Jesus the Warrior King - Bible Verse Handbook

Session #4 Jesus the Warrior King and Israel's Continual Lament (Isa. 63-64)

I. OVERVIEW OF ISAIAH 63-64

A. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would come to earth as a Warrior King to save Israel

1 Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson?
Who is this, robed in splendor,   striding forward in the greatness of his strength?

“It is I, proclaiming victory,   mighty to save.”

2  Why are your garments red,   like those of one treading the winepress?

3  “I have trodden the winepress alone;    from the nations no one was with me.
I trampled them in my anger   and trod them down in my wrath;
their blood spattered my garments,     and I stained all my clothing.
4  It was for me the day of vengeance;
     the year for me to redeem had come.
5  I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support;
so my own arm achieved salvation for me,   and my own wrath sustained me.
6  I trampled the nations in my anger;    in my wrath I made them drunk
     and poured their blood on the ground.” (Isa. 63:1-6)

He sees Jesus killing the Antichrist's armies as He marches to Jerusalem in the end times.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,   because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,   to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2  to proclaim the year of the Lord 's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3  and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty    instead of ashes, the oil of joy   instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness,    a planting of the Lord    for the display of his splendor. (Isa. 61:1-3)

Isaiah records a lament, crying out for Him to come

1Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
     that the mountains would tremble before you!
2  As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you! (Isa. 64:1-2)

C. Isaiah prayed for God to have mercy and to intervene with power in the face of the defilement of Jerusalem in his day by kings Ahaz (2 Chr. 28) and Manasseh (2 Chr. 33).

He prophetically saw future times when Israel's sin would increase.

9  Come, all you beasts of the field,
     come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!
10  Israel's watchmen are blind,
     they all lack knowledge;
they are all mute dogs,
     they cannot bark;
they lie around and dream,
     they love to sleep.
11  They are dogs with mighty appetites;
     they never have enough.
They are shepherds who lack understanding;
     they all turn to their own way,
     they seek their own gain.
12  “Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine!
     Let us drink our fill of beer!
And tomorrow will be like today,
     or even far better.”

1The righteous perish,
     and no one takes it to heart;
the devout are taken away,
     and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
     to be spared from evil.
2  Those who walk uprightly
     enter into peace;
     they find rest as they lie in death.

3  “But you—come here, you children of a sorceress,
     you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
4  Who are you mocking?
     At whom do you sneer
     and stick out your tongue?
Are you not a brood of rebels,
     the offspring of liars?
5  You burn with lust among the oaks
     and under every spreading tree;
you sacrifice your children in the ravines
     and under the overhanging crags.
6  The idols among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion;
     indeed, they are your lot.
Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings
     and offered grain offerings.
     In view of all this, should I relent?
7  You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill;
     there you went up to offer your sacrifices.
8  Behind your doors and your doorposts
     you have put your pagan symbols.
Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed,
     you climbed into it and opened it wide;
you made a pact with those whose beds you love,
     and you looked with lust on their naked bodies.
9  You went to Molek with olive oil
     and increased your perfumes.
You sent your ambassadors far away;
     you descended to the very realm of the dead!
10  You wearied yourself by such going about,
     but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.'
You found renewal of your strength,
     and so you did not faint.

11  “Whom have you so dreaded and feared
     that you have not been true to me,
and have neither remembered me
     nor taken this to heart?
Is it not because I have long been silent
     that you do not fear me?
12  I will expose your righteousness and your works,
     and they will not benefit you.
13  When you cry out for help,
     let your collection of idols save you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
     a mere breath will blow them away.
But whoever takes refuge in me
     will inherit the land
     and possess my holy mountain.” (Isa. 56:9-57:13)

1“Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
     Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion   and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
2  For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right    and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions   and seem eager for God to come near them.
3  ‘Why have we fasted,' they say,    ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,    and you have not noticed?'
(Isa. 58:1-3)

1Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,
     nor his ear too dull to hear.
2  But your iniquities have separated
     you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
     so that he will not hear.
3  For your hands are stained with blood,
     your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken falsely,
     and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4  No one calls for justice;
     no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies;
     they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
5  They hatch the eggs of vipers
     and spin a spider's web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
     and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6  Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
     they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are evil deeds,
     and acts of violence are in their hands.
7  Their feet rush into sin;
     they are swift to shed innocent blood.
They pursue evil schemes;
     acts of violence mark their ways.
8  The way of peace they do not know;
     there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;
     no one who walks along them will know peace.

9  So justice is far from us,
     and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;
     for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
10  Like the blind we grope along the wall,
     feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumble as if it were twilight;
     among the strong, we are like the dead.
11  We all growl like bears;
     we moan mournfully like doves.
We look for justice, but find none;
     for deliverance, but it is far away.

