Isaiah 63 | The Wolfe Notes

Welcome, Family! We're spending 2024 with the prophet Isaiah. While we claim no expertise, we're excited to sit with you as we both learn at the feet of Jesus. Each month, we offer a calendar that outlines daily exercises (adapted from Jenn Wilkin's Women of the Word Bible study process) to progress through Isaiah. Download December's calendar to begin with us and witness what we uncovered in our weekly "Wolfe Notes" postings.

Contents:

1. Different Versions Noting and clarifying differences between KJV & NLV.
2. Annotation My thoughts, connections, clarifications, and questions.
3. Research On Jesus searching for workmen.
4. Summary An approximately twenty-word overview of the chapter.
5. Memorize Why I chose to memorize Isaiah 63:9.
6. Cross References Of Isaiah 63:9.
7. Respond to God's desire for our interaction.

Different Versions

I read Chapter 63 in the King James Version (KJV) and the New Life Version (NLV). The KJV is a word-for-word translation while the NLV is a thought-for-thought translation.

Major differences I noticed (*My thoughts alone are in italics and designated with an asterisk.):

Isaiah 63:1

• Comparisons:
• KJV: Who is this that cometh from Edom, with (1) dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is (2) glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in (3) righteousness, mighty to save.
• NLV: Who is this Who comes from Edom, with (1) dark red clothing from Bozrah? Who is this One Who is (2) beautiful in His clothing, walking in the greatness of His strength? "It is I, Who speaks (3) what is right and good, powerful to save."
• Discrepancies: 
1. Dyed garments (KJV) vs. dark red clothing (NLV). No color mentioned in the KJV, although after reading in context, stained in red, as interpreted in the NLV, is the logical conclusion.
   
2. Glorious (KJV) and beautiful (NLV) have slightly different tones, the KJV connotes royalty. The NLV offers the same deference by capitalizing the pronouns, thereby identifying Jesus as the mysterious person.
3. Speak in righteousness (KJV) vs. what is right and good (NLV). The NLV offers a definition of righteousness. Both connect to John 1:1, where Christ is identified as the Word. Because if Christ is the Word, of course He speaks righteousness/what is right and good.
• Thoughts: While the NLV makes interpretive clarifications that may take away from deeper meaning, both versions convey the same message and tone.

Isaiah 63:17

• Comparisons:
• KJV: O LORD, why hast thou made us (1) to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine (2) inheritance. 
• NLV: O Lord, why do You make us (1) turn aside from Your ways and make our hearts hard so we do not fear You? Return because of Your servants, the families of Your (2) promised land.
• Discrepancies: 
1. To err (KJV) vs. turn aside (NLV). The first feels momentary, the second longer lasting. 
2. Inheritance (KJV) vs. promised land (NLV). The first feels broader, the second specific.
• Thoughts: Both successfully depict a struggle with human nature: the things we don't want to do, we do. But the things we want to do, we don't (Romans 7:15-20).

Annotation

Notes on my process. *Denotes my thoughts alone. ! Denotes a connection. Researched quick answers are in italics. *R Indicates a topic with more extensive notes under the research heading.

The Event: Treading the Winepress (Isaiah 63:1-6)

1. Jesus comes, unrecognized, dressed in red.
1. ? Why are Edom and Bozrah mentioned? Edom broadly represents enemies of God of which Bozrah is the chief city. -  Bible Hub.
2. ! "It is I, Who speaks what is right and good, powerful to save" (Isaiah 63:1) connects me to John 1:1 (NLV) "The Word (Christ) was in the beginning. The Word was with God. The Word was God."
2. He returns from judgement, which He alone carried out, because it was time for redemption.
1. ? Who is He looking for? Who does Jesus expect to work with Him? *R
2. ? Why is He crushing grapes? From His unruly vineyard? (See John 15:1-11, Matthew 20:1-16, and Isaiah 5:1-7 and our research.)

The Reason: We Rebelled (Isaiah 63:7-10)

1. Though the nations suffer, I will sing forth His praise. I will proclaim the good things He has done.
1. 🎵To the broken I'll witness it / To the hurting I'll witness it / To the lost I will witness it / And I'll tell them this, I'll tell them what I've witnessed🎶("I've Witnessed It" performed by Passion, Melodie Malone, and Jenn Johnson)
2. He saves us because He desires our faithfulness.
3. He suffers with us, frees us, and carries us.
1. ? If the troubles He shared in with us, mentioned in Isaiah 63:9, include escape from Egypt and freedom from sin at the cross, where is the angel at the cross and what was the price paid in Egypt? 
2. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. I Corinthians 6:20 KJV
3. The Lord your God Who goes before you will Himself fight for you. He did this for you in Egypt in front of your eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way you have walked until you came to this place." Deuteronomy 1:30-31 NLV
4. But we rebel and He becomes our enemy.

