, in the prophetical idiom, imports God’s vengeance uponthe
wicked.” — Lowth. With dyed or stained garments — Thus Christ is
describedRevelation19:13, where also he is representedas taking vengeance
on his enemies. The LXX. render it ερυθημα ιματιων, redness ofgarments.
This that is glorious — Or magnificent, as BishopLowth renders it; in his
apparel, travelling — Marching on, in the greatnessofhis strength — Like a
generalmarching in triumph at the head of his army, and carrying tokens of
victory upon his raiment. I that speak in righteousness — I the Messiah, who
never promise any thing but what I will faithfully perform, and who do and
will always truly execute justice: mighty to save — Perfectlyable to effect the
promised redemption of my people, whatever difficulties and oppositions may
lie in the way of it, and to accomplishtheir full salvation. BishopLowth
renders the clause, I who publish, or announce righteousness,and am mighty
to save, observing, that a MS. has ‫,רבדמה‬ with the demonstrative article added,
giving greaterforce and emphasis to the expression, The Announcer of
righteousness.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
63:1-6 The prophet, in vision, beholds the Messiahreturning in triumph from
the conquestof his enemies, ofwhom Edom was a type. Travelling, not as
weariedby the combat, but, in the greatness ofhis strength, prepared to
overcome every opposing power. Messiah declaresthat he had been treading
the wine-press of the wrath of God, Re 14:19;19:13, and by his own power,
without any human help, he had crushed his obstinate opposers, forthe day of

vengeance was determinedon, being the appointed seasonfor rescuing his
church. Once, he appearedon earth in apparent weakness,to pour out his
precious blood as an atonement for our sins; but he will in due time appearin
the greatnessofhis strength. The vintage ripens apace;the day of vengeance,
fixed and determined on, approaches apace;let sinners seek to be reconciled
to their righteous Judge, ere he brings down their strength to the earth. Does
Christ say, I come quickly? let our hearts reply, Even so, come;let the year of
the redeemedcome.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Who is this - The language ofthe people who see Yahweh returning as a
triumphant conqueror from Idumea. Struck with his stately bearing as a
warrior; with his gorgeous apparel;and with the blood on his raiment, they
ask who he could be? This is a striking instance of the bold and abrupt
manner of Isaiah. He does not describe him as going forth to war nor the
preparation for battle; nor the battle itself, nor the conquests ofcities and
armies; but he introduces at once the returning conquerorhaving gained the
victory - here represented as a solitary warrior, moving along with majestic
gait from Idumea to his own capital, Jerusalem. Yahwehis not unfrequently
representedas a warrior (see the notes at Isaiah42:13).
From Edom - On the situation of Edom, and for the reasons ofthe animosity
betweenthat country and Judea, see the Aanlysis to Isaiah 34.
With dyed garments - That is, with garments dyed in blood. The word
rendered here 'dyed' ( ‫ץממח‬ châmûts), is derived from ‫ץמח‬ châmats, to be
sharp and pungent, and is usually applied to anything that is sharp or sour. It
is applied to colorthat is bright or dazzling, in the same manner as the Greeks
use the phrase χρῶμα ὀξύ chrōma oxu - a sharp color- applied to purple or
scarlet. Thus the phrase πορφύραι ὀξύταται porphurai oxutatai means a
brilliant, bright purple (see Bochart, Hieroz. i. 2. 7). It is applied to the
military cloak which was worn by a warrior, and may denote here either that
it was originally dyed of a scarletcolor, ormore probably that it was made
red by the blood that had been sprinkled on it. Thus in Revelation19:13, the
Son of God is representedas clothed in a similar manner: 'And he was clothed

with a vesture dipped in blood.' In Isaiah 63:3, the answerof Yahweh to the
inquiry why his raiment was red, shows that the colorwas to be attributed to
blood.
From Bozrah - On the situation of Bozrah, see the notes at Isaiah 34:6. It was
for a time the principal city of Idumea, though properly lying within the
boundaries of Moab. In Isaiah34:6, Yahweh is representedas having 'a great
sacrifice in Bozrah;' here he is seenas having come from it with his garments
red with blood.
This that is glorious in his apparel - Margin, 'Decked.'The Hebrew word
(‫הדמר‬ hâdûr) means "adorned, honorable, or glorious." The idea is, that his
military apparel was gorgeousand magnificent - the apparel of an ancient
warrior of high rank.
Traveling in the greatness ofhis strength - Noyes renders this, 'Proud in the
greatness ofhis strength,' in accordancewith the significationgiven by
Gesenius. The word used here (‫העה‬ tsâ‛âh) means properly "to turn to one
side, to incline, to be bent, bowed down as a captive in bonds" Isaiah51:14;
then "to bend or toss back the head as an indication of pride" (Gesenius).
According to Taylor (Concord.)the word has 'relation to the actions, the
superb mien or manner of a triumphant warrior returning from battle, in
which he has got a complete victory over his enemies. And it may include the
pomp and high spirit with which he drives before him the prisoners which he
has taken.'It occurs only in this place and in Isaiah51:14;Jeremiah 2:20;
Jeremiah48:12. The Septuagint omits it in their translation. The sense is
doubtless that Yahweh is seenreturning with the tread of a triumphant
conqueror, flushed with victor, and entirely successfulin having destroyed his
foes. There is no evidence, however, as Taylor supposes, that he is driving his
prisoners before him, for he is seenalone, having destroyedall his foes.
I that speak in righteousness - The answerof the advancing conqueror. The
sense is, 'It is I, Yahweh, who have promised to deliver my people and to
destroy their enemies, and who have now returned from accomplishing my
purpose.' The assurance that he speaks in righteousness, refers here to the
promises which he had made that be would rescue and save them.

