Dr. D.L. Cooper Commentary On Isaiah
Biblical Research Monthly-June 1946


A SECOND VERSION OF ISRAEL'S CONFESSION OF HER NATIONAL SIN
63:7-64:12


THE PRIMARY statement of the confession of the national sin which the Hebrew people will make in the year 1946-plus X (we do not know the year now) is found in Isaiah 53:1-9. That the people of Israel will make this confession was foretold by Moses in Leviticus 26:39,40. It was likewise made known by Hosea in 5:14--6:3.

In this second version of her confession, the penitent remnant of Israel will enter into a fuller detailed statement. It is true that the deep theological meaning that is set forth in chapter 53:1-9 is not brought out in this second version of it, which is found in Isaiah 63:7--64:12. But there are many statements made that will throw new light on this future penitential acknowledgment of the age long sin.

This block of scripture naturally falls into two sections: I. A Retrospect (Isa. 63:7--14); II. The Penitential Confession and Prayer (63:15-64:12).

I. A RETROSPECT

The prophet looked forward by the power of the Spirit to the time when the penitent remnant of Israel will make this confession and identified himself with it. In his doing this, he looked back over the centuries from this future time to the period of Israel's enslavement in Egypt and the Lord's delivering her from her evil case.

According to verse 7 the prophet declares, as he leads the nation in confession and prayer, that he will make mention of the loving-kindnesses of Jehovah, and His praises, according to the favors bestowed upon the nation and His great goodness to the house of Israel, all of which blessings are the pure result of the mercies and of the loving-kindness of the Lord. Thus there is no merit claimed for the nation. Everything is ascribed to the pure unadulterated mercy and grace of God.

The prophet does not speak of the terrible condition of slavery into which the nation had been plunged by the treachery of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. In a most dramatic manner he represents the Lord as looking down upon His Chosen People and saying: "Surely, they are my people, children that will not deal falsely; so he was their Saviour." Here the Lord is represented as looking with kindness upon them and of looking only at their excellent qualities and at the same time overlooking their bad ones. This type of language is of course anthropomorphic--the adaptation of divine thought to human understanding.

In verse 8 Jehovah is represented as becoming the Saviour of the Hebrew people. In verse 9 the prophet speaks of "the angel of his presence," who delivered Israel from her servitude. Then in verse 10 he speaks of the Holy Spirit. These three verses therefore present the Holy Trinity. Obviously the one who became Israel's Saviour, mentioned in verse 8, is none other than God the Father. The "angel of his presence," named in verse 9, is none other than the one who in early books of the Old Testament is called "the angel of Jehovah," the Lord Jesus Christ in His prenatal state. This same Divine Being is spoken of in Deuteronomy 4:37 as "his presence" who brought Israel out of Egypt. (For a full discussion of the "angel of Jehovah" see my volume, Messiah: His Nature and Person; and for the Old Testament representation of the Holy Trinity see my book, The God of Israel.)

According to verse 9--"In all their affliction he was afflicted"--God the Father is afflicted in the affliction of His people. Here again we have an anthropomorphic expression. Although the language is of this type, it expresses the idea that God is in full sympathy with His people in their sufferings. Any true parent suffers when his child is in distress.

According to verse 9 this angel of God's face--the very reflection of God and His holiness are seen in the face of this angel--redeemed Israel and bore her during the days of old as she was passing through the wilderness. Notwithstanding the many manifestations of God's mercy, grace, and power in His mighty acts which He wrought in her behalf in bringing her out of the house of bondage, she rebelled against the Holy Spirit and grieved Him--until He, the Spirit, turned against them and fought against them. The full account of the Spirit's displeasure and warfare with the disobedient ones is set forth especially in the Book of Numbers.

Verse 11 presents some difficulty. In the text we have the following language: "Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he that put his holy Spirit in the midst of them?" The marginal rendering of the first part of this verse as it appears in the Revised Version is as follows: "Then his people remembered the ancient days of Moses ..." In the light of the entire context I am persuaded that the marginal rendering is to be preferred. Of course both renderings are grammatical, but the one that accords with the facts of the context is always to be chosen and to be understood as the true meaning of the original inspired writer. After the Holy Spirit, whom the nation grieved, had fought against it, the people looked back over this time when they were under the displeasure of God and asked several questions. First they wanted to know where was He who had brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock; that is, where was this "angel of Jehovah's presence," the Lord Jesus Christ in His prenatal state, who had brought them so very miraculously out of their distress and had led them through the Red Sea, which opened up before them, in order that they might pass through safely. Their second question was: "Where is he that put his Holy Spirit in the midst of them?" This query doubtless referred to God the Father, who sent the Spirit to assist them in their being delivered. The next question is: Where is He "that caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses?" This query also doubtless refers to God the Father, who sent His "glorious arm," the Lord Jesus Christ, to go at the right hand of Moses. In the next place they asked where was He who had "divided the waters before them, to make himself an everlasting name." Though we may not be dogmatic in answering this question, it is quite likely that it refers either to God the Father, or the Lord Jesus, the Son. It is quite probable that the one concerning whom the query of verse 13 is made is the Lord Jesus, "the angel of Jehovah," who led them through the depths to the opposite shore and to safety. Verse 14, however, it is quite certain, has reference to none other than the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, who "caused them to rest," when they passed over the Jordan into the Holy Land. Just as Palestinian shepherds lead their flocks and herds, after they have grazed sufficiently, to a quiet shady place beside some brook, thus the Lord led His flock into the Promised Land.