The Return: We Remember (Isaiah 63:11-14)

1. Until we remember who He is and what He has done, turn, and seek Him again.
1. ? How was the Holy Spirit present at the crossing of the Red Sea as mentioned in Isaiah 63:11? 
2. For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory to another. Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. Isaiah 48:9-12 KJV (See cross references.)

The Plea: Remember Us, God (Isaiah 63:15-19)

1. Remember us! You made us and care about us.
1. For the Lord has said to me, "I will be quiet and watch from the place where I live, like shining heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of fog in the heat of gathering time." Isaiah 18:4 NLV (See cross references.)
2. But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. Isaiah 64:8 KJV
2. You are our Father!
1. ? Is Isaiah 63:16 an allusion to Gentiles?
2. You are bad and you know how to give good things to your children. How much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him? Matthew 7:11 NLV
3. Why do you let us turn from You?
1. *This is the ultimate question, isn't it? For which my best answer is, if He didn't allow us choice our love for Him wouldn't be real.
4. Return to your people!
1. And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. Exodus 32:11-14 KJV (See also Deuteronomy 33:1-29)
5. Though we tried to maintain our inheritance, our enemies have destroyed it. 
6. We've become like them.

Research

*Thoughts that are mine alone are marked with an asterisk and italicized.

Who was Jesus looking for to tread the grapes with Him? (Isaiah 63:3, 5)

Describes Jesus' Second Coming

Jesus first came to pour out His own blood, but the second time He returns for vengeance.

• The winepress represents carnage of battle. 
• Use the long, sharp knife, for the fruit is full-grown. Come and crush the grapes, for the crushing-place is full. They flow over, for their sins are many. Joel 3:13 NLV (See also Revelation 14:18-20)
• The LORD hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the LORD hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress. Lamentations 1:15 KJV
• The coat He wears has been put in blood. His name is The Word of God. The armies in heaven were dressed in clean, white, fine linen. They were following Him on white horses. Revelation 19:13 NLV
• Edom represents His enemies.
• For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold it shall come down upon Idumea [Edom], and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea....For it is the day of the LORD's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. Isaiah 34:5-6, 8 KJV
• I will make My arrows drunk with blood. My sword will eat flesh with the blood of those who are killed and those who are in prison, from the long-haired leaders of those who hate me [from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy]. Deuteronomy 32:42 NLV [KJV]

Jesus Acts Alone

Jesus is able and does His own work. 

• Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? Matthew 26:53 KJV
• Christ was before all things. All things are held together by Him. Colossians 1:17 NLV
• Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high: Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Hebrews 1:3-4 KJV

There is No One to Help Him

Jesus looks around at the people who receive His vengeance and finds no one who will help Him, the Jews are excluded from this scene. God and the Church are one with Christ, so are not counted with the people. We are empowered and led by Christ, therefore we are part of His victory.

• By being with Him.
• But if you join yourself to the Lord, you are one with Him in spirit. I Corinthians 6:17 NLV
• Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Romans 8:37 KJV
• And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. Revelation 19:14
• As intercessors, like Abraham praying for Lot (Genesis 18:16-33), Moses praying for Israel (Exodus 32:11-14), and each of us praying for one another (Ephesians 6:18-20). 
• By serving others. Then those that are right with God will say, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You? When did we see You thirsty and give You a drink? When did we see You a stranger and give You a room? When did we see You had no clothes and we gave you clothes? And when did we see You sick or in prison and we came to You?' Then the King will say, 'For sure, I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of My brothers, you have do it to Me.' Matthew 25:35-40 NLV

But we spectate as He conquers. Like on the cross, it was His work, not ours, that saved us. He had to do it alone.

• Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Isaiah 1:2-3 KJV
• 'Curse Meroz,' said the angel of the Lord, 'Curse its people, because they did not come to the help of the Lord. They did not help the Lord against the powerful soldiers.' Judges 5:23
• They shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. Matthew 25:41-45 KJV
• For by His loving-favor you have been saved from the punishment of sin through faith. It is not by anything you have done. It is a gift of God. It is not given to you because you worked for it. If you could work for it, you would be proud. Ephesians 2:8-9 NLV
• And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. Revelation 5:2-5 KJV

*Thoughts: If we conclude that Jesus was looking for someone outside "the Church" to help Him, then it shows His continual hope for all to turn to His ways. But I don't think the treading of the winepress excludes "the Church", for even the daughters of Judah were not exempt from it (Lamentations 1:15). I think there are times for all of us within "the Church" that we do not rise to help Him. I want to believe that of course I will answer every opportunity to help Him in His work, yet I know there are many opportunities I miss and even avoid. We are not worthy (Revelation 5:2-5). Christ had to do the work and bear the burden alone. He chooses to because of His love and pity for us (Isaiah 63:9). Yet, He still looks for us to join in His work (Isaiah 63:3, 5). So, strengthen yourselves; be ready (2 Timothy 2:1-26). Let us answer the call.