Mighty to save - The sentiment is, that the fact that he destroys the foes of his
people is an argument that he cansave those who put their trust in him. The
same power that destroys a sinner may save a saint; and the destruction of a
sinner may be the means of the salvationof his ownpeople.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
CHAPTER 63
Isa 63:1-19. MessiahComing as the Avenger, in Answer to His People's
Prayers.
Messiah, approaching Jerusalemafter having avengedHis people on His and
their enemies, is representedunder imagery taken from the destruction of
"Edom," the type of the last and most bitter foes of God and His people (see
Isa 34:5, &c.).
1. Who—the question of the prophet in prophetic vision.
dyed—scarletwith blood (Isa 63:2, 3; Re 19:13).
Bozrah—(See on[868]Isa 34:6).
travelling—rather, stately;literally, "throwing back the head" [Gesenius].
speak in righteousness—answerofMessiah. I, who have in faithfulness given a
promise of deliverance, am now about to fulfil it. Rather, speak of
righteousness (Isa 45:19;46:13);salvation being meant as the result of His
"righteousness" [Maurer].
save—The same Messiahthat destroys the unbeliever saves the
believer.Christ’s victory over his enemies, Isaiah63:1-6, and mercy towards
his church; in judgment remembering mercy, Isaiah63:7-14. The church’s
prayer and complaint in faith, Isaiah63:15-19.
In these two verses either the prophet, as in some vision or ecstasy, is put
probably upon inquiry by God himself, rather than by Christ, or Michael, or
Judas Maccabeeus, as some have thought; and the rather, because this place

doth thus suit bestwith Isaiah 59:16,17.Or the church makes inquiry, and
that with admiration, who it is that appears in such a habit or posture, Isaiah
63:1, and why, Isaiah63:2.
Edom; that is, the country of Idumea, where Esaudwelt, and Esauhimself
was sometimes calledby this name, Genesis 25:30;and it is put
synecdochicallyfor all the enemies of the church, as Moabis, Isaiah 25:10:See
Poole "Isaiah25:10".
With dyed garments; or, stained: thus Christ is described, Revelation19:13,
and so also Isaiah63:3: LXX., the redness of garments.
Bozrah; the capitalcity of Idumea; see further Isaiah 34:6, a paralleltext; and
Edom and Bozrah here are mentioned, either,
1. Notas relating to the places so called, but by way of allusion to the
garments of this conqueror, Edom signifying red, and Bozraha vintage; the
one relating to his treading the winepress, and the other to the blood sprinkled
upon his garments, Isaiah63:3: the like manner of speaking you have Psalm
120:5. Or rather,
2. Put synecdochicallyfor all the enemies of the church, among whom, though
antichrist be not particularly designed, yet may be reckoned, being one of the
chief of them; thus typifying Christ’s victories over all the enemies of the
church, Revelation19:19-21;and this is usual. Babylon is put for any
detestable city, and Moabfor all that are vile and abominable, Isaiah25:10;so
Edom here for all God’s enemies. And he mentions these Idumeans rather
than the Chaldeans, who were the Jews’chief and particular enemies,

