The Divine Warrior who Judges and Saves (Isaiah 63:1-64:12)
The sermon outline can be found in the ministry guide.
“Cut off one head and two more shall take its place.”
If this sounds familiar, you have watched quite a few Marvel shows like Captain America. Whenever the good guys prevail, the Hydra agents who represent evil in the Marvel Universewould sinisterly chant, “Cut off one head and two more shall take its place.” The bad guys taunt that it is futile to stop them. And true enough, new Hydra villains always arise in the next sequel.
Sadly, the persistence of evil is not just limited to a fictional universe. Our world has been plagued by evil ever since Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden. Sin has corrupted the human race, and evil is evident in every age. In fact, the atrocities people commit appear to be worsening.
Adolf Hitler’s actions resulted in the death of over 50 million people. Joseph Stalin killed over 20 million people. Pol Pot wiped out 25% of his own countrymen. Even today we have a number of wars going on and terrorists who murder the innocent and inflict fear on millions.
The United Nations chief says that 2 billion people are living in conflict areas today and the world is facing the highest number of violent conflicts since World War II.
Even in Singapore, we see evil manifested in the atrocities that have been committed in the past few years. Minors being sexually assaulted by family members, conflicts that lead to murders, greedy businessmen swindling investors, criminals scamming retirees of their hard-earned savings and cyberbullying of teens.
The persistent presence of evil is undeniable. And hence it has led some to question the power of God or even His existence. Not just in our time, but throughout history.
Ancient Israel in the Old Testament experienced much conflict after they had rebelled against the Lord and worshipped false idols. The superpowers of their day harassed them often. Their enemies would raid their farms, besiege their city, and taunt the trapped citizens.
Hence the people accused God of being silent. They turned to other nations for relief.
But through the prophet Isaiah, God urges the Israelites to return to Him for comfort and deliverance. Because of His covenantal love, He has not forsaken Israel. God assures His people that He can save.
Further, the salvation God has in mind is not just temporal relief from evil. God doesn’t just promise to defeat the enemy that they are facing in a particular period in time. Rather, God offers permanent relief from evil.
Hence in the final chapters of Isaiah, God gives His people a preview of a new and glorious age.
Previously in Isaiah 60-62, God describes the future that He has in store for His people. A day is coming when conflicts will cease. There will be no more wars. Former enemies will be converted and worship God. The ruins of the city will be rebuilt. God’s people will live in peace. The tone in these chapters is one of great joy and anticipation over what God will do for His people.
He will deliver His people from this evil age. God will judge the godless
Then in Isaiah 63, which we will be studying today, God reveals how He will deliver His people from this evil age. God will judge the godless. He will punish the wicked. Note the change in tone as we read our text.
God’s judgment of the godless (Isa 63:1-6)
In ancient times, a city would appoint watchmen to stand on the city walls and observe those who approach the city. Isaiah 63 begins with the observations of the watchmen of Jerusalem. As we read Isaiah 63:1-6, we see that the watchmen have spotted someone coming from Edom. If you recall your Bible history, the Edomites were descendants of Esau who was infamous for His disbelief in God. Esau was more concerned about his present needs than about pleasing God. He belittled God’s promises and focused on immediate gratification.
He was more concerned about losing his privilege than about his broken relationship with God. He ignored his parents’ teachings and married pagan women. Hence the author of Hebrews describes Esau as sexually immoral and unholy (Heb 12:16–17).
Sadly, the Edomites followed in Esau’s footsteps. Instead of getting right with God, they persisted in sin. They even mocked God by oppressing His people.
Therefore, in our text, Edom represents unrepentant sinners of every age. Edom represents everyone who has scoffed at the Lord and refused to repent of their sins. Edom represents the people we would deem as supervillains like Hitler, but also those who like Esau seek to be their own god rather than worship the one true God. Edom represents the sexually immoral and ungodly who have exchanged God’s truths for a lie. Edom represents all who have refused to honor their Creator or give thanks to the Lord who sustains us.
