Isa 63:16 | KingComments | STEP | Until , the people looked back on the faithfulness of God and their own unfaithfulness. From onward this faithful remnant speaks about their need in the present. The prayer for salvation and deliverance ( ) begins with the question whether the LORD wants to look down from “heaven” and see from His “holy and glorious habitation” (cf. ). The question indicates that He Who has been with His people and revealed His presence and power, has withdrawn and can now be approached only in His heavenly abode. His holiness and His glory are especially mentioned because of the contrast with the wickedness and shame of the people. We notice this attitude of distance in what Isaiah says, identifying himself with the people: “The stirrings of Your heart and Your compassion are restrained toward me.” When God’s people are in distress because of their aberration, God’s actions in discipline are not at the expense of His compassion. The LORD chastises whom He loves ( ; ). He desires to take away the oppression of His people, but sometimes He has to withhold His mercies. It is remarkable that Isaiah speaks of himself as an object of these acts and in this way identifies himself with the condition of the people. We also see this with Moses ( ) and with Paul ( ). Thus it is with every true intercession in times when the people of God are in a spirit of deviation from Him. The prophet appeals on the same basis in to the connection of God with His people. He does not appeal on the basis of the covenant of the law of Moses ( ). He appeals on the basis of God’s unconditional promises to Abraham ( ). The LORD has obtained His earthly people through His creative power and loving counsel. He is their Father. This is not ‘Father’ in the New Testament sense of the word. In the New Testament the Father is first and foremost the eternal Father of the eternal Son. Then He is also the Father of the believers who have received the Son as their life. They are sealed by faith in the Lord Jesus with the Holy Spirit and address God through the Spirit as “Abba, Father” ( ; ). In that relationship the believer could only come after the Lord Jesus had finished the work on the cross ( ). Isaiah speaks of the LORD as the Father of His people in the sense of their origin (cf. ; ; ; ; cf. ; ; ). Abraham and Israel, that is Jacob, are their ancestors, but they have not known of the existence of the people as their descendants. They did not know them, they could not look after them and have mercy on them. Deceased saints cannot be intercessors for anyone. With the LORD, however, this is quite different. The relationship between Him and His people cannot be dissolved. That is why Isaiah says: “You, O LORD, are our Father.” He knows about His people and knows them. He is their Redeemer in the counsels of old and in His gracious acts in the past. The prayer in contains a moving supplication. Isaiah does not put the responsibility with God for the sin of His people. God allows only those who have persistently refused to keep His commandments to go astray. He surrenders them to the consequences of their own chosen path, on which it is impossible to believe and walk in His fear. We have a clear example in Pharaoh ( ). Only when Pharaoh himself has hardened his heart several times does God harden his heart. Most of the people have a hardened heart. However, there are some who remain faithful. In view of them, the prophet makes a double appeal. He asks for them as “Your servants” and as “the tribes of Your heritage”. The people have only “possessed” the promised land for “a little while” ( ). The people have been in exile longer than they have lived in the promised land. Opponents such as the Babylonians and the Romans have trodden down the sanctuary of the LORD. “Adversaries” here means the king of the North, the Assyrians, who at the end of the great tribulation will destroy the land and the sanctuary. Isaiah also recognizes that this has made the people equal to the nations ( ) and that therefore the LORD had to treat them as the nations. Believers must take care that they do not forsake the will of the Lord and become conformed to the world. Persistent lukewarmness as in the church in Laodicea will cause them to resemble the unconverted. Then the Lord must retreat and stand outside the door ( ).

‏ Isaiah 63:16

Distress as a Pleading Ground

Until Isa 63:14, the people looked back on the faithfulness of God and their own unfaithfulness. From Isa 63:15 onward this faithful remnant speaks about their need in the present. The prayer for salvation and deliverance (Isa 63:15) begins with the question whether the LORD wants to look down from “heaven” and see from His “holy and glorious habitation” (cf. 1Kgs 8:44-53).

The question indicates that He Who has been with His people and revealed His presence and power, has withdrawn and can now be approached only in His heavenly abode. His holiness and His glory are especially mentioned because of the contrast with the wickedness and shame of the people. We notice this attitude of distance in what Isaiah says, identifying himself with the people: “The stirrings of Your heart and Your compassion are restrained toward me.”

When God’s people are in distress because of their aberration, God’s actions in discipline are not at the expense of His compassion. The LORD chastises whom He loves (Pro 3:11-12; Heb 12:6). He desires to take away the oppression of His people, but sometimes He has to withhold His mercies. It is remarkable that Isaiah speaks of himself as an object of these acts and in this way identifies himself with the condition of the people. We also see this with Moses (Exo 32:31-32) and with Paul (Rom 9:2-3). Thus it is with every true intercession in times when the people of God are in a spirit of deviation from Him.

The prophet appeals on the same basis in Isa 63:16 to the connection of God with His people. He does not appeal on the basis of the covenant of the law of Moses (Isa 63:11). He appeals on the basis of God’s unconditional promises to Abraham (Gen 15:17-18). The LORD has obtained His earthly people through His creative power and loving counsel. He is their Father.

This is not ‘Father’ in the New Testament sense of the word. In the New Testament the Father is first and foremost the eternal Father of the eternal Son. Then He is also the Father of the believers who have received the Son as their life. They are sealed by faith in the Lord Jesus with the Holy Spirit and address God through the Spirit as “Abba, Father” (Rom 8:15-16; Gal 4:6). In that relationship the believer could only come after the Lord Jesus had finished the work on the cross (Jn 20:17).

Isaiah speaks of the LORD as the Father of His people in the sense of their origin (cf. Isa 64:8; Deu 32:6; Jer 4:3 ; 19 ; Jer 31:9; Mal 2:10; cf. Exo 4:22; Deu 14:1; Hos 11:1). Abraham and Israel, that is Jacob, are their ancestors, but they have not known of the existence of the people as their descendants. They did not know them, they could not look after them and have mercy on them. Deceased saints cannot be intercessors for anyone.

With the LORD, however, this is quite different. The relationship between Him and His people cannot be dissolved. That is why Isaiah says: “You, O LORD, are our Father.” He knows about His people and knows them. He is their Redeemer in the counsels of old and in His gracious acts in the past.

The prayer in Isa 63:17 contains a moving supplication. Isaiah does not put the responsibility with God for the sin of His people. God allows only those who have persistently refused to keep His commandments to go astray. He surrenders them to the consequences of their own chosen path, on which it is impossible to believe and walk in His fear. We have a clear example in Pharaoh (Exo 7:13 ; Exo 8:19 ; 32 ; Exo 9:7 ; 12). Only when Pharaoh himself has hardened his heart several times does God harden his heart.

Most of the people have a hardened heart. However, there are some who remain faithful. In view of them, the prophet makes a double appeal. He asks for them as “Your servants” and as “the tribes of Your heritage”. The people have only “possessed” the promised land for “a little while” (Isa 63:18). The people have been in exile longer than they have lived in the promised land. Opponents such as the Babylonians and the Romans have trodden down the sanctuary of the LORD.

“Adversaries” here means the king of the North, the Assyrians, who at the end of the great tribulation will destroy the land and the sanctuary. Isaiah also recognizes that this has made the people equal to the nations (Isa 63:19) and that therefore the LORD had to treat them as the nations.

Believers must take care that they do not forsake the will of the Lord and become conformed to the world. Persistent lukewarmness as in the church in Laodicea will cause them to resemble the unconverted. Then the Lord must retreat and stand outside the door (Rev 3:15a ; 20a).