2. Partly to set forth the greatness ofthe enmity, being of old standing, and an
inbred malignity, Genesis 25:22,23, and irreconcilable, and perpetual, Amos
1:11, and particularly put forth when the Babylonians took Jerusalem, Psalm
137:72. Partly to comfort the Jews, both because Godwould take particular
revenge upon Edom, as he had threatened, and prophesied by Obadiah, which
is the substance ofthat whole prophecy; and also these being their near
neighbours, God doth give them security, that they shall not only be delivered
frons the Chaldeans, those remoterenemies, but from the Idumeans also,
whose vicinity and neighbourhood might have been troublesome to them.
Glorious in his apparel; such as generals are wont to march before their
armies in, or greatconquerors, that walk in state and gallantry from their
conquests.
In the greatness ofhis strength; in or according to the majesty of his gait,
being an indication of the greatness ofhis strength, and intimating that he
hath thoroughly done his work, and fears no pursuing enemy, as the lion that
keepethhis majestic gait without the fearof any other beast, Proverbs 30:30:
this notes the invincibleness of his power, and that it is his own strength, he
needeth not the help of armies or other instruments, and thus he will travel
through all the countries of his enemies.
I that speak in righteousness:here the Lord Christ gives an answer, wherein
he both asserts his fidelity, that he will faithfully perform what he hath
promised, and that he will truly execute justice, Revelation19:11;and hereby
also he distinguisheth himself from all idol gods, Isaiah45:19,20.
Mighty to save;I have power to accomplishsalvationas powerful as faithful,
Isaiah19:20.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?....
These are not the words of the angels at the time of Christ's ascensionto
heaven; or of the people of Israel;but rather of the prophet, or of the church
he represents;by whom this question is put, not concerning Michaelthe
archangelreturning from fighting the king of Persia, forwhat has Edom and
Bozrah to do with Persia? nor concerning Judas Maccabaeus,in whose times
it seems a victory was obtained over the Edomites:the description is too grand
and augustto agree with any mere man; rather therefore it is to be
understood of God himself taking vengeance onthe wicked, many of the
characters agreeing with the description of him in Isaiah 59:16 though it
seems bestof all to interpret it of the Messiah. Aben Ezra observes, that there
are some that saythis is the Messiah;others that it is Michael; but, says he, it
is right that it respects the glorious name, that is, Jehovahhimself; the first
sense he gives is most correct. SeveralJewishwriters, ancient as well as
modern, interpret this of the Messiah, whomthey yet expectto come from
Rome to the land of Israel, which they suppose is meant by Edom. So says one
(n) of their writers,
"when the King Messiahshallcome, he will be clothedin purple, beautiful to
look at, which in colour shall be like to wine for the clothing of the King
Messiahshallbe silk, red as blood; and it shall be workedwith the needle in
various colours, and he shall be the Head of Israel;and this is what is said in
Isaiah63:1 "wherefore art thou red in thy apparel?"''
And, sayothers of their ancient writers (o), the Ishmaelites or Turks shall
fight three battles in the latter day; one in the forestof Arabia; another in the
sea;and a third in the greatcity Rome, which shall be greaterthan the other
two; and from thence shall spring the Messiah, and he shall look upon the
destruction of the one and of the other, and from thence shall he come into the
land of Israel, as it is said, "who is this that comes from Edom?" &c. So
Abarbinel (p) asserts, thatthe Ishmaelites or Turks shall come againstRome,
and destroy it; and then shall be revealedthe Messiah, the son of David, and
shall complete the redemption of the Lord, according to Daniel 12:1 and then
quotes the above passage oftheir wise men; and upon it observes, thatfrom
thence it appears that Messiah, the sonof David, shall be of the Jews that are
in the captivity of Edom (or Rome), for so they explain Isaiah63:1 "who is

this that comes from Edom?" &c.; and so Kimchi interprets the prophecy of
time to come: but though the Messiahis intended, this is to be understood not
of his first coming, which was out of Zion, out of the tribe of Judah, and out of
Bethlehem Ephratah; nor of his ascensionto heaven, after his bloody
sufferings and death, and the victory he had obtained over all our spiritual
enemies, sin, Satan, the world, death, and hell; for that was from the land of
Judea, from Mount Olivet, near to Jerusalem, the place of his sufferings and
death; but of his spiritual coming, which is yet future, to take vengeance on
antichrist, and all the antichristian powers. It is usual in Scripture for the
enemies of the church and people of God in Gospeltimes to be expressedby
such who were the known and implacable enemies of the people of Israel; and
such were the Edomites, the inhabitants of Idumea, of which Bozrahwas a
principal city; see Psalm137:7 and were a lively emblem of antichrist and his
followers, fortheir relationto the people of Christ, their cruelty to them, and
contempt of them; from the conquestand slaughterof which Christ is here
representedreturning as a victorious and triumphant conqueror; see Isaiah
34:5 hence he is said to come from thence "with dyed garments", or "stained"
(q); that is, with the blood of his enemies;so Jarchi interprets it dyed in blood,
or dipped in it; to which agrees the apparel of Christ in Revelation19:18,
where he is said to be clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; which chapter is
the bestcommentary upon this passage,referring to the same time and case:it
follows,
this that is glorious in his apparel; for though it was thus stainedand
discolouredwith the blood of his enemies, yet was glorious to himself, having
gottensuch a complete victory over all his and his church's enemies, and so
was glorious to them to behold; and especially, since on this vesture, and on
his thigh, is a name written, "King of kings, and Lord of lords", Revelation
19:16,
travelling in the greatness ofhis strength? marching in great statelinessand
majesty at the head of his victorious troops, he nor they having nothing to fear
from their enemies, being all vanquished and destroyed. Strength, and the
greatness ofit, may well be ascribedto Christ, who is the mighty God, yea, the
Almighty; the mighty man, made strong by the Lord for himself; and the
mighty Mediator, having all powerin heaven and earth: he travelled in the