Given that a mighty warrior has emerged from Bozrah, the capital of Edom, and heading towards Jerusalem, the watchmen are understandably concerned. They want to know the identity and intentions of this warrior dressed in splendid apparel and marching in the greatness of his strength. Is the warrior an enemy or ally? Had the enemy sent forth a giant like Goliath to destroy God’s people?
Thankfully the warrior assures the watchmen that He is no threat. The Divine Warrior declares, “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save” (Isa 63:1).
The Divine Warrior is not an aggressor but the saviour.
However, the watchmen note that His apparel is red. His garments are crimson. They guess that blood has been shed, and poetically reference the imagery of ancient winemakers trampling on grapes in a winepress.
The Divine Warrior replies in the same manner, using the same imagery. He had been figuratively trampling on grapes. The grapes represent the godless Edomites and He is the winemaker who has just finished crushing them. He has made a complete end of the enemy. He has secured salvation and proclaims liberty to God’s people.
This description of the Divine Warrior drenched in blood is a sober reminder of the judgment that awaits all who refuse to acknowledge the Lord and give Him the worship that He deserves. Because God is worthy of all honour, those who have chosen to live in rebellion have committed high treason and are deserving of death.
God has actually been gracious in not punishing the godless immediately for their sins. God has been patient, giving people time to repent. But those who remain in sin have been storing up God’s wrath.
Hence the Divine Warrior says in Isaiah 63:4, “For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption had come.”
God is patient. But He will by no means overlook injustice.
God is patient. But He will by no means overlook injustice. God is holy and righteous. He is so pure that He cannot tolerate sin. He cannot turn a blind eye to those who refuse to heed His commands to worship the Creator rather than the created, to love our neighbours rather than to exploit them, to honour our parents rather than disobey them, to tell the truth rather than act deceitfully, to protect life rather than shed blood.
God’s righteousness is provoked whenever He sees sin. His wrath is kindled when we sin and is being stored up until the day of judgment.
In the year God has chosen to redeem His people from this broken world, God will judge sinners. On the chosen day of the Lord, the Divine Warrior will pour out the vengeance that has been accumulating in His heart every time people sin.
Although we live in an age of relativism where we often justify our shortcomings and excuse sinful behaviour, the sins of those judged are not trivial to God. The Divine Warrior says in Isaiah 63:5 that he was appalled that no one took any action. God has made explicit in Scripture what pleases Him. There is no ambiguity over what honours or dishonours God. God desires us worship Him alone, to love justice and seek mercy.
Perhaps our own sinfulness has dulled our conscience and made us more accepting of sinful behaviour. Perhaps our own weakness has kept us from confronting those in sin. But thanks be to God that the Divine Warrior is righteous and able to confront sin.
Even though the Divine Warrior was alone in fighting sin, His own arm brought salvation. In his righteousness, he trampled down unrepentant sinners. He executed judgment upon the godless. His punishment was severe, thorough and complete.
Although God’s judgment of sinners is sobering, we are to take comfort that the reign of sin will end.
Although God’s judgment of sinners is sobering, we are to take comfort that the reign of sin will end. The Divine Warrior has the power the break the curse of sin and rid the world of all ungodliness.
Sin is our enemy. It has corrupted God’s good design. God had made us to enjoy His goodness. But sin severed our relationship with God. Sin takes us away from the presence of our Holy Father. Because of sin, we refuse to acknowledge our Creator even though what can be known about Him has been made plain to us in His creation of the sun and control over the rain. Sin causes us to live for ourselves. Even though God has given us a conscience to know right and wrong, our sinful self finds ways to justify our shortcomings.
Hence God’s people are to rejoice over the Divine Warrior’s power over sin. God’s people are to celebrate the salvation that the Divine Warrior brings when He rids the world of sin through the final judgment of sinners.
So who is this Divine Warrior? Who is righteous enough to take on the godless? Who is powerful enough to break the curse of sin and rid the world of the ungodly?
The apostle John tells us in Revelation 19:11-16 the identity of the Divine Warrior. Jesus, who died and rose again, will be sitting on a white horse wearing many diadems. His robes will be dipped in blood and He will use His word to strike down the nations who have rebelled. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God.
