Contributor: Adewale Abiona

INTRODUCTION

Last week in Isaiah 60-61 the picture of God’s faithfulness to his promises and His ability to restore and transform His children to His original plan was painted in our heart. We were encouraged to see God’s profound love and concern for His children in any circumstance that we may be going through, we were assured of God’s favour, justice, and the hope of His eternal covenant. In today’s lesson, we will again discover God's love and faithfulness to redeem His children from the hands of the enemies and how He had planned to pour out His indignation on those who oppose Him and His plan for His children.

Chapter 62 - God’s Redemption promise

Verse 1 – Continued advocacy for Zion - Romans 8:34 62 vs 2-3 – Christ's intervention will bring God’s goodness and honour to His chosen elect. Nations and kings will see it We will have a new name that God Himself will give to us Wonderful description of what these will look like; “You will be like a beautiful crown that the Lord holds up, like a king’s crown in the hand of your God.” 62 vs 4 – You will no longer be termed forsaken, your land will no longer be destroyed, but you will be God’s delight and your land His bride because the Lord loves you.

Verse 5 - The Bible always uses the things we know and can understand to describe God’s relationship with His people. God in this verse wanted us to know the depth of the love He has towards us, so He said, “As a young man takes a bride and she belongs to him, so your land will belong to your children. Note that He didn’t say as a young woman takes a groom, so those who think the woman should go and marry the man, the head of the Church is the one that marries the church. So, if you are a man and you are married to a woman, now you know. Rebecca did not marry Isaac.

Verses 6-7 Emphasises the role of continuous prayer as a way to remind God of His promise and to hasten Him to come to our aide or to fulfil His promises.

Verses 11-12 – God is coming to save us and also bringing our reward. Revelation 22:12. We are and will again be known as His holy People 1 Peter 2:9

Chapter 63:1-14 - God’s Day of Vengeance

2 Corinthians 10:6 – God will punish all disobedience when our obedience to Him is complete. When we have become fully obedient, everyone who remains disobedient will be punished. When we consider the atrocities of this present world and how some so-called believers are conducting themselves and appeared to be doing well. You may even ask yourself; "How are they getting away?" It is almost tempting to want to say maybe they know something that I don’t know or perhaps God is not that difficult, He is a loving Father and surely He will forgive them. Maybe there are no consequences after all. This chapter makes us understand that God’s Vengeance, His judgement, and punishment await disobedient ones.

Verses 1-6 – Demonstrates the punishment that will be inflicted on the abominable nations and disobedient children.
1.Understanding Edom and Edomites
Events in the Bible were for us to learn and to know more about God. The story of Jacob (Israel) and Esau (the foundation and growth of the nation of Edom) Malachi 1:2-3 declares, “‘I have loved you,’” says the LORD. But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’ ‘Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?’ the LORD says. ‘Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.’” Malachi 1:3 is quoted in Romans 9:10-13,

The quote referred to God's decision to choose one and reject the other, nothing to do with human emotional love and hate pattern. He chose Abraham of all the people on the face of the earth, He chose Isaac not Ishmael. Two nations in the womb struggled so much the mother Rebecca was feeling the pain Genesis 25:23. We know the event that happened between the two brothers and how they later settled their differences. Genesis 33:9 and God also blessed Esau Hundreds of years after Jacob and Esau had died, the Israelites and Edomites became bitter enemies. The Edomites often aided Israel’s enemies in attacks on Israel. Esau’s descendants brought God’s curse upon themselves.

Genesis 27:29 tells Israel, “May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.”

This is simply to show how the Edomites became God’s enemy as described in these passages which show God avenging Israelite people of all the afflictions they suffered from the hands of the Edomites. So is the case for all disobedient nations and all children that are in disobedience to God’s command. Because of God pronouncement upon Israel, anyone that opposes Israel have God to fight. The same is for everyone that is a genuine child of God every of their opposition will experience the wrath of God. It so easy for anyone to make himself or herself the enemy of God. Just disobey God’s Word concerning His people, nations, and servants that He has called His own, God Himself will take vengeance on the wicked.