greatness ofhis strength from heaven to earth, by the assumption of our
nature; while here he went about continually doing good;with the utmost
intrepidity he went forth to meet his foes, and death itself, at the proper time,
and without fearpassedthrough the valley of the shadow of death; when
raisedagain, in his ascensionto heaven, he marched through the territories of
Satan, the air, in greattriumph, dragging him and his principalities and
powers at his chariot wheels;and when he had poured down his Spirit
plentifully, he went forth into the Gentile world in the ministration of the
Gospel, conquering and to conquer; and in the latter day he will come and
take vengeance onall the antichristian states, and return in triumph, to which
this passagerefers;see Revelation 17:14 the answerto the question follows,
I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save;these are the words of Christ
describing himself, by his speechand by his power, by his word and by his
works:he "spoke in righteousness", atthe making of the covenantof grace in
eternity, some things by wayof requestfor his elect, others by way of promise
for them; all which he has faithfully and righteously performed: under the
Old Testamentdispensation, he spake many things in righteousness by his
prophets, and by his Spirit in them; yea, he often appeared in a human form,
and spoke to the patriarchs and others: when here on earth, he spoke "in" or
"of righteousness"(r); of the righteousness ofGod he came to declare;of his
own righteousness he came to bring in; and of the happiness of those who
sought it, and were justified by it; and of the insufficiency of man's
righteousness to bring him to heaven: here it seems to have a more especial
respectto the promises made to the church, of her salvationfrom her enemies,
and of the destructionof them; which will now be accomplished, and appear
to be the true and faithful sayings of Christ, Revelation19:9 and that he is
"mighty to save" appears from the spiritual salvation of his people he has
already wrought out: God laid help on one that is mighty, and he being
mighty undertook it, and has accomplishedit; and which work required
strength, even almighty power, since sin was to be atoned for by bearing it, the
law to be fulfilled, justice to be satisfied, the wrath and curse of God to be
endured, and innumerable enemies to be engagedwith; and of such a nature
was that salvation, that neither angels nor men could ever have effectedit:
and this his powerto save will be further manifest, when the beastand false

prophet, antichrist, and all the antichristian powers, shallbe destroyedby
him, and his people entirely delivered out of their hands, Revelation11:18.
The Targum of the whole is,
"who hath said these things that shall bring the blow upon Edom, the strong
vengeance onBozrah, to execute the vengeance ofthe judgment of his people,
as he hath swornunto them by his word? he saith, behold I appear as I spake
in righteousness, much poweris before or with me to save''
see Revelation18:8.
(n) R. Moses Haddarsanin BereshitRabba in Genesis 49.11.apud Galatia. de
Arcan. Cath. Ver. I. 8. c. 13. p. 579. (o) Pirke Eliezer, c. 30. fol. 32. 1.((p)
Mashmiah Jeshuah, fol. 44. 1, 2.((q) "contaminatus, maculatus vestibua",
Gataker. (r) "de justitia", Piscator, Vitringa; "Ioquor justitiam", V. L. Sept.
Geneva Study Bible
Who is this that cometh {a} from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?
this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness ofhis strength?
{b} I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
(a) This prophecy is againstthe Idumeans and enemies who persecutedthe
Church, on whom God will take vengeance, andis here setforth all bloody
after he has destroyed them in Bozrah, the chief city of the Idumeans: for
these were their greatestenemies,andunder the title of circumcisionand the
kindred of Abraham.
(b) God answers them that askedthis question, Who is this? etc. and says You
see now performed in deed the vengeance whichmy prophets threatened.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
1. On Bozrah, a city of Edom, see on ch. Isaiah34:6.

with dyed garments] Better, with bright colouredgarments. The word for
“dyed” means literally “sharp,” “piercing.”
The mention of Edom as the scene of a judgement which is obviously universal
(see Isaiah63:3; Isaiah 63:6), including all the enemies of Jehovahand Israel,
is a feature common to this prophecy and that of ch. 34. It is partly accounted
for by the embittered relations betweenthe two peoples, ofwhich traces are
found in post-exilic writings (see the note on ch. 34); and partly perhaps by
the ancientconceptionthat Jehovahmarches from Edom to the succourof His
people (Jdg 5:4). There can hardly be a reference to anticipated resistance on
the part of the Edomites to the re-establishment of the JewishState, for the
judgement is not on Edom alone but on all nations; and moreoverthe
prophecy in all probability belongs to a date subsequent to the first return of
the exiles from Babylon.
glorious in his apparel] The word for glorious is lit. “swelling,” being identical
with that which is wrongly rendered “crooked” in ch. Isaiah45:2 (see the
note). It is doubtful what is the exactsense of the expression“swelling in his
raiment.” Duhm’s suggestionofloose robes inflated by the wind seems a little
fanciful. On the other hand “glorious” or“splendid” (LXX. ὡραῖος)conveys
an impression hardly consistentwith the image, since the garments of the
divine champion are saidto be “defiled” by the blood of His enemies (Isaiah
63:3).
travelling] R.V. marching; Vulg. gradiens. This howevermay representa
variant reading (çô‘çd, cf. Jdg 5:4) which is perhaps preferable to the
Massoretic text (çô‘eh). The Hebr. word occurs in the difficult passageIsaiah
51:14 with the sense of“crouching.” Those who retain it here explain it in
various ways with the help of the Arabic as a “gesture ofproud self-
consciousness”(Del.);“swaying to and fro”; “with head thrown back,” &c.

