The Watchman’s Report
Isaiah 63:1-6
November 24, 2024
We saw the statement last Sunday morning.
Isaiah 62:6-7 “On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves; And give Him no rest until He establishes And makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”
We listened as Isaiah called on the watchmen of his day
To announce to the nation the truth of God.
They were to follow Isaiah’s lead and preach:
• The Gospel of Salvation & The Glory of Salvation.
• They were to clear the way, build up the highway, and point to the Savior.
They were also called to continually call out to God
• Until God made good on His promise to restore Jerusalem.
• Like the persistent widow in Luke 18 they were to remind God continually until God fulfilled His promise.
In short, it was the watchmen’s job
To remind the LORD and to prepare the people.
Well here in chapter 63, we get THE WATCHMAN’S REPORT
Isaiah, through prophetic eyes,
Is looking over the wall in Jerusalem
And announcing to us what he sees.
It is the day that the people of God have been waiting for.
Isaiah knew this day was coming…
Isaiah 34:1-8 “Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it. For the LORD’S indignation is against all the nations, And His wrath against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to slaughter. So their slain will be thrown out, And their corpses will give off their stench, And the mountains will be drenched with their blood. And all the host of heaven will wear away, And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; All their hosts will also wither away As a leaf withers from the vine, Or as one withers from the fig tree. For My sword is satiated in heaven, Behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom And upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction. The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, It is sated with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah And a great slaughter in the land of Edom. Wild oxen will also fall with them And young bulls with strong ones; Thus their land will be soaked with blood, And their dust become greasy with fat. For the LORD has a day of vengeance, A year of recompense for the cause of Zion.”
Isaiah knew that one day the LORD would come with vengeance
And destroy His enemies as He liberated His people.
ON THIS DAY, Isaiah saw the LORD after that battle had been fought.
And here, as the faithful watchman, Isaiah reports it to you.
First let’s examine the announcement
Then we’ll discuss it a little more fully.
I’m going to break this down into 3 points.
#1 THE ARRIVAL OF THE GLORIOUS ONE
Isaiah 63:1
Verse 1 gives us the DIALOGUE OF THE WATCHMAN.
• He’s looking over the wall,
• He’s watching for danger or any pertinent news for his people,
• All of a sudden Isaiah sees a figure emerge.
And Isaiah simply hollers at the One approaching, “Who goes there?”
“Who is this who comes from Edom, With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah…”
Isaiah sees the figure and He is wearing “garments of glowing colors”
The word “glowing colors” is KHAW-MATES in the Hebrew.
It can be translated “leaven” as in leavened bread.
It can be translated “sour”
It can be translated as “embarrassed” or “red-faced”
It is sometimes translated “ruthless”
It seems the best understanding is
Someone who is showing anger or embarrassment on their face.
That is why some translates translate it “red” or “crimson”
We could say “with garments of bright red color”.
And Isaiah notes that
• He is coming from the south which is where “Edom”
• And her capital city of “Bozrah” is located.
Isaiah also notices is that He is glorious.
“This One who is majestic in His apparel, Marching in the greatness of His strength?”
“majestic” is AW-DAIR
It can mean honor or respected or lifted up or partial
This One who is approaching is an exalted One of great importance
And He is marching in great strength.
• He’s not limping…
• He’s not dragging along…
• He’s marching in great glory and a great display of strength…
And He is approaching Jerusalem.
So we’ve got a mighty man of glory rapidly approaching Jerusalem
He’s coming from the south and wearing bright red garments.
And Isaiah rightly asks, “Who is this…?”
Who are you?
And THE ANSWER is immediately given by the One outside the gate.
“It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”
Isaiah asks, “Who are You?”
And the Man answers, “It’s Me!”
I’m the One who has been speaking to you “in righteousness”
• “I’m the One who has been speaking to you all these years.”
• “I’m the One who has called you.”
• “I’m the One who has commissioned you.”
• “I’m the One who has filled your mouth with My words.”
I am the Holy One you stood before.
I am the One you serve.
“It is I”
AND I am the One who is “mighty to save.”
Isaiah sees this glorious One approach, asks who it is,
And the Man answers, “It’s Me, your Savior!”
This is the One Isaiah saw back in chapter 6.
When Isaiah said, “I saw the Lord”
If you will remember, that was Jesus whom He saw.
John 12:41 “These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.”
Isaiah’s entire ministry has been to announce this Holy One to the people.
• Isaiah saw His glory in the temple in chapter 6.
• Isaiah saw His virgin birth in chapter 8.