12  For our offenses are many in your sight,
     and our sins testify against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
     and we acknowledge our iniquities:
13  rebellion and treachery against the Lord ,
     turning our backs on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression,
     uttering lies our hearts have conceived.
14  So justice is driven back,
     and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets,
     honesty cannot enter.
15  Truth is nowhere to be found,
     and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

The Lord looked and was displeased
     that there was no justice. (Isa. 59: l-15)

5  You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
     who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
     you were angry.
     How then can we be saved?
6  All of us have become like one who is unclean,
     and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
     and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
7  No one calls on your name
     or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us
     and have given us over to our sins. (Isa. 64: 5-7)

1“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
     I was found by those who did not seek me.
To a nation that did not call on my name,
     I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.'
2  All day long I have held out my hands
     to an obstinate people,
who walk in ways not good,
     pursuing their own imaginations—
3  a people who continually provoke me
     to my very face,
offering sacrifices in gardens
     and burning incense on altars of brick;
4  who sit among the graves
     and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs,
     and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;
5  who say, ‘Keep away; don't come near me,
     for I am too sacred for you!'
Such people are smoke in my nostrils,
     a fire that keeps burning all day.

6  “See, it stands written before me:
     I will not keep silent but will pay back in full;
     I will pay it back into their laps—
7  both your sins and the sins of your ancestors,”
     says the Lord .
“Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains
     and defied me on the hills,
I will measure into their laps
     the full payment for their former deeds.” (Isa. 65:1-7)

D. Isaiah lamented in earnest prayer in light of prophesying such negative times

It will happen again in the end-time siege of Jerusalem.

3  On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. (Zech. 12:3)

2  I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. (Zech. 14:2)

E. 1. This prayer will be especially valuable in the end times.

23  “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise. 24  He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people. 25  He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.
(Dan. 8:23-25)

25  “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,' and sixty-two ‘sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. 26  After the sixty-two ‘sevens,' the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 27  He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.' In the middle of the ‘seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him (Dan. 9:25-27)

31  “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. 32  With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

33  “Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. 34  When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. 35  Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

36  “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. 37  He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. 38  Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his ancestors he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. 39  He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price.

45  He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at [ f ] the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him. (Dan. 11:31-39, 45)

2  But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. (Rev. 11:2)

II. JESUS THE WARRIOR KING (ISA. 63:1-6)

A. Isaiah sees a warrior marching from Edom (modern-day Jordan) to Jerusalem.

1Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, this One who is glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength?—“I  [Jesus]  who speak in righteousness, mighty to save...”   (Isa. 63:1)

B. Jesus answers the question about why His garments are red like one who treads grapes.

2Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? 3“I have trodden the winepress alone…For I have trodden them in My anger, and trampled them in My fury; their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My robes.
(Isa. 63:2-3)

C. Jesus will gather, kill, and replace all the wicked governmental leaders in one event.

13He [Jesus] was clothed with a robe dipped in blood…15He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God...19The kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered to make war against Him…20The beast was captured, and with him the false prophet…21The rest were killed with the sword. (Rev. 19:13-21)

2. The winepress of wrath will be in the Valley of Jehoshaphat outside of Jerusalem.

12I will gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; I will enter into judgment there…13The winepress is full, the vats overflow.   (Joel 3:2; 12-13)

19The angel…threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20The winepress was trampled outside the city   [Jerusalem],   and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses' bridles, for 1,600 furlongs   [200 miles]   (Rev. 14:19-20)

C.The Lord explains why He must judge the nations with such fury.

4For the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. (Isa. 63:4)

D. God will trample unrepentant nations

5But there was no one to help, and I wondered that there was no one to uphold; therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; and My own fury, it sustained Me. 6I have trodden down the peoples  [the nations]  in My anger, made them drunk in My fury…   (Isa. 63:5-6)

E. 17He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal…18According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, fury to His adversaries…19When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him. 20The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn [repent] from transgression in Jacob…  (Isa. 59:17-20)

III. ISAIAH'S AND ISRAEL'S LAMENT (ISA. 63:7-64:12)

A. Isaiah's lament confesses national sins and asks God to manifest His power

The Lord answers that He is responsive to the humble

All day long I have held out my hands
     to an obstinate people,
who walk in ways not good,
     pursuing their own imaginations—

12  I will destine you for the sword,
     and all of you will fall in the slaughter;
for I called but you did not answer,
     I spoke but you did not listen.
You did evil in my sight
     and chose what displeases me.” (Isa. 65:2, 12)

4  so I also will choose harsh treatment for them
     and will bring on them what they dread.
For when I called, no one answered,
     when I spoke, no one listened.
They did evil in my sight
     and chose what displeases me.” (Isa. 66:4)

The problem is Israel's refusal to earnestly seek the Lord

2 All day long I have held out my hands
     to an obstinate people,
who walk in ways not good,
     pursuing their own imaginations—
3  a people who continually provoke me
     to my very face,
offering sacrifices in gardens
     and burning incense on altars of brick;
4  who sit among the graves
     and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs,
     and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;
5  who say, ‘Keep away; don't come near me,
     for I am too sacred for you!'
Such people are smoke in my nostrils,
     a fire that keeps burning all day. (Isa. 65:2-5)