I that speak in righteousness &c.]i.e. “speak righteously” (cf. Isaiah45:19).
Jehovahdeclares Himself to be true in speech, faithfully fulfilling His
prophecies, and powerful in deed (mighty to save).
Pulpit Commentary
Verses 1-6. - A JUDGMENT ON IDUMAEA. Isaiahhad already, in the first
portion of his prophecy, announced" a greatslaughterin the land of
Idumaea" as resolvedon in the counsels ofGod (Isaiah 34:5-10). He now
recurs to the subject, and represents Jehovahas a warrior with blood-stained
garments, fresh from the field of battle in Edom, where he has trodden down
his foes and takena fierce vengeance onthem. The Idumaeans probably
representthe world-power; and the "day of vengeance" maybe one still
future, in which the enemies of Godwill feel the weight of his hand. The
description stands by itself, neither connectedwith what goes before nor with
what follows. It has the appearance ofa separate poem, which accident has
placed in its present position. In form it is "a lyrico-dramatic dialogue
betweenthe prophet as a bystander and a victorious warrior (i.e. Jehovah)
returning from battle in Idumaea" (Cheyne). Verse 1. - Who is this? The
prophet opens the dialogue with an inquiry, "Who is it that presents himself
before him suddenly in a strange guise?" He comes from Edom, from Bozrah
- a principal Edomite city (see the comment on Isaiah34:6) - with dyed
garments; or, rather, with blood-red garments-garments incarnadined with
gore. "Who is this," againhe asks,"thatis glorious (or, splendid) in his
apparel" - the blood-stainedvesture of the conqueror was a glory to him
(Nahum 2:3; Revelation19:13)-"as he travels" (or, "bends forward" ) in the
greatness ofhis strength - exhibiting in his movements a mighty indomitable
strength? Who is it? The reply is immediate - I that speak in righteousness,
mighty to save;i.e. I, whose every word is "holy, just, and true," who alone
am able to "save to the uttermost all that come to me" (Hebrews 7:25). The
answerunmistakably indicates that the figure which has appeared to the
prophet is that of Jehovah.
Keil and DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Watchmen stationedupon the walls of Zion (says the third strophe) do not
forsake Jehovahtill He has fulfilled all His promise. "Upon thy walls, O
Jerusalem, have I stationed watchmen;all the day and all the night
continually they are not silent. O ye who remember Jehovah, leave yourselves
no rest! And give Him no rest, till He raise up, and till He setJerusalemfor a
praise in the earth." As the phrase hiphqı̄d ‛al signifies to make a person an
overseer(president) over anything, it seems as though we ought to render the
sentence before us, "I have setwatchmen over thy walls." But hiphqı̄d by
itself may also mean "to appoint" (2 Kings 25:23), and therefore ‫עיץמומחלע‬
may indicate the place of appointment (lxx ἐπὶ τῶν τειχέων σου, upon thy
walls:̔Ιερουσαλήμ κατέστησα φύλακας). Thosewho are stationed upon the
walls are no doubt keepers ofthe walls; not, however, as persons whose
exclusive duty it is to keepthe walls, but as those who have committed to them
the guarding of the city both within and without (Sol5:7). The appointment of
such watchmen presupposes the existence of the city, which is thus to be
watchedfrom the walls. It is therefore inadmissible to think of the walls of
Jerusalemas still lying in ruins, as the majority of commentators have done,
and to understand by the watchmen pious Israelites, who pray for their
restoration, or (according to b. Menachoth87a;cf., Zechariah1:12) angelic
intercessors. The walls intended are those of the city, which, though once
destroyed, is actually imperishable (Isaiah49:16) and has now been raised up
again. And who else could the watchmen stationedupon the walls really be,
but prophets who are called tsōphı̄m (e.g., Isaiah52:8), and whose calling,
according to Ezekiel33, is that of watchmen? And if prophets are meant, who
else canthe person appointing them be but JehovahHimself? The idea that
the author of these prophecies is speaking of himself, as having appointed the
shōmerı̄m, must therefore be rejected. Jehovahgives to the restored
Jerusalemfaithful prophets, whom He stations upon the walls of the city, that
they may see far and wide, and be heard afar off. And from those walls does
their warning cry on behalf of the holy city committed to their care ascentday
and night to Jehovah, and their testimony go round about to the world. For
after Jerusalemhas been restoredand re-peopled, the further end to be
attained is this, that Jehovahshould build up the newly founded city within
(cōnēn the consequence ofbânâh, Numbers 21:27, and ‛âsâh, Isaiah45:18;
Deuteronomy 32:6; cf., Isaiah 54:14 and Psalm87:5), and help it to attain the