• Isaiah saw His coming kingdom in chapter 9, 11, 35
• Isaiah saw His humiliation and suffering in chapter 50
• Isaiah saw His crucifixion in chapter 53
AND HERE ISAIAH SEES HIM AGAIN
He is again glorious, but it is a different type of majesty that we see.
And this is a phenomenal reality to us.
In your preconceived expectations of what you will see on the day your Savior arrives, what are you expecting that He will look like?
How are you expecting Jesus to look when He returns?
It almost seems here as though Isaiah was somewhat shocked
At the appearance of the Lord.
He was almost surprised
• By His glory
• And His red raiment
• And His mighty march.
Perhaps Isaiah was startled, even afraid by what he saw.
And that leads to the second question of the Watchman.
#2 THE CURIOUSITY OF THE STAINED GARMENTS
Isaiah 63:2-3
Now that the approaching One has been identified to us as the Lord,
Isaiah has another question.
“Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press?”
That tells us a great deal more
About these bright red garments he is wearing.
Isaiah said He looked like someone who had just tread in the wine press.
I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the outfit of someone who did that,
• But he’s referencing someone who got in big trough of grapes and just started
stomping on them with their feet.
• As the grapes pop you know it splatters up grape juice onto the robe of the one
stomping.
• As more and more grapes are squashed the grape juice begins to fill up the
trough and the hem of the garment is dipped in it turning the robe completely
purple.
So imagine this splattered and saturated garment,
Just covered in the bright red color.
Isaiah says He looks like He has been very busy trampling grapes.
IS THAT IT?
And the Lord answers.
(3) “I have trodden the wine trough alone, And from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger And trampled them in My wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I stained all My raiment.”
Isaiah asks, “Have you been treading in the wine vat?”
And the Lord says, “Close, I’ve been trampling sinners.”
“I also trod them in My anger And trampled them in My wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I stained all My raiment.”
This isn’t grape juice, this is blood.
The bright red glowing color of His garment
Is because it is soaked in the blood of His enemies.
HE HAS BEEN IN BATTLE.
But He wasn’t injured, He wasn’t even tired.
• Remember He was “Marching in the greatness of His strength”
• This wasn’t His blood, it was the blood of His enemies.
And because He has come “from Edom” and “from Bozrah”
We know who the victims of His wrath have been.
The Lord has just crushed the Edomites.
• He has trampled them under His feet.
• It is their blood, not His, that covers His garments.
I’m not sure we can even imagine the scene.
What is clear from the text is that
There is another question left to ask,
• In fact the Lord will answer it in verses 4-6,
• But perhaps Isaiah was so dumbfounded at what he had already learned he just stood there with an open mouth.
The obvious question is:
• WHY DID YOU TRAMPLE THEM?
• WHY DID YOU CRUSH THEM UNDER FOOT?
And that is the next question that is answered.
#3 THE EXPLANATION OF EDOM’S DESTRUCTION
Isaiah 63:4-6
Why did You do it?
And the answer is clear:
(4) “For the day of vengeance was in My heart, And My year of redemption has come.”
The Lord gives two reasons why He has crushed Edom.
VENGEANCE & REDEMPTION
Let’s start with VENGEANCE.
We hear about vengeance quite regularly.
• Movies like to talk about it.
• We hear about it on the news.
• Politics talks about it.
What we notice is that vengeance is routinely seen as a negative thing.
You hear people say, “We don’t want vengeance, we want justice.”
Justice is painted as the high road
And vengeance as the negative response.
Does it surprise you then to know that Jesus Christ is the God of both?
Certainly He will reign and rule in justice.
• Isaiah has outlined that many times.
But do not let the fact escape your notice that
He is also unequivocally the God of vengeance
And His vengeance will one day break forth.
We’ve read it many times:
Romans 12:19 “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.”
• Paul quotes there from Deuteronomy 32.
• It is a passage called “The Song of Moses”
• I want you to read it this morning.
TURN TO: DEUTERONOMY 32:34-43
The first 33 verses of this song are Moses prophesying that the children of Israel will continue to be like their fathers.
• They will abandon God.
• They will worship idols.
• And God will punish them with the affliction of the nations.
However, God will also avenge Himself and His people
On those nations that afflict His people.
(READ 34-43)
That is the same vengeance we see delivered here.
Incidentally, this song of Moses will be sung again.
Revelation 14:14-20 “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.”
You are familiar with that scene.
It is the Lord trampling His enemies under foot.
Immediately following that scene we read this:
Revelation 15:1-4 “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished. And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God. And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU, FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED.”
Everyone in earth and heaven understands the vengeance of the Lord.
He comes and crushes His enemies under foot
And even heaven rejoices to sing again the song of Moses.
