63 Who is this who comes from Edom,
With garments of [a]glowing colors from Bozrah,
This One who is majestic in His apparel,
[b]Marching in the greatness of His strength?
“It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”
2 Why is Your apparel red,
And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press?
3 “I have trodden the wine trough alone,
And from the peoples there was no man with Me.
I also trod them in My anger
And trampled them in My wrath;
And their [c]lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments,
And I [d]stained all My raiment.
4 “For the day of vengeance was in My heart,
And My year of redemption has come.
5 “I looked, and there was no one to help,
And I was astonished and there was no one to uphold;
So My own arm brought salvation to Me,
And My wrath upheld Me.
6 “I trod down the peoples in My anger
And made them drunk in My wrath,
And I [e]poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”
Well, that’s pretty graphic… What in the world are we to glean from the wrath and anger of God? He comes with garments of glowing colors, has trod and trampled the peoples in the wine trough. Their very lifeblood stains His garments, and yet there is something else peaking through this whole time.
But first, what about God’s wrath? Why is He so angry? In short, because of our sin and rebellion. I won’t attempt to rationalize it, because God’s abilities, and are beyond us, and He sees the very hearts of men, while we cannot. God does not mess around with sin, it isn’t some play thing, or something where He says, “Oh, I’m sure they didn’t mean to do that…”
The result of sin is death, as Adam and Eve found out at the very beginning of it all. And yet, still there is something else at work. God isn’t willy nilly pouring out the lifeblood of the peoples of earth. Rather, we see the first hint of something unique in the very first verse. Indeed, God sets the stage with, “It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”
So it should be no surprise that in v. 5, God is looking around, trying to find anyone who upholds the law, anyone who is blameless, that might bring salvation to the earth. What was a surprise, is that there was no one. Now, we don’t often think of God as being able to be surprised. After all, God is all-knowing (omniscient), right?
But I think it’s just possible, that it was there at the beginning that God was “astonished”, that is, when He first began the plans to give us free will, to have the capacity for love and all that entails. It was then that God “discovered”, He would have to bring salvation. Though there would be wrath and bloodshed, it would be His own death that would bring redemption (v. 4).
So it is that we see in this chapter, in the middle of anger and wrath, the pouring out of judgment and vengeance, that we also see life and hope. It is a strange pairing, but God’s holiness demands a payment for sin. Thus in the Old Testament, forgiveness and healing came with the sacrifice of animals. Now, it is through the blood of Jesus himself.
Therein we find hope, healing, the very life that God created us for. We were not created to be trod under His feet, that is of our own making, if we reject His salvation and rebel against His will. Rather, God in His astonishment devised the ultimate plan for redemption, and extends grace to all who are willing.