central post of honour in relation to those without, which He has destined for
it. Such prophets of the times succeeding the captivity (nebhı̄'ı̄m 'achărōnı̄m;
cf., Zechariah1:4) were Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Haggaistands upon
the walls of Jerusalem, and proclaims the glory of the secondtemple as
surpassing that of the first. Zechariah points from Joshua and Zerubbabel
onwards to the sprout of Jehovah, who is priest and prince in one person, and
builds the true temple of God. Malachipredicts the coming of the Lord to His
temple, and the rising of the Sun of righteousness.Under the eyes of these
prophets the city of God rose up again, and they stand upon its pinnacles, and
look thence into the glorious future that awaits it, and hasten its approach
through the word of their testimony. Such prophets, who carry the goodof
their people day and night upon their anxious praying hearts, does Jehovah
give to the Jerusalemafterthe captivity, which is one in the prophet's view
with the Jerusalemofthe last days; and in so lively a manner does the prophet
here call them up before his own mind, that he exclaims to them, "Ye who
remind Jehovah, to finish gloriously the gracious work which He has begun,"
give yourselves to rest(dŏmi from dâmâh equals dâmam, to grow dumb, i.e.,
to cease speaking orworking, in distinction from châshâh, to be silent, i.e., not
to speak or work), and allow Him no rest till He puts Jerusalemin the right
state, and so glorifies it, that it shall be recognisedand extolled as glorious
over all the earth. Prophecyhere sees the final glory of the church as one that
gradually unfolds itself, and that not without human instrumentality. The
prophets of the last times, with their zealin prayer, and in the exercise of their
calling as witnesses,form a striking contrastto the blind, dumb, indolent,
sleepyhirelings of the prophet's own time (Isaiah56:10).
precept austin resources
Introductory Comments: Keep the context in mind - (1) Isaiah62:1-5 = God's
Intense Interest in Israel;(2) Isaiah62:6-9 = Prayer for the Peaceof

Jerusalem(3) Isaiah 63:10-12 JewishEvangelizationCommanded (4) Isaiah
63:1-6 = Return of Messiahto Deliver Israel
Isaiah63:1-6 is a fascinating back and forth conversationbetweenthe prophet
Isaiah(a "watchman" onthe wall - cf Isa 62:6), and the Messiah. The Spirit of
God in some way has "transported" the prophet to a time future to himself
and even future to today (2014). ClearlyIsaiah63:1-6 is prophetic or
eschatologicalandis one of the most majestic, intriguing descriptions of the
MessiahatHis SecondComing. While it is a passageaddressedto Israel, it is a
passagefilled with greathope of a great future redemption by our GreatGod,
Who alone is mighty to save. Paul writes these encouraging words regarding
this grand future event at the consummationof the history of the earth as we
know it today...
For the grace of God has appeared (Messiah's humble First Coming as the
SacrificialLamb of God), bringing salvationto all men (to all who believe in
Him), 12 instructing (child rearing) us to deny ungodliness and worldly
desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age
(preceding the Messianic Age), 13 looking for the BLESSED HOPE
(Messiah's triumphant SecondComing as King of kings) and the appearing of
the glory of our greatGod and Savior, Christ Jesus;14 who gave Himself for
us, that He might redeemus from every lawless deedand purify for Himself a
people for His own possession, zealous forgooddeeds. (Titus 2:11-14-note)
Warren Wiersbe has a goodword on prophecies like Isaiah63...
Whenever a prophet foretold the future, it was to awakenthe people to their
responsibilities in the present. Bible prophecy isn’t entertainment for the
curious; it’s encouragementfor the serious.
So one practicalapplication of Isaiah 63:1-6 is that it should stir a Spirit given
and Spirit sustained hope, recalling that Biblical "hope" is not a "hope so"
but a "hope sure." The event describedin the conversationbetweena finite,
mere mortal and the infinite Majestic Messiahis truth that is given to saints of
all ages in a "hopeless" (secularsense), devolving (not evolving) world, so that
we might have hope, the absolute assurance that Godthe Father, God the Son
and God the Spirit, will do goodto us in the future.