After Israel had thus been delivered from all her enemies and had been brought into the land, she corrupted herself and dealt treacherously with the Lord. The wars of the conquest of Palestine after Joshua led the nation into it continued for six years. They were long and bloody conflicts. Of course this was all due to the fact that Israel was not faithful to her God. Following the time of Joshua were the days of the Judges, which were indeed turbulent. Thus from the standpoint of her early residence in Canaan, when she was suffering and fighting for her existence, the people looked backward to the time of the Exodus when God uncovered His mighty arm, by terrible deeds delivered His people from their bondage in Egypt, and settled them in the land. Thus they asked where was the God who became their Saviour, where was "the angel of his presence" who went at the right hand of Moses and delivered them, and where was the "Holy Spirit" who caused them to rest in the land? They evidently felt that they were forsaken of God.

History repeats itself, so we are told. Like the people of Israel of old who thus asked the questions discussed above when they were in distress and saw no way out of their difficulties, so will the remnant of Israel in the end time, when she is overwhelmed by the evils of that future period of wrath, begin to meditate upon and to ask vital questions similar to those which their ancestors propounded in their difficulty. They, too, will be overcome by the situation in which they find themselves, will be unable to see a way out--humanly speaking--and will begin to turn their faces toward God in quest of deliverance.

II. THE CONFESSION AND PENITENTIAL PRAYER

Beginning with verse 15, we have a record of Israel's prayer and confession of her national sin. Thus the convicted remnant will pray: "Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where are thy zeal and thy mighty acts? the yearning of thy heart and thy compassions are restrained toward me" (Isa. 63:15).

The prophet is still thinking of himself as being in the midst of the Tribulation with Israel and praying in her behalf. He prays just as anyone who leads a public gathering in intercession, for he uses the personal pronoun, me, and at other times he uses the plural, us. In his petition he looks up to heaven and calls upon the Lord to look down from His position of glory and of holiness and to act in behalf of the nation. When we compare this petition (vs. 15) with Psalm 80:1f, we see a like situation. In this latter chapter, however, the Shepherd of Israel, the Messiah of the nation, is there addressed. Since both passages are a record of the petitions that will be offered by the penitent remnant of the nation at the end of the Tribulation, it is quite obvious that the one here addressed is the same as the one to whom the psalmist spoke.

According to Isaiah 63:16 the prophet together with Israel will recognize God as Father, even though Abraham and Isaac and the ancestors of the Jewish race are represented here as not recognizing the Israel of this future day. The nation as a group has not walked in the steps of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Such is the significance of the statement found in verse 16. Not only will the remnant recognize God as Father, but also as Redeemer, whose eternal existence is affirmed in the sentence, "... our Redeemer from everlasting is thy name." Although the word, Father, here is used, it is not necessary that we understand it as referring to God the Father; because God the Son is in Isaiah 9:6 called "the everlasting Father"-- "... and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." To converted Israel the Lord Jesus Christ will be all that these names imply.

The prophet, still leading the nation in prayer in his vision (Isa. 63:17), asks the question: "O Jehovah, why dost thou make us to err from thy ways, and hardenest our heart from thy fear?" Whenever men do not want the truth but prefer unrighteousness and their own ways, the Lord always causes them to miss the way. This is seen in Isaiah 66:3,4 and in many other places in the Scriptures. Pharaoh hardened his heart. When he took that attitude, the Lord hardened his heart. The result of their own willfulness and stubbornness and of the Lord's judicial hardening was that Israel's heart was hardened. The same principles are operative today and always.

In the latter part of verse 17 is this special petition: "Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance." The one who is here addressed as Father is urged to return for His servants' sake. One cannot return to a place where he has never been. This petition assumes that this one who is recognized as Father has been here on a former occasion. They therefore know these facts and pray that He might return. Thus we see in this petition reflected the two comings of the one Messiah, separated by the interval during which He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

In verses 18 and 19 of this chapter the prophet acknowledges that the Jewish people possessed the Promised Land only for a short while and that their adversaries have trodden down the sanctuary of the Lord. They therefore have been as those over whom God never bore rule. In other words, in this part of the petition, the prophet, looking back over the weary waste of the centuries--is describing Israel's scattered condition and the desolate condition of the land while she is dispersed among the nations.