In His first coming, Jesus came to live as a man and die on the cross for our sins, offering us forgiveness and salvation. But let us not overlook the truth that Jesus will be coming again to judge the godless. God has given Jesus the task of offering salvation to those who trust Him and ridding the world of sin.
Therefore, let us not be surprised by what we have heard in Isaiah 63 and Revelation 19.
Jesus, is both the Servant of the Lord who dies in the place of His people and the Divine Warrior, whom God has appointed to execute judgment on unrepentant sinners and vanquish evil. Since Jesus has already fulfilled the first part of His mission to offer salvation to all who believe in Him, Jesus will surely fulfill the second part of His mission to judge those who persist in sin. Jesus will rid the world of sin and evil shall be no more.
So what does this truth mean for us?
Firstly, be warned of God’s wrath. Do you have an unbalanced image of God – focusing more on His love and neglecting His righteous anger against sin?
God is holy and our sins incite His wrath. God will not overlook wickedness and injustice. He will punish us for perverting good and twisting His truths. He is grieved when we disobey His Word and choose to indulge our desires rather than honour Him. He is offended when we refuse to give Him the honour and thanks that He deserves for creating us and sustaining us daily.
God is angry when we suppress our conscience and persist in disobedience. God is affronted when we harbour sinful thoughts and desires. He is displeased that we have overlooked justice and failed to show mercy to others.
Friends, do you realize how detestable your sins are to God? Are you broken about the sins you have committed? When was the last time you humbled yourself before the Lord in your prayers? When was the last time you went to the Lord with a contrite heart?
Are we so busy asking for God’s blessings and help in our endeavours that we neglect to confess our sins? Are we confident that we will be found with the people of God rather than with His enemies?
Let us humbly confess our sins and seek God’s forgiveness. God is not slow as some count slowness, but is patient towards us, not willing that we should perish but reach repentance. God has sent us a Savior to secure our pardon.
Let us allow the precious blood of Jesus to wash away our sins. Let us believe in Jesus and receive the salvation He freely offers.
If you are not yet a believer, I encourage you to take God’s warning of judgment and offer of salvation seriously. God made you in His image and He desires you to have a relationship with Him. He wants you to experience His salvation rather than His wrath. This is why He first sent Jesus to proclaim the good news that we can be forgiven of our sins.
No matter how unworthy we may feel, Jesus promises to wash us white as snow. He offers to clothe us with His righteousness so that we can draw near to our Holy God and have fellowship with Him. Please chat with us after service if you’ll like to know more about experiencing salvation from sin and death.
Secondly, be comforted that evil will not prevail. The existence of evil is not a reason to doubt God but a reason to look to God. Humans have failed to address evil. The Presidents of nations have not been able to stop the conflicts happening around the world. The wars in Ukraine and the middle east have also worsened. We are bracing ourselves for more geopolitical risks and a recession. Our government is trying to do more to address the stress we face in Singapore by bolstering support for mental health and those who suffer abuse.
The Lord reminds us that only He can bring about world peace. He alone will uphold righteousness and judge evil. He alone will hold the wicked accountable for their actions and put an end to sin. He will vindicate all who have suffered unjustly.
So let us turn to God for relief. Let us wait on God for His deliverance. Let us hold fast to our faith, knowing that God will make good on His promises and deliver us from this evil age. Let us pray as Christ taught us, Father, lead us not into sin, but deliver us from evil.
Thirdly, be motivated to evangelize. On 1 October, the phones of those living in modern day Israel buzzed with an alert that read: “You must enter a protected area immediately and remain there until further notice.” Although not everyone had a phone, almost 10 million people were able to find shelter in safe rooms as Iran fired around 200 missiles. We can assume that because those who received the alerts were quick to pass the message, most were able to get out of harm’s way.
Similarly, we have a responsibility to communicate God’s warning concerning the Day of Judgment. God’s intention has never been to secretly communicate news of judgment to a select few. The prophecies about God’s coming judgment in Isaiah 63 and Revelation 19 are for everyone to hear.