Dearsaint, you may be in the sloughof despond like Bunyan's Pilgrim, and
yet the Spirit inspired truths such as those in Isaiah63:1-6 which are
calculatedto lift your head toward the clouds in the Easternsky, from whence
one day will surely come our Redeemer, the One Who Paul says is Himself
"our Hope," the literal personificationof the Hope (1Ti 1:1) promised even
before the world began (Titus 1:1-2-note), yea, even before Adam fell into sin
(Ro 5:12-note). What a Mighty God we serve!
Isaiah63:1 Who is this Who comes from Edom (map), this One Who is
majestic in His apparel, marching in the greatnessofHis strength? "It is I
who speak in righteousness, mighty to save."
is this: Ps 24:7-10, Song 3:6, 6:10 8:5 Mt 21:10
from see map Am 1:11,12
marching: Ps 45:3,4 Rev 11:17,18
speak:Isa 45:19,23 Nu23:19
mighty: Jn 10:28-30 Heb 7:25 1Pe 1:5 Jude 1:24,25
JEHOVAH THE AVENGER
OF HIS PEOPLE
Who is this Who comes from Edom - H. Van Dyke Parunak observes that
"The exchange is what one might expectfrom a watchman on the city wall
(Ed: cf Isa 21:11-12, seealso Ezek 3:17, 33:7), interrogating someone who
approaches the city. The first question has to do with the identity of One Who
approaches. The secondasksanexplanation for the striking appearance of
His garments." (Isaiah63:1-6:The RedeemerSpeaks)
Triumphant and victorious he appears,
And honour in his looks and habit wears.
How strong he treads! how stately doth he go!
Pompous and solemn is his pace,

And full of majesty, as is his face
Who is this mighty hero--who?--
-Norris
From Edom (red) - Yeshua is coming from Bozrah in Edom which is to the
southeastof Jerusalem(see discussionofproposedsequence of End Times
events). Fruchtenbaum explains that "While the generalconceptionis that
when the Messiahinitially returns, He will return to the Mount of Olives, the
Bible actually puts the SecondComing elsewhere. Fourpassagesdefinitely
place the SecondComing at the city of Bozrah or Petra and a fifth may refer
to this event." (Isaiah 34:1-7, Isaiah63:1-6, Habakkuk 3:3, Micah2:12-13).
Messiah's Pathto Victory
click to enlarge
Edom was the land originally inhabited by Jacob's oldertwin brother Esau.
Recallthat Jacob(= heel-catcher, supplanter, Ge 27:36)tricked Isaac into
bestowing the blessing on him rather than Esauwho was the rightful heir by
birth order (Ge 25:24-30, 31-34, 27:6-26, 27, 28, 29). Jacob's trickeryled to life
long enmity betweenthe offspring of the twins (Ge 27:41, cp He 12:15-17).
And so when Israel (Jacob)had been releasedfrom Egyptian bondage and
was seeking safe passage throughEdom, the king of Edom would not allow it,
instead attacking Israel(Nu 20:14-17, 18, 19-21,cpDt 2:1-8). Later the
Edomites opposedKing Saul (1Sa 14:47), fought againstKing David (1Ki
11:15-17), opposedKing Solomon(1Ki 11:14, 18-25), opposedKing
Jehoshaphat(2Chr. 20:22), and rebelled againstJehoram(2Chr 21:8) (see
also Isaiah34:5ff-see discussion.;Ps 137:7;Ezek 35:10-15;Amos 1:6, 11).
Buksbazen- Edom, although a brother nation, personifies the unrelenting
hostility of the paganworld towardIsrael (see Isa 34:5ff, Jer 25:22ff, Jer
49:17ff, etc) In later rabbinical literature Edom became symbolic of Rome
and all oppressive, paganpower....the name Edom, the other name of Esau

(Ge 36:8) comes from "adom" -- "red," suggesting blood. Bozrah is related to
the word "Bazir" -- "a vintage."
Obadiah (Obad 1:1-21)records a prophecy of doom againstEdom who would
finally reapthe years (even centuries) of enmity (Obadiah 1:10-14)sown
againstJacob/Israel(cfGal 6:7-8-note), recording that “the Day of the Lord
draws near on all the nations. As you (Edom) have done, it will be done to you.
Your dealings will return on your own head." (Obadiah 1:15) This prophecy
was fulfilled in part in the Fifth Century BC when the Nabataeans dislodged
the Edomites from their territory, causing them to withdraw to Idumea in
southern Palestine. Indeed, the sibling rivalry that had begun in Rebekah's
womb would be seenin the birth of Jesus, who was from Jacob's line through
his sonJudah. Julius Caesarhad appointed Antipater, an Idumean, as
Procuratorof Judea in 47BC. His son Herod became king of Judea in 37BC.
And so we see Herod the Great, an Edomite, continued the enmity against
Jacob(Israel)by slaying "all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in
all its environs, from two years old and under, according to the time which he
had ascertainedfrom the magi." (Mt 2:16) The Lord extracted vengeance by
killing King Herod shortly thereafterin 4BC, which was a preview of coming
attractions when the Lord would finally and fully extract vengeance onall His
enemies (typified by "Edom"). MacDonaldsums the significance ofEdom:
"Edom personifies the unrelenting hostility of the paganworld toward
Israel."
With this historicalbackground, one cansee why many commentators see this
reference to Edom as representative of all who hate Israel, and ultimately all
who hate God. Note that the use of "peoples"in Isa 63:3, 6, also supports the
interpretation that Edom is used as an "archetype (Ed: archetype = the
original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are
representations orcopies)for the Lord's enemies." (NET Bible Note).
Delitzsch- Babylon and Edom are always to be taken literally, so far as the
primary meaning of the prophecy is concerned;but they are also
representative, Babylon standing for the violent and tyrannical world-power,
and Edom for the world as cherishing hostility and manifesting hostility to
Israelas Israel, i.e. as the people of God.