2. Christ's robe of righteousness is fine linen, clean and white; the garment of His human nature, or hisform as man, was white and ruddy; but this, through His bloody sufferings, became red but here the red colour not with His own blood, but with the blood of His enemies at His vengeance.

3.He was trodden as a vine in their time, but here, the winepress is a symbol of the wrath of God onHis enemies, He had trodden them.

4.God resolved with Himself and has fixed by Him, the desirable day He has it at heart, in a time to come that He avenge the blood of His saints. When He shall pour out all His wrath on the anti-christ, and revenge the cause and quarrel of His people Revelation 16:1 and the year of my redeemed is come; the time when those who are already redeemed by the blood of Christ shall be redeemed again from the anti-christ, bondage and slavery.

5.He will wage the war alone with His might, strength and righteousness. A salvation which Hiown omnipotent arm could only bring, fired up by His zeal for His church and people, and His indignation against their enemies Revelation 19:1.

6.The wrath of God is signified by a cup, which He gives wicked men to drink, as we see in Psalms 75:8
Revelation 18:4 – God does not want His children to have any part in these vengeance, So He called us to come out 2 Corinthians 6:14-17

Chapter. 63:7-14 – I will have mercy on whom I will…

Romans 9:15. These verses demonstrate God’s mercy and kindness towards His people. For those who have made the decision to trust Him and abstain from all manners on ungodliness:

• He became their Savior.
• In all their affliction He was afflicted.
• The Angel of His Presence saved them.
• In His love and in His pity He redeemed them.
• And He bore them and carried them.

As we read in verse 10 (But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; So, He turned Himself against them as an enemy, And He fought against them) How can someone turn against the one who has been very kind and merciful to them. It not much of a surprise because humans at the very best are just mere mortals except for those that have been regenerated 1 Peter 1:23 and have their senses exercised…. Hebrews 5:14.

In Mark 4:38 the disciples were angry at Jesus simply because He was sleeping through the storm. They thought He didn’t care about them. In Luke 7:18 John the Baptist sent a messenger to Jesus when he was in prison asking "should we be expecting another Messiah?" Why have you not come to save me from prison? Each time we fail to trust God, and wait patiently on His promise and His timing, we run the risk of moving ourselves out of His plan for us. This will always lead to frustration and ultimately sin.

In Exodus 32:1; 7-10

"1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

"7 The LORD told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” 9 Then the LORD said, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. 10 Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.”

God’s anger and vengeance will come upon disobedient children. My prayer is that by His Spirit, He will lead us in the right path in Jesus’ name.

Verses 15-19 – Humble yourself before God and Trust Him to see you through.

But If we will come back to our senses like the prodigal son and acknowledge His power and His wonderful works and then trust Him with our future, He will definitely come to our aide and deliver us for His name sake. You may ask: 

“What are we to be delivered from? Am I not a Christian? Should I not be free from all things?"

Yes you should be free from sins and the condemnation of the same. But not from occasional temptation that will arise because of needs, not from afflictions and the trial of our faith. For these and many others, you need Christ to deliver you daily.

Psalms 34:19 - Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

Matthew 6:33-34 after Christ had told us not to worry about our needs because God knows what they are and will meet us all at that particular point, He admonished us to focus on God’s kingdom and doing what is right. He concluded by saying every day has enough trouble of its own. Another version says "sufficient for the days are the evil thereof".

What Christ is telling us is that anytime we allow our needs to get us down, we are not trusting God, we are living in denial of God’s ability to come through for us. This is why many children of God have gone away from His presence to seek their own salvation, thereby sinning against God. Instead, we are to acknowledge God’s power and His sovereignty over all things rather than fearing the challenges in front. By doing this, God is moved to come and demonstrate His power in us and through us.

CONCLUSION
God’s redemption promise awaits those that trust in Him and that wait upon Him for help. Psalm 121:1-8