Isaiah 63:9 - In Our Suffering God Suffers With Us And Will Save Us.
Isa.63:9; In Our Suffering God Suffers With Us And Will Save Us.
CONTENT; What's in the verse; Translations; Paraphrase; Word
Study:
Isaiah 63:9 (KJV) In 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 bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
Isaiah 63:9 (NIV) In all their distress he too was distressed,
and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he
redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
Isaiah 63:9 (NLT) In all their suffering he also suffered, and
he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them.
He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.
The angel of His presence. The angel of the Lord, who is the
Lord Himself. [Ryrie SB]
The angel of his presence. This was the angel in whom God's
presence dwelt and was none other than Christ Himself. [SDA Commentary]
"The Angel of His Presence" occurs here in parallel to pronouns
referring to God Himself. This is the Angel of the Lord who acted on
Israel's behalf at the Exodus and other times and is considered to have
been the preincarnate Christ. Verses 8-10 refer to God as Father (v.
8), "Angel" (v. 9), and "Holy Spirit" (v. 10), a hint of the triune
nature of God more fully presented in the N.T. [Believer's SB]
Bare: Christ is here pictured as a father, tenderly caring for
His beloved children. [SDA Commentary]
CONTEXT; What's around the verse; Overview; Topic:
Overview
A vision of God's apocalyptic day of vengeance (63:1-6) moved
Isaiah to desperate prayer for his people (v. 7-64:12). God replied.
Sinners must be punished, but a remnant of Israel would survive
(65:1-16). God will then create a new heaven and new earth (vv. 17-25).
After the judgment, Zion will suddenly be repopulated (66:1-17), and
all peoples will worship as brothers before God's throne (vv.
18-24). [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]
63:7-64:12 The Remnant's Praise And Plea
Redeemed Israel acknowledged God's past mercies (Isa. 63:7-14)
and prayed for him to deal kindly with his repentant people. The
phrase "divided the waters" (63:12) is an allusion to one of the great
miracles of the exodus, the parting of the Red Sea (Exod. 14:16). Even
though "Abraham" and "Israel" might disown their descendants because of
their sin, certainly God, "our Father," cannot deny his own children
(Isa. 63:16; cf. 2 Tim. 2:13). Paul quoted Isaiah 64:4 in 1
Corinthians 2:9 with reference to the heavenly glories awaiting the believer
in Christ. Israel's unworthiness for God's mercy was highlighted.
The appeal for forgiveness and restoration was based totally on
God's grace (Isa. 64:5-12). [New Bible Companion]
SECTION HEADINGS
God's Mercy Remembered
CROSS REFERENCES; What's in verses elsewhere.
Matthew 25:40 (KJV) And the King shall answer and say unto
them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of
the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Matthew 25:45 (KJV) Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I
say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of
these, ye did it not to me.
Titus 2:14 (KJV) Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem
us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works.
Hebrews 2:18 (KJV) For in that he himself hath suffered being
tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
Hebrews 4:15 (KJV) For we have not an high priest which cannot
be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all
points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
1 John 4:9-10 (KJV) In this was manifested the love of God
toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world,
that we might live through him. [10] Herein is love, not that we
loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins.
Rev. 1:5 (KJV) And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful
witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings
of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins
in his own blood,
Rev. 5:9 (KJV) And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art
worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast
slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred,
and tongue, and people, and nation;
COMMENTARY / APPLICATION: Moving From The Head To The Heart
What is God teaching here? What does it teach about Jesus?
Few give thought to the suffering that sin has caused our
Creator. All heaven suffered in Christ's agony; but that suffering did
not begin or end with His manifestation in humanity. The cross is a
revelation to our dull senses of the pain that, from its very inception,
sin has brought to the heart of God. Every departure from the right,
every deed of cruelty, every failure of humanity to reach His ideal,
brings grief to Him. When there came upon Israel the calamities that
were the sure result of separation from God,--subjugation by their
enemies, cruelty, and death, --it is said that "His soul was grieved for
the misery of Israel." "In all their affliction He was afflicted: .
. . and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old."
Judges 10:16; Isaiah 63:9. His Spirit "maketh intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered." As the "whole creation groaneth and
travaileth in pain together" (Romans 8:26, 22), the heart of the infinite
Father is pained in sympathy. Our world is a vast lazar house, a scene
of misery that we dare not allow even our thoughts to dwell upon.
Did we realize it as it is, the burden would be too terrible. Yet
God feels it all. In order to destroy sin and its results He gave
His best Beloved, and He has put it in our power, through
co-operation with Him, to bring this scene of misery to an end. "This gospel
of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness
unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Matthew 24:14. {Ed
263}
It is Satan's work to fill men's hearts with doubt. He leads
them to look upon God as a stern judge. He tempts them to sin, and
then to regard themselves as too vile to approach their heavenly
Father or to excite His pity. The Lord understands all this. Jesus
assures His disciples of God's sympathy for them in their needs and
weaknesses. Not a sigh is breathed, not a pain felt, not a grief pierces the
soul, but the throb vibrates to the Father's heart. The Bible shows
us God in His high and holy place, not in a state of inactivity,
not in silence and solitude, but surrounded by ten thousand times
ten thousand and thousands of thousands of holy intelligences, all
waiting to do His will. Through channels which we cannot discern He is
in active communication with every part of His dominion. But it is
in this speck of a world, in the souls that He gave His
only-begotten Son to save, that His interest and the interest of all heaven is
centered. God is bending from His throne to hear the cry of the oppressed.
To every sincere prayer He answers, "Here am I." He uplifts the
distressed and downtrodden. In all our afflictions He is afflicted. In
every temptation and every trial the angel of His presence is near to
deliver. {DA 356}
As a kind, loving parent suffers when suffering comes upon his
children, so does God. The Lord saw the affliction of His people in Egypt
(Ex. 3:16) and saved them when they cried to Him in their oppression.
Today He is our great high priest, who is "touched with the feeling of
our infirmities" (Heb. 4:15). [SDA Commentary]
It was through suffering that Jesus obtained the ministry of
consolation. In all the affliction of humanity He is afflicted; and "in that
He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them
that are tempted." Isaiah 63:9; Hebrews 2:18. In this ministry every
soul that has entered into the fellowship of His sufferings is
privileged to share. "As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our
consolation also aboundeth by Christ." 2 Corinthians 1:5. The Lord has
special grace for the mourner, and its power is to melt hearts, to win
souls. His love opens a channel into the wounded and bruised soul, and
becomes a healing balsam to those who sorrow. "The Father of mercies,
and the God of all comfort . . . comforteth us in all our
tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by
the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." 2
Corinthians 1:3,4. {MB 13.1}
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