John MacArthur commenting on Isaiah63 writes that "Messiah, coming as
the Avenger approaching Jerusalemto reign after having avengedHis people
on His and their enemies (Ed: Note that Messiahis approaching Jerusalem
coming from the south, coming from Bozrah and the land of Edom), is
presentedin imagery takenfrom the destruction of Edom, the representative
in this picture of the last and most bitter foes of God and His people."
Note that some commentaries such as Delitzschsee Isaiah's oracle as directed
specificallyagainstthe literal nation of Edom, but that does not fit well with
the context. As noted Isa 63:1-6 begins with the name Edom but then expands
the "targetaudience" to the "peoples,"(Isa 63:3, 6) which clearlytakes the
ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy far beyond the nation of Edom.
With garments of glowing colors ("in crimsoned garments") - As discussed
below Isaiah sees Messiahcoming from Bozrah with blood stained, albeit
majestic garments. This fact is one which strongly suggeststhat when Messiah
returns to triumph over His enemies, He first returns to Bozrah, where He
begins "the great slaughterin the land of Edom" (Isa 34:5, See also the Map
for proposedorder of events in the final "Campaignof Armageddon.")
Glowing (02556)(hamets)has a somewhatcomplicatedetymologyin the
Hebrew lexicons. According to some entries it refers to that which is leavened
or has yeastadded. Other entries (Louw-Nida) state that it signifies to be
stained crimson or brightly colored. The Septuagint translation of the Hebrew
phrase uses the Greek word erythema (cf our English word describing
"redness" ofthe skin) which describes a redness or that which is dyed red and
which is used only in Isaiah63:1. The NET Bible note renders the Hebrew as
"bright red garments." The context(Isa 63:2) would support the
interpretation of "red garments," for Isaiahproceeds to ask why are His
garments red? In sum, it seems fair to saythat the phrase "glowing
garments" is better understood as "crimson (scarlet, red) stained garments."
There is a play on words for Edom means red, and the One coming from
Edom has His garments stained red!
Fruchtenbaum writes that "garments of glowing colors" suggeststhat
Messiahis arraying with His ShekinahGlory, and indeed Yeshua Himself

declares that He will come "on the clouds of the skywith power and great
glory." (Mt 24:30, Mk 13:26, Lk 21:27). In a passage mostinterpret as a
reference to Messiah'sSecondComing and which sounds like a description of
His ShekinahGlory, the prophet Habakkuk writes " His radiance is like the
sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His
power." (Habakkuk 3:3-4-note)
From Bozrah - Messiahis proceeding from Messiah, andalmost certainly is
traveling northward to Jerusalem. Regarding see locationonmap = modern-
day Buseirahabout 25 miles southeastofthe DeadSea), which means "sheep
fold" or "fortress," (a few sources saythe name Bozrah means "grape
gatherer"!) it is in interesting to note that the emblem of a winepress was
stamped on the coins of Bozrah during the time of Romanrule. In addition
the area of Seir (Edom) was well known for it's grape vineyards. This
associationprobably explains Obadiah's use of a grape related figure of
speechin his prophesy of Edom's destruction asking "If grape gatherers came
to you, would they not leave some gleanings?"(Implying that Edom's
destruction would be total!) (Obadiah 1:5). Finally, it is notable that the
famous city of Petra (See Images of Petra which some think equates with
Sela/Cela)was characterizedby rose (reddish) coloredstone walls.
Comment: As an interesting aside, many conservative literalist commentators
think that Petra (Sela/Cela)will be the place the believing Jewishremnant
goes to seek shelterfor the horrible three and a half year period Jesus called
the GreatTribulation, (which corresponds to the "time of Jacob's Trouble
[Distress]" - Jer30:1-7, esp Jer 30:7 - See Discussionofthe relationship
betweenJacob's Trouble and the Great Tribulation) during which the demon
filled and empoweredAntichrist will seek desperatelyto destroy ALL Jews!
(See Tony Garland's discussionofRev 12:6-note [where 1260 days = 3.5
years], specificallythe Sheep in Bozrah)
Marching (Buksbazen= "Swaying";HCSB = "rising up proudly in His great
might?" NET = "marches confidently") - Louw-Nida has an interesting
definition of this verb tsa'ah, stating that it can mean to "stride, i.e., walk in a
purposeful manner towarda goal, with a focus that the stride causes a slight

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