Jesus, the Divine Warrior, is coming again to judge the living and the dead. Those who persist in rejecting God will meet a terrible end. They will experience the full measure of a righteous and holy God who hates sin. Thankfully, we also have Good News to share. Although Jesus is coming the second time to judge sin, He did come once before to provide us with salvation. If we confess our sins and believe in Jesus, He will bear our punishment on our behalf and we will be spared God’s judgment.
So let us not be shy about warning people of the coming judgment. It is a matter of life and death. May the warning of judgment lead our loved ones to turn to God. May the gospel we proclaim lead many to experience salvation.
So let us pray for opportunities to share the good news with others. Let us pray for the Spirit to soften hearts and enable our friends and loved ones to understand the problem with sin and embrace the good news of Jesus. Consider inviting friends to church. Invite them to the Reformation Concert on 27 October where they will get to hear God’s truths in the songs we sing and in the devotion that will be shared.
A Right Response(Isa 63:7-64:12)
Friends, what we just covered in Isaiah 63:1-6 is very sobering and is not something that can be ignored. Hence in the next section, Isaiah leads the Israelites in responding to God’s revelation of His Coming Judgment.
Firstly, they remind themselves of God’s steadfast love (Isa 63:7-14). Secondly, they confess their sins and pray for salvation (isa 63:15-64:12).
Firstly, they remind themselves of God’s steadfast love (Isa 63:7-14).
Although the day of judgment will be terrifying for sinners, believers need not fear. This is because God’s love towards His people is steadfast. In the same way that a father will act ferociously towards a kidnapper but tender towards his child, so God will execute judgment on His enemies whilst acting in love towards His children.
Hence Israel’s first response to the Day of Judgment is to remind themselves of their special relationship with God. The Lord has always been good to Israel. He has consistently interacted with them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of His steadfast love.
Israel only had to recall their history to see God’s love. Even though they were the least among the nations, God became their Savior. When God saw His people being oppressed, He grieved. He was distressed when His people were afflicted by wicked men. He heard the cry of His people and went to their aid when the Egyptians enslaved them.
In His love and pity, He redeemed them from the hands of Pharaoh. He sent His angel to liberate His people from their taskmasters. He lifted them out of slavery and carried them through the wilderness.
Even after the people had rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit by grumbling and worshipping false gods, He did not abandon them completely. Although He punished them, He relented of His wrath. He remembered His covenant to His people and acted graciously towards them as He had done so in the days of Moses. We see throughout the Old Testament that God graciously provided His people with direction and rest even when they were faithless.
When we consider how unworthy we are, we see how vast God’s love is. God is filled with great goodness. He is compassionate towards His people. He has pity on them when they suffer. He lovingly forgives when they sin. He mercifully rescues them in time of need. He treats His people better than they deserve.
It is with this beautiful understanding of who God is that the people boldly pray for salvation and confess their sins in Isaiah 63:15-64:12.
Secondly, they confess their sins and pray for salvation in Isaiah 63:15-64:12.
There are three things we note in Israel’s prayer. Firstly, they humbly bring their problems before God. In Isaiah 63:15-17 they humbly ask God to look down from heaven and see their plight. They lament that they feel abandoned, that God no longer acts compassionately towards them. They sense that God is no longer zealous in helping them. They feel that the patriarchs have disowned them. They felt that God was treating them like rebellious Pharaoh, allowing them to wander away and remain hardened in sin.
In Isaiah 63:18-19 and Isaiah 64:10-11, the people lament that the Lord has removed His protection and allowed them to suffer defeat. The Promised Land has been invaded by enemies and even the temple which was meant to be a place where they could experience God has been defiled.
Secondly, they humbly confess their sins. In Isaiah 64:5-7, the people freely confess their sins. They admit that they are unclean and even their righteous deeds are like a polluted garment, like a filthy rag that should be thrown out. They confess that they have not been calling on God and giving Him the honour and glory due to His name. Hence in Isaiah 64:9, 12, they plead for God to cease his anger, to restrain His just wrath and put an end to their punishment.
