Isaiah 63: The Warrior Judge
Isaiah chapter 63. We’re continuing our studies in Messianic prophecy. We’ve had quite a while now in the prophecy of Isaiah, working our way through. Today, Isaiah 63. I’ll read the first six verses:
Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah? He who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength. It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save. Why is your apparel red, your garments like his who treads in the winepress? I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me. I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath. Their lifeblood splattered on my garments and stained all my apparel. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption had come. I looked, but there was no one to help. I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold. So my own arm brought me salvation, and my wrath upheld me. I trampled down the peoples in my anger. I made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.
Well, we have seen that in Isaiah’s prophecy, Chapters 40 through 66 are called the Book of Comfort, where he announces comfort. At the end of chapter 39, he had mentioned the coming exile the people would experience because of their unfaithfulness to the covenant. And they were taken into Babylon, of course, eventually into exile. Chapter 40 begins announcing the comfort that God would bring to these exiled people—that he was not done with them after all, even though they were being exiled, and that has worked out in several ways.
And we saw that throughout those prophecies from chapter 40 onwards, there is that reference to Israel in exile, and yet there’s beyond that; there’s always looking beyond that to a greater deliverance from a greater exile, and that it comes to pass, of course, in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Isaiah 58 through 66, in that section—that latter section of the Book of Comfort—these chapters look especially to the final outcome and the completion of God’s saving purposes. It entails, as we’ve said, the Kingdom of God entails the two aspects: salvation and judgment.
God will bring vindication to his people and final rest to them all, delivering them from exile in the most ultimate sense. But also it entails the idea of judgment: the final salvation of his people and the destruction of his enemies. In chapter 63 now, we have both that are mentioned—both salvation and judgment—but as you can tell already from a quick read through the first six verses, the emphasis is primarily on the judgment aspect, that he comes now in the end to bring judgment against his enemies.
You might remember last time we were in Isaiah 61, where the servant says the Lord has anointed him to proclaim the year of God’s favor and the day of vengeance. The year of God’s favor and the day of vengeance looks to an extended time of blessing that will come, but a decisive moment of judgment on his enemies. Isaiah 63 now mentions both of those: the year of God’s favor, the year of salvation, but also the day of vengeance as well. And that’s where the emphasis lies in these verses. For example, verse four: “For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption had come.”
All right, so verses one to six here in Isaiah 63 speak of the climactic arrival of the kingdom of God through the efforts of this warrior judge who comes. I think that’s the best way to describe him. He’s described in verse 1 as one who comes from Edom, from Bozrah, and he’s coming in military triumph. Edom, of course, was the ancient enemy of Israel, continually an enemy of Israel. Bozrah was the capital of Edom. And so he’s coming against the ancient enemies, the traditional enemies of Israel, and God here is announcing their final destruction. Here comes this warrior judge, and he comes to finally destroy Israel’s enemies.
This Warrior Judge Is Described In Three Ways
Now verse one, this warrior judge is described in three ways. First of all, he’s in crimsoned garments. That is, crimson-stained garments. We see that again in verse two: this red apparel, garments like his who tread out the winepress. So he’s got these brilliant colors on his clothing, and they’re red, and it looks like someone who was stomped in the winepress—a particularly disgusting custom to press out the wine that you’re going to drink with your feet. I’ve never quite understood that, but that’s what they do.
That becomes the metaphor now for this warrior judge who has come. And if you can imagine then someone who has stomped out the grapes in a wine press, you can see the grape juice splattering up on his garments. Now here comes this warrior judge in crimson garments. These brilliant colors that you can’t miss.
That’s the next description of him in verse 1: splendid in his apparel. Splendid in his apparel. That is to say, he’s honored in his garments. He’s made out to be splendid by the apparel that he is wearing. It’s referenced to the bright color, the red. So he’s a striking figure who comes. And he’s striking because of the clothing that he has on. The clothing is striking because it’s so bright red and so full of it.
And then the third description in verse one is he’s marching in the greatness of his strength. So we have this conquering military warrior who has come and he is strutting in with pomp and honor. And you can’t miss him. You can’t miss him for the splendor of his clothing. You can’t miss him for his demeanor; in fact, the NIV translates this “striding forward in the greatness of his strength.” The Christian Standard Bible translates it “rising up proudly,” that is, with head tilted back, rising up proudly in his great might. So the conquering warrior is coming in; he obviously has won, he’s been a triumphant victory over the enemies, and now he comes in confidently in procession, and it’s a striking thing to behold.
Who Is This?
Well, that raises the question in verse 1: who is this? Who is this who is coming? And so we have a changing voice. We have someone asking the question in verse 1, “Who is this?” And at the end of verse 1, the warrior himself answers: “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.”
Now God’s righteousness in this passage especially, in particular, has a twofold aspect. Number one, it speaks of judgment of his enemies. God is a God who is righteous and he demands righteousness of his creatures. And that same righteousness that demands righteousness of his creatures demands the punishment of unrighteousness in his unrighteous creatures. And so now God is coming in the person of this warrior and he’s meting out judgment against his enemies. He’s defeating, he’s inflicting judgment on them all. And this is an exercise of justice. It’s a triumph of righteousness.