In Isaiah 64:1 is the petition: "Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might quake at thy presence." This language is probably an echo of the historic account of the Lord's descending to Mount Sinai when He delivered His law to Israel. In continuing this petition (vs. 2) the prophet thinks of the physical phenomena which will attend the Lord's descent from heaven to earth in terms of the kindling of brushwood under a kettle, the waters of which boil. He beseeches the Lord to make known His divine power (His name) to His adversaries in order that the nations of earth may tremble at His presence. From many passages of scripture we know that the peoples of the world will be terrified when the Lord returns.

In verse 3 the prophet still continues the correspondence between the phenomena, which occurred when the Lord came down on Mount Sinai with what will take place when He does return.

From verse 4 we learn that men have never thought of, have never conceived of, a personal God beside Jehovah who "worketh for him that waiteth for him." There is evidence of the existence of God throughout all nature. The proof is sufficient to convince any honest, conscientious mind of the existence of the Almighty. But the human mind has never conceived of any God like Jehovah our Lord, who works for and who intervenes in the affairs of those who wait for Him and who trust Him.

Sometimes it is very hard for us to take our stand upon the naked, unvarnished Word of God and wait for Him to fulfill His precious promises. Such waiting is hard on the flesh. Only by faith can one take His stand upon the promises and endure the trials and the difficulties incident to life. The Old Testament saints were urged constantly by the prophets and the psalmists to wait for Jehovah. Whenever we see the expression, wait for Jehovah, we may be certain that this command was simply an exhortation to wait for the personal appearance of God in the person of Messiah upon the earth.

There is a wonderful promise contained in verse 5: "Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways ..." When the Lord tries a person's faith and such a one has not doubted, in the proper time the Lord will meet him and will solve his problems for him. The Lord will not just simply work in behalf of all and meet anyone regardless of conditions. Those who may take hold of this promise are the ones who rejoice, who work righteousness, and who remember God in His ways. Of course Isaiah 64:5 refers to Israel, the penitent remnant in the end time; but we know that, when we compare this scripture with others, this verse contains a general principle of God's dealings with His people.

According to the latter part of this verse, the remnant of Israel will acknowledge that God has been wrathful at it because it has sinned. Moreover, the people will acknowledge that they have been in their sins of a long time and will ask the question: "Shall we be saved?"--under such conditions. God is holy. He cannot tolerate sin and wickedness in His people. If they go into sin and persist therein, He can do but one thing--punish them with the hope of their returning to Him. Israel has sinned throughout her entire career, as we see by reading the Law and the Prophets.

But she has been in her sins of a long time. Let us bear in mind that this is the position of the faithful remnant. In the end of the Tribulation those convicted sinners will look back over the past centuries and will admit that they have been alienated from God and have been in their sins for a long time. In view of the history of the nation, as set forth in the New Testament and in post-biblical times, we are certain that this long time is none other than the Christian Dispensation, during which Israel has been alienated from God.

They will ask the question: "And shall we be saved?" The answer to this query is a most positive affirmation. Anyone and everyone who repents of his sins, returns to God, and accepts the redemption which Messiah purchased for him nineteen hundred years ago can be saved. Whosoever will may come and drink of the water of life freely.

At this future time the people of Israel will have been divested of all feeling of self-righteousness and self-sufficiency. Instead they will be very humble and will see themselves in the white light of God's holiness. Thus they will admit that they are in His sight as an unclean thing and that all of their righteousnesses are as a polluted garment. Moreover they will state that they do fade as a leaf and that their iniquities, like the wind, take them away.

According to verse 7 they will look back over their immediate past and will acknowledge that there is no one who has been calling upon God's name, who has stirred up himself to take hold of the Lord during this period when He has hid His face from the nation and has consumed them by means of their iniquities. In our looking at this language, we must remember that there are two types of statements: those used in the absolute sense of the term and those employed relatively. In view of all the facts I am convinced that this is relative language. No one of such gigantic proportions, spiritually speaking, as Moses will be found in Israel to stir himself up, to throw himself into the breach as did the great Lawgiver and to intercede for the nation.

But when the people of Israel thus pray, they will make the following penitential confession: "But now, O Jehovah, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand." God is the sovereign Lord who is ruling and overruling throughout the entire universe as well as among men. He is directing the course of history. Men are free to exercise their own choices. Nevertheless, the Lord is the potter and men are the clay. Israel will learn this great truth and will desire to be yielded to God in order that He might make her and shape her according to His will. When she reaches this point and thus prays for His return, He will do so.

According to verses 9 the nation will plead that the Lord will no longer be angry with her, but will recognize the fact that they are the people of God, the ones through whom He promised Abraham to bless the entire world.

In verses 10-12 we see a picture of the desolations that will be wrought in Palestine during the Tribulation. Thus penitent Israel will call the Lord's attention to this wreckage and plead with Him to come and deliver her. This language is similar to that found in Psalm 74.

May we, my dear Christian friend and reader, have the same yielded spirit that is mentioned in verse 8 in order that God may use us to the fullest: "But now, O Jehovah, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand."

"Thou the grace of life supplying,
Thou the crown of life wilt give;
Dead to sin, and daily dying,
'Life of life!' in thee we live."



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