63:17
Isaiah seems to put responsibility for Israel’s wandering from God’s ways and her hardness of heart firmly with God! Then he urges God to return to Israel, to change her ways. So we have the classical Calvinist dilemma. Is Israel a mere puppet? No, as the whole Bible shows. But the solution to the problem lies with God. We cannot save ourselves.
63:18,19
Isaiah knows that Israel has always belonged to God. For a while they did live in the land of Israel, but now the temple has been utterly destroyed. Isaiah is in a dark place! However, we should note that while this is the end of a chapter, the chapter divisions were not there when Isaiah wrote this! The story continues in chapter 64.
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