That is a note, I think, that we generally tend to overlook today. We tend to get a little embarrassed about this judgment theme—God coming to destroy his enemies. Biblical writers never back away from that at all. And here the warrior is coming and the vengeance of God is in his heart. And it is a requirement of God’s righteousness that righteous judgment be meted out on his enemies. And so he comes to bring judgment. And it’s a righteous judgment.
The other aspect of righteousness is the rescue or the vindication of his people. Just as it is right for God to judge and condemn those who are his enemies, so it is right for God to vindicate his people. And so he says, “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.” And verse 4, “The year of my redemption has come.” So when we have it here, “It is I speaking in righteousness,” the Christian Standard Bible here translates it, “It is I proclaiming vindication.” That’s the idea; he’s coming to save his people. God’s righteousness then demands both. It demands the judgment of his enemies and it demands the rescue and the reward of his people. That’s a common theme, both of these common themes in the Old Testament prophets.
So this prophecy then is already—we know at the end of verse one—that this prophecy is looking ahead to the climax of history when God comes in judgment. It’s the in-breaking of the kingdom of God. No longer just the inaugurated phase of God’s kingdom that we’ve talked about so often. This is the climax of history. God breaks in in righteousness and judges his enemies and vindicates his people. The unrighteousness of his enemies cannot go unchecked forever, and now his day has come.
Why Is Your Apparel Red?
Verse two, we have the second question: “Why is your apparel red and your garments like his who treads the winepress?” Now that’s something of a repetition from the first question in verse 1. In verse 1 it says, “Who is this who comes from Edom, splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength?” Already we know this is a triumphant warrior returning from battle, and it’s pretty obvious why his garments are red. It’s the blood of his enemies. Stomped out his enemies so badly that their blood is all over his garments. The blood on his garments is not his; it’s theirs.
So already we know that, but that’s what he emphasizes here to bring it out into relief. Verse two, “Why is your apparel red and your garments like his who treads the winepress?” And then he answers in verses three to six:
“I have trodden the winepress alone. That’s what it looks like. Garments are red, and it looks like he’s been treading out the grapes in the wine press. But here it’s a metaphor. I’ve trodden the wine press alone, and from the peoples no one was with me. I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath. Their lifeblood splattered on my garments and stained my apparel. For—and here he is citing Isaiah 61 that we saw last time, and verse 2—The day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of redemption had come. I looked, but there was no one to help. I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold. So my own arm brought me salvation, and my wrath upheld me. I trampled down the peoples in my anger. I made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”
So this is a striking scene. The warrior comes back. It’s obviously some striking kind of procession. He has obviously won, and he’s fresh from battle, coming back. His garments are bright red with his clothing, and it’s with blood that’s not his own. It’s his enemy’s blood. And note the emphasis here on the warrior’s anger and his wrath. Verse three: “I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath,” or my fury, my rage. Pictures him as meting out this judgment wholeheartedly, without reservation. Verse five: “My wrath upheld me.” This was my zeal. I was coming to bring judgment against God’s enemies. Verse six: “I trampled down the peoples in my anger. I made them drunk on my wrath.” This wasn’t a minor victory. It was a wholesale slaughter of his enemies.
And he gives a graphic description of their defeat in verse three: their lifeblood spattered on his garments with such a trouncing that it looked like he had tread the winepress. Verse six: he trampled them down in anger, made them drunk in his wrath. Interesting metaphor, “made them drunk in his wrath.” You see the enemies; you picture them staggering. Total rout, total defeat. And then finally in verse six, their lifeblood poured out on the ground. This is absolutely a one-sided battle. The enemies of God were completely overwhelmed. Finally, the day that has been announced had come. And it no sooner comes than it’s all over. A total victory.
Notice how he says it in verse four: “The day of vengeance was in my heart.” First of all, it’s called here vengeance. Vengeance for God is not a bad thing. It is an exercise of his righteousness. He’s meting out righteous judgment against his enemies. And that day of vengeance has come, and what he says here, the day of vengeance was in his heart. That is, this was the zeal that carried me in this battle, to mete out judgment against God’s enemies. All of this in verse 4 is simultaneously the day of vengeance and the year of redemption. Again, that’s Isaiah 61 that we saw the servant speaking. Isaiah 61 in verse two, where he had come with the Spirit’s anointing to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God. This is the prophetic Day of the Lord. He doesn’t use that language here—”the Day of the Lord has come.” This is clearly the same: the in-breaking of God into history, establishing his kingdom finally and once and for all with both aspects in the ultimate. Judgment and salvation here come to their climactic end.