Source: Bible Hub commentaries on Isaiah 63:3, 5.

Summary

Jesus destroys His enemies. Israel remembers God and returns, pleading for God to likewise remember them.

Memorize

I chose to memorize Isaiah 63:9 KJV:

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

*Because it reminds me that He knows our pain: He's with us in it! He paid the price to save us from it and carries us to safety.

Cross References

*Thoughts that are mine alone are marked with an asterisk and italicized.

Of Isaiah 63:9 KJV.

In all their affliction, he was afflicted,...

• So they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord. And the Lord cared [his soul was grieved] as He saw the suffering of Israel. Judges 10:16 NLV [KJV]
• The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:18 KJV
• He will call upon Me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will take him out of trouble and honor him. Psalm 91:15 NLV

...and the angel of his presence saved them:...

• Behold, I send an Angel [Christ] before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Exodus 23:20 KJV  [Bible Hub] (See also Exodus 33:14 and Malachi 3:1)
• the Angel {Christ} Who has set me [Israel or Jacob] free from all sin, bring good to the boys. May my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac live on in them. May they become a great nation on the earth." Genesis 48:16 NLV [Genesis 48:10] {Bible Hub}
• For the Lord of all says, "The Lord of shining-greatness [hosts] has sent Me {Christ} against the nations which have robbed you in battle. For whoever touches you, touches what is of great worth to Him [the apple of his eye]. Zechariah 2:8 NLV [KJV] {Bible Hub}
• For You, O Lord, have saved my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. Psalm 116:8 NLV
• I have seen his [the sinner's] ways , and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. Isaiah 57:18 KJV [Bible Hub]

...in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;...

• The Lord has loving-pity on those who fear Him, as a father has loving-pity on his children. Psalm 103:13 NLV
• Is Ephraim My loved son? Is he the child of My joy? Yes, as many times as I have spoken against him, I still [earnestly] remember him. So My heart has a desire for him [my bowels are troubled for him]. For sure I will have loving-pity [mercy] on him," says the Lord. Jeremiah 31:20 NLV [KJV]
• Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry: And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies. Psalm 106:44-45 KJV
• But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. Psalm 78:38 KJV

...and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

• 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Exodus 19:4 NLV
• And in the wilderness, where thou has seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place. Deuteronomy 1:31 KJV
• Even when you are old I will be the same. And even when your hair turns white, I will help you. I will take care of what I have made. I will carry you, and I will save you. Isaiah 46:4 NLV

*Thoughts: When we hurt, He hurts. He stays with us, saves us, and with compassion does the heavy lifting for us. We are not alone. Not only is He with us, but He also compassionately cares for us. He does everything required to bring us safely home. Let Him. Open Your eyes to His great love for You and praise Him even in your pain. 🎵Lord, You're weeping with me / Help me to believe / That when my heart / is heavy as a stone / You say I'm not alone🎶 ("Man of Sorrows" performed by Ellie Holcomb)

Respond

God wants our interaction. He looks for us to work with Him as He destroys, or brings judgment to, the enemy (Isaiah 63:5). He chose us because He believed we would remain faithful. (Isaiah 63:8). He fights against us until we remember who He is, return to Him, and plead for Him to return to us. (Isaiah 63:10-19)

I get lost in my own work and miss opportunities to work alongside Jesus. I do not always remain true to God: I doubt His love, goodness, and, at times, even His existence. I am often disobedient to His will. I grow complacent in His faithfulness and don't honestly evaluate how blessed I am to have a God who stays when I so frequently stray.

I will learn to intentionally work with Him. In seeking Him, I will look for new opportunities that align with His will instead of mindlessly following my comfortable routine. I will remain faithful by choosing God again and again and find my JOY in Him. I will remember why I chose to pursue a relationship with God and look for His goodness with an expectation of finding it. When doubt enters and my focus on God wanders, I will fight for God like He fights for me. I will plead for His forgiveness. Then, I will recommit. He chose me, so I will choose Him, again and again. I will rejoice in it! I will celebrate because He is WITH me, and there is no greater gift than His presence.

In Closing

Father God, You give us marriage as a model to help us understand our relationship with You. But we take Your faithfulness for granted. We do not treat You like a beloved spouse as You treat us. Teach us how to love You better. Grow us in faithfulness as we train ourselves to choose You, fight for You, and rejoice in You.

Learning with You,

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*Image Credit: Donkeys in Desert Landscape by Linnaea Mallette at Public Domain Pictures