OUR GOD IS A GOD OF VENGEANCE
Isaiah 34:8 “For the LORD has a day of vengeance, A year of recompense for the cause of Zion.”
Isaiah 35:4 “Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.”
And look, we could spend a great section of time this morning
Doing nothing but reading passages which speak of
The Lord’s vengeance on His enemies.
BUT THE POINT IS:
He has promised that a day is coming
When He will return in glorious splendor
And will crush His enemies under foot.
And the aftermath of such a judgment
Looks like a man who has been treading grapes in the wine press.
• He is covered in blood.
• He is covered in judgment.
WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT?
Why would Isaiah reveal that his generation?
Isaiah reveals it so that you might understand
The love that God has for His children.
I don’t know if you realize this, but
HIS VENGEANCE IS ACTUALLY ROOTED IN HIS LOVE.
But you must have a proper understanding of His love to know how it fits.
God’s vengeance is rooted in His love for His children.
One of the reasons this world has no room for a Jesus who shows vengeance
Is because they have this sort of contorted doctrine
That God unconditionally loves all people
And therefore a God of love would never show vengeance.
Look, God is love; God does love
But you have to understand it to have an accurate view of Him.
God does have a beneficent love for all people.
• That is to say God has “good will” toward all men.
• He desires good for all.
God does have a benevolent love for all people.
• He sends His rain on the just and the unjust.
• It is the common grace that all men enjoy from God.
But there is a covenantal love of God that far exceeds those two.
It is the love which God savingly shows to His own;
A love which the unredeemed do not experience.
IN FACT, the unredeemed not only do not experience that love,
But they experience God’s vengeance.
Let me show you another picture of it.
TURN TO: PSALMS 136
• The NIV translates that passage over and over, “His love endures forever”
• Chris Tomlin sang the famous song of this Psalm and the part that they sing
sounds really good.
“Give thanks to the Lord, our God and King, His love endures forever!
For He is good He is above all things, His love endures forever!”
And it sounds really good, like God just loves everyone
And never gets angry or would dare show vengeance.
But look at what David says later in the Psalm.
(READ 136:10, 15, 17-22)
God was showing love there, but it was covenantal love to His people.
Egypt, Og, and Bashan experienced God’s vengeance.
You understand that even as a sinful man.
• Do you wish evil on any man? You’d say “No”.
• Are you willing to help anyone who is need? You’d say “Yes”
• But what if a guy enters your home and starts attacking your family? “Vengeance”
AND THAT IS THE POINT.
The Lord Jesus Christ will return
And He will show terrible vengeance
On His enemies and on the enemies of His people.
That’s why His garment is red.
That’s what He has done in His anger.
The first time He came in humility to save His children.
The second time He’ll come in wrath to avenge them.
We already read Revelation 14, but look at Revelation 19
Revelation 19:11-16 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
There it is again.
Listen to Jesus as He preached on the end:
Matthew 24:27-28 “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”
It’s as if the disciples asked where this great battle will occur
And Jesus said, “You’ll know when you see all the buzzards.”
Revelation 19:17-21 “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.”
IT MAY BE SELDOM DISCUSSED,
But it is an inescapable picture of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He is filled with mighty vengeance on His adversaries
And on those who have afflicted His people.
In this case it is “Edom” and “Bozrah”
Why Edom?
You remember them, they ancient enemy of Israel, descendants of Esau.
Do you remember Edom?
Obadiah 1:10-14 “Because of violence to your brother Jacob, You will be covered with shame, And you will be cut off forever. “On the day that you stood aloof, On the day that strangers carried off his wealth, And foreigners entered his gate And cast lots for Jerusalem— You too were as one of them. “Do not gloat over your brother’s day, The day of his misfortune. And do not rejoice over the sons of Judah In the day of their destruction; Yes, do not boast In the day of their distress. “Do not enter the gate of My people In the day of their disaster. Yes, you, do not gloat over their calamity In the day of their disaster. And do not loot their wealth In the day of their disaster. “Do not stand at the fork of the road To cut down their fugitives; And do not imprison their survivors In the day of their distress.”
Psalms 137:7 “Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, “Raze it, raze it To its very foundation.”
These Edomites joined in the destruction of God’s people,
Cutting down survivors and cheering for the destruction of the temple.
Christ is executing vengeance on them for that.
He trampled them underfoot and their blood splattered on His garments.
“I also trod them in My anger And trampled them in My wrath;”
HE SAID “the day of vengeance was in My heart,”
• He fully desired it.
• He trampled them because of His vengeance.