Then verses five and six, he emphasizes the singular role of the warrior himself in bringing God’s kingdom. “I looked,” he says, “there’s no one to help. I was appalled, but there’s no one to uphold, so my own arm brought me salvation. My wrath upheld me. I trampled down the peoples in my anger. I made them drunk in my wrath. I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.” No one else was capable of doing this. I did it myself. I carried it out. The kingdom of this world was so set in its evil that, he says, no one was able to overthrow it. So I did it all by myself.
The Identity Of This Warrior Judge
Now, with all of that, there can hardly be any question as to the identity of this warrior judge who is speaking here. We’ve worked our way through Isaiah. It should be clear to you, I’m sure it is by now—it’s been a major theme in Isaiah’s prophecy. In the first 39 chapters, the emphasis was on the Messiah himself, the Davidic son who would come, born of a virgin. The son who is given to carry the government on his shoulders. The sprout from Jesse who has come to execute justice in the land. When we come to the latter section of Isaiah, Isaiah 42 and following, we’re introduced to the servant of the Lord who would come. And he’s come to establish justice in the earth. Finally, all of that now has come to its culmination. Isaiah 61, we saw it last time, he’s anointed to proclaim the year of God’s favor, the day of wrath, the day of judgment, and now here it’s the day of vengeance has come.
Well, this is a familiar theme. We saw this as far back as Genesis. Judah would have the scepter. We saw it in prophecies all along. We saw it in the Psalms, Psalm 2. God’s anointed is established on Zion. Those who oppose him will perish. And here we have Isaiah speaking of the same. I’ve given the emphasis here that this servant, who’s clearly the one speaking, had to do all of this alone. He did it himself. It’s tempting to think in terms of Jesus’ first advent when he did the work alone to save. That may be entailed. It’s certainly true enough. That’s certainly foundational to everything else that comes. But here, what is in focus specifically is the climactic arrival of the kingdom of God through the Messianic king. He has come. We’ve emphasized all along in these prophecies that there’s an inaugurated aspect of that kingdom that we experience here in this age. But here it has come to its culmination and it’s a grand scene. The kingdom has come, the king himself has come in overwhelming might against all of God’s enemies. He’s destroyed them and now he returns with the honor that is due him, the final rescue of his people. The rule of God now finally and fully exerted in the earth.
If there’s any doubt, let’s turn over to the New Testament. Revelation chapter 19. You’ll see here that John makes some allusions to this passage in Isaiah 63. Revelation chapter 19. This is the depiction here. Remember, this is apocalyptic language, so it’s full of imagery. And here is the picture of the climactic return of the Lord Jesus. Verse 11:
“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He’s clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is the Word of God. And the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun with a loud voice. He called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, ‘Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.’ And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse, and against his army, and the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur, and the rest were slain by the sword that comes from the mouth of him who is sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.”
So here we have the judge coming, the connections to Isaiah 63. He judges, he makes war, his robe is dipped in blood. We do have the armies of heaven mentioned here following along behind. They are not mentioned in Isaiah 63. And although they are here in Revelation 19, it’s not the armies following along behind that do the fighting. It’s the warrior on the white horse with a sword coming out of his mouth, which, as I’ve said before many times, means it’s not going to be much of a fight. He speaks, and his enemies fall.
All of this is apocalyptic imagery, but this is where history is going. The world and its rebellion against God will end in severe judgment. God’s appointed king will come. This is what we have seen ever since Genesis chapter 3. God’s appointed king will come and he will mete out judgment against all of God’s enemies. And according to Isaiah 63, he’ll do it with great zeal. Zeal for the glory of God. Zeal that righteousness in the end will be vindicated. Well, we find it in Revelation 20. We find it in Daniel chapter 7 as well. The saints of God then will share in the reign of the King who has come.
Well, here is the climax of Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming of the King. We have much more to come in the following chapters. It doesn’t mention the servant specifically, but it speaks of the new creation, the new heaven, the new earth that will come as a result of his coming and the in-breaking of the kingdom with him. But this has been the flow of the prophecies that we’ve seen throughout the Old Testament. God’s king will come and he will execute judgment against God’s enemies. He’ll do it with great zeal and he’ll do it thoroughly.
This is where history is going and all through the Bible we are called to take sides. Take sides with the assurance that—and not just the assurance, but the warning—that history will witness the reign of God’s King. He will come and he will reign in righteousness. His kingdom’s already been founded. We enjoy it in its inaugurated aspects. In this inaugurated form of the kingdom, rebellion is allowed. His rule is still being contested. And during that time, terms of peace are offered. “Come, bow before this king, and you will be saved.” But it comes with this warning that we find here: that in the end, justice will be served. This is the warning against all who oppose God’s king. We’ve seen this throughout. Isaiah gives us a particularly graphic kind of depiction of it. We ought not to be embarrassed over the theme of divine judgment. It is very real. Heaven is real—everybody wants to believe that. Hell and divine judgment are just as real. One day this will come, and this is part of our message to the world. We offer peace with God through Jesus Christ, but it comes with this warning: this world will end in judgment. You may oppose him for now, but you cannot do it successfully forever.