Thirdly, they humbly entrust themselves to the Lord. Although God is holy and will punish sin, God’s people know that the Lord is full of love and compassion. They declare in Isaiah 63:16 that God is their Father and Great Redeemer. The people say to God in Isaiah 64:8, “you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand”.
Friends, our view of God really matters. If we think that God is a vengeful God who is always angry and strikes people indiscriminately, we will want to run away from Him. We will want to hide from Him when we sin. But God is our Father and we are His children. He is the Potter and we are the clay. We are the works of His hands. We are precious to Him. He made us in love and is near to us. His love towards us is genuine and He cares for us.
Therefore, we can draw near to God. Even when we sin, we can turn to Him for forgiveness and redemption. We can cry out to God for mercy and trust in His compassion. So let us follow Israel’s example of turning to our Heavenly Father for comfort and deliverance. Like the prodigal son, let us lament our trials and call to mind how deep and vast God’s love is. We are not destined to be God’s enemies. God is our Heavenly Father.
He made us in His image. We are not a byproduct of some random event. Rather God lovingly and purposefully brought us into this world. He is our Potter who has masterfully fashioned us. God desires us to have a relationship with Him. He wants us to experience His Fatherly love.
Even though we have rebelled against Him and gone astray, He has remained committed to redeeming us. In our affliction, He has had compassion on us. Instead of leaving us to suffer the consequences of our sins, He has intervened.
2000 years ago, God answered Israel’s prayer in 64:1 to rend or tear the heavens and come down.
God has torn open the heavens by sending His Beloved Son, Jesus, into our world. Jesus took on human flesh and lived a perfect life. He bore the wrath of God that we deserved for our sins and died in our place so that we can be forgiven.
Because Jesus has paid the penalty for our sins in full, the curtain that kept sinners away from the holy of holiest in the temple was torn in two. Through Christ, we can be reconciled to our Holy Father. Jesus clothes us in His righteousness so that we can stand un-condemned before God and never fear judgment.
Because of Jesus, we can be called sons and daughters of the Living God. We can have fellowship with God and bring our petitions before Him.
So let us not fear God’s coming judgment. Instead, let us prepare ourselves for the day when Jesus shall return to judge sin.
Let us confess our sins to God and help one another grow in holiness by being open about our struggles and patiently exhorting one another to put off our old self and walk in Christ-likeness.
Let us ask God to be compassionate and forgive us whenever we sin.
Let us join Israel in praying, Be not so terribly angry, O Lord, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people” (Isa 64:9).
God has seen the brokenness in this world and is grieved by the consequences of sin. He is aware of the various wars and the prevalence of evil. God understands our despair and knows our pain.
God has seen the brokenness in this world and is grieved by the consequences of sin. …
Therefore, He has promised to make all things new. He has given us assurances of a glorious future.
Therefore, He has promised to make all things new. He has given us assurances of a glorious future. A new age that is void of suffering. A new era where sin and death shall be no more.
And as part of the process of bringing about the new and better age, God will deal with the problem of evil. Jesus will return soon as the Divine Warrior to eradicate the wicked.
In righteousness He will address injustice and right every wrong. In holiness He will pour out His wrath on the devil and His minions. Jesus will trample down the enemy and will vanquish evil once and for all. The world will be free from the curse of sin and heaven will be established on earth.
So let us take heart that a new age is dawning. Let us surrender our injustice and hurt to God and allow Him to vindicate us at the right time. Let us yearn for the day when sin shall be no more and the world will be filled with His peace.
And while we wait for Jesus to come again, let us warn others of the coming judgment and share the good news of salvation. Let us pray for their repentance and conversion while there is still time.
Let us pray for ourselves that we will not rebel and grieve the Spirit by falling back into sin. Let us rest in our Heavenly Father’s steadfast love and compassion to forgive us and help us persevere in the faith.
Let us long for the day when we will dwell with God in a perfect world that is void of sin and can never be corrupted.
Let us pray.