THAT IS THE FIRST REASON FOR HIS TRAMPLING OF EDOM
But there is a second reason why He did it: REDEMPTION
“And My year of redemption has come.”
He did it out of love for His people and a desire to deliver them.
Read it again:
Isaiah 35:4 “Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.”
Isaiah 40:10-11 “Behold, the Lord GOD will come with might, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him And His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.”
Isaiah 52:7-10 “How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, They shout joyfully together; For they will see with their own eyes When the LORD restores Zion. Break forth, shout joyfully together, You waste places of Jerusalem; For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God.”
He is rendering vengeance for the sake of redemption.
He is coming to save His people from their enemies.
We understand what it is to live in a world under Satan’s influence.
• We know what it is to be at constant war with immoral ideologies.
• We know the oppression of Lot who felt his righteous soul tormented as he
lived among immoral men.
And yet we are emphatically told to never take our own revenge.
• We are told to turn the other cheek and go the extra mile.
• We are told to respond to their curses with a blessing.
• We are told to pray for our enemies.
• We are told to share the gospel with them.
And that often times puts believers, in a worldly sense,
On the short end of the stick.
Paul said:
2 Corinthians 4:8-10 “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”
But we also know that the Lord will not allow it to be that way forever.
Romans 8:36-37 “Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.”
THE ONE WHO LOVES US IS COMING.
He will render vengeance on His enemies
And He will redeem and restore His people.
And I think, as His people, we must marvel then and ask:
“What great love does our Savior have for us?”
• He will not allow us to be reproached forever.
• He will not allow us to be hated forever.
• He is coming to avenge us and to deliver us.
All the prayers of all the saints
Who throughout the ages have cried, “How long?”
Will be answered on that day!
He is coming in vengeance and redemption.
But there is one other aspect of His coming that He has been emphatic about and that is that He is doing it ALONE.
(3) “I have trodden the wine trough alone, and from the peoples there was no man with Me.”
(5) “I looked, and there was no one to help, And I was astonished and there was no one to uphold; So My own arm brought salvation to Me, And My wrath upheld Me.”
Isaiah has already alluded to this once.
Isaiah 59:15-20 “Yes, truth is lacking; And he who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey. Now the LORD saw, And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice. And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. According to their deeds, so He will repay, Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; To the coastlands He will make recompense. So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun, For He will come like a rushing stream Which the wind of the LORD drives. “A Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the LORD.”
Isaiah already revealed to us that when the Lord comes,
He will execute both vengeance and redemption ALONE.
WHY?
BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE CAN!
Do you remember what we read a moment ago in the song of Moses?
Moses spoke about God’s coming vengeance,
But do you remember why God did it alone?
Deuteronomy 32:36-39 “For the LORD will vindicate His people, And will have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their strength is gone, And there is none remaining, bond or free. “And He will say, ‘Where are their gods, The rock in which they sought refuge? ‘Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, And drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise up and help you, Let them be your hiding place! ‘See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.”
Israel had trusted in so many foreign gods…
Israel had trusted in so many foreign nations…
But God does not share glory!
Has that not been the message of Isaiah so many times to this people?
Isaiah 41:10 “‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’”
Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.”
Isaiah 43:3 “For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.”
Isaiah 43:11-13 “I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me. “It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And I am God. “Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”
Isaiah 44:6 “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.”
Isaiah 44:8 “‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.’”
And on and on and on.
When God delivers He does it alone,
Not only because He is the only capable savior,
But also because He alone will receive glory for it.
AND WHAT A GREAT REMINDER EVEN TO US TODAY.
THE CHURCH HAS ONE SAVIOR!
The United States of America cannot and will not save you.
Donald Trump cannot and will not save you.
We appreciate any grace of God
That puts a restraint on the spread of immorality, but that is all it is.
The vengeance that awaits the wicked…
The redemption that is coming for God’s people…
That is only coming from one person and that is Jesus Christ.
He is coming and He is coming in terrible wrath and judgment.
He will trample the wicked under His feet and He will liberate His people.
He is coming and He is coming to save His own.
• He will not come again in humility.
• He will not come again in meekness.
• He will never again be laid in a manger.
He is coming back in vengeance, His recompense is before Him.
He will destroy the wicked and He will do it for His children.
Praise Him for it!
Bask in His great love for you!
Psalms 98:7-9 “Let the sea roar and all it contains, The world and those who dwell in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, Let the mountains sing together for joy Before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness And the peoples with equity.”
This morning we do that.
• We stop to anticipate the great and terrible coming of the Lord!
• We rejoice in His vengeance and His justice!
• We bask in His love for us!
Rest in that church!
Amen, Come Lord Jesus!