B. 7I will mention the loving kindnesses of the LORD…according to all that the LORD has bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies, according to the multitude of His loving kindnesses. (Isa. 63:7)

C.Isaiah reminds God of His own words about Israel (63:8) and that He feels pain when His people suffer pain

8He said, “Surely they are My people, children who will not lie.” So He became their Savior. 9In 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 bore them and carried them all the days of old. (Isa. 63:8-9)

God carried Israel through the wilderness years

4  ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. (Ex. 19:4)

29  Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30  The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31  and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”
(Deut. 1:29-31)

D. Israel rebelled, the Lord fought them, and Jesus warns the Church about this.

10But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; so He turned Himself against them as an enemy, and He fought against them.   (Isa. 63:10)

16I will come to you…and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
(Rev. 2:16)

•  11Then he  [Israel]  remembered the days of old, Moses…saying: “Where is He who brought them up out of the sea…? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within them, 12who led them by the right hand of Moses…” 14So You lead Your people, to make Yourself a glorious name.   (Isa. 63:11-14)

Israel recalled God's power through their feasts and hymns

5  Come and see what God has done,
     his awesome deeds for mankind!
6  He turned the sea into dry land,
     they passed through the waters on foot—
     come, let us rejoice in him. (Ps. 66:5-6)

8  Yet he saved them for his name's sake,
     to make his mighty power known.
9  He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
     he led them through the depths as through a desert. (Ps. 106:8-9)

F. The lament asks if God has changed the way He feels about His people.

15Look down from heaven, and see…where are Your zeal and Your strength, the yearning of Your heart and Your mercies toward me? Are they restrained? (Isa. 63:15)

G. Isaiah declares that God is Israel's true Father.

16You are our Father, though Abraham was ignorant of us, and Israel does not acknowledge us. You…are our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is Your name.   (Isa. 63:16)

H. 17O LORD, why have You made us stray from Your ways, and hardened our heart from Your fear? Return for Your servants' sake, the tribes of Your inheritance. 18Your holy people have possessed it but a little while; our adversaries have trodden down Your sanctuary. 19We have become like those…over whom You never ruled, those who were never called by Your name.   (Isa. 63:17-19)

IV. PRAY FOR THE LORD TO COME WITH POWER (64:1-5A)

A, Isaiah prays for the Warrior King.

15  So truth fails,
And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him
That there was no justice.
16  He saw that there was no man,
And wondered that there was no intercessor;
Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
17  For He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
18  According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,
Fury to His adversaries,
Recompense to His enemies;
The coastlands He will fully repay.
19  So shall they fear
The name of the Lord from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.

20  “The Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,”
Says the Lord .

21  “As for Me,” says the Lord , “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants,” says the Lord , “from this time and forevermore.” (Isa. 59:15-21)

1 Who is this who comes from Edom,
With dyed garments from Bozrah,
This One who is glorious in His apparel,
Traveling in the greatness of His strength?—

“I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”

2  Why is Your apparel red,
And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?

3  “I have trodden the winepress alone,
And from the peoples no one was with Me.
For I have trodden them in My anger,
And trampled them in My fury;
Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments,
And I have stained all My robes.
4  For the day of vengeance is in My heart,
And the year of My redeemed has come.
5  I looked, but there was no one to help,
And I wondered
That there was no one to uphold;
Therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me;
And My own fury, it sustained Me.
6  I have trodden down the peoples in My anger,
Made them drunk in My fury,
And brought down their strength to the earth.” (Isa. 63:1-6)

To come to Jerusalem

1Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence—2As fire burns brushwood, as fire causes water to boil—to make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence! 3When You did awesome things  [at Mt. Sinai]  for which we did not look, You came down, the mountains shook at Your presence.  
(Isa. 64:1-3)

B. 4For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, who acts for the one who waits for Him. 5You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, who remembers You in Your ways. You are indeed angry, for we have sinned—in these ways we continue; and we need to be saved.  (Isa. 64:4-5)

V. CONFESSION OF SIN AND APPEALS TO GOD'S FATHERHOOD AND WORK (64:5B-12)

A. Isaiah confesses that God is angry because of Israel's continual sin

5You are indeed angry, for we have sinned—in these ways we continue; we need to be saved. 6But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. 7And there is no one who calls on Your name  [consistently],  who stirs himself up to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us, and have consumed us because of our iniquities.   (Isa. 64:5b-7)

B. 8But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand. 9Do not be furious, O LORD, nor remember iniquity forever; indeed, please look—we all are Your people! 10Your holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. 11Our holy and beautiful temple, where our fathers praised You, is burned up with fire…12Will You restrain Yourself because of these things…? Will You hold Your peace  [be silent],  and afflict us very severely?   (Isa. 64:8-12)

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