.63:1-6.

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God’s holy anger (Isa 63:1-6)

When Babylon made its last attack on Jerusalem (587 BC), Edom joined in, taking wicked delight in helping to destroy the Israelite nation.

God’s messengers announced his judgment on Edom for this (Ps 137:7; Obad 1,10-14; cf. Mal 1:4-5), though in the denunciation in the present chapter, Edom may be a symbol for all God’s enemies. (Compare the picture that follows with Revelation 14:18-20; 19:13-16.)

On seeing a person clothed in red approaching him from Edom, the prophet asks who it is. The person replies that he is the Lord, who punishes his enemies but saves his people (Isa 63:1).

The prophet asks why his clothes are red (Isa 63:2), and receives the reply that they are red with the blood of slaughtered enemies. When God acts in his righteous anger, the blood of sinners runs freely over the earth, in much the same way as juice runs out of grapes when workers tread them in a winepress. Since God alone is all-holy and all-powerful, he alone can carry out this judgment (Isa 63:3-6).