Today's Reading:

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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

This is directly pointing to Jesus and shows God’s emotional involvement. He is not a distant God, but a God who loves and suffers when His people suffer. He was moved by their pain. He came down, suffered with them, and redeemed them.

The phrase “the angel of his presence” is often understood as a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ (a Christophany). He is the one who goes with Israel, fights for them, and saves them. Because of God’s covenant, He is loyal and has compassion for them, just like a parent does for their child. God acts as the closest relative, the Kinsman-Redeemer who buys back His people. He is their shepherd, carrying His exhausted people, “all the days of old.” He gave grace and care through every generation.

On the cross, Jesus fulfilled this verse, “In all their affliction He was afflicted.” Not just in theory, but He was afflicted for us, in nails, thorns, and agony. It is a great reminder for us today that we have a Savior who understands our grief and has experienced our same suffering. He came, suffered, and paid the ultimate price to save us. We are now carried by the Shepherd, loved and redeemed.

When the prophet said God was afflicted with His people, it points forward to the brutal reality of the cross. Think about the Roman lashings that tore flesh from the bone, the mocking, the crown of thorns, and public humiliation. How does this passage from Isaiah 63:9 reveal that the “Angel of His Presence” did not just observe our suffering, but fully entered it in the person of Jesus?

This week there was a dark time in Judah’s history with evil kings, massive amounts of idolatry, and the coming time of judgment. God sent prophets like Nahum and Zephaniah to warn that He would judge their sins, bring punishment, and destroy the Assyrians. Yet even in the darkness, there was hope. The good King Josiah led the people in repentance with a spiritual revival, turning back to God. The Book of the Law was found in the Temple, which prompted the nation to reform. Isaiah reminds us that God sees our suffering, feels it with us, and promises there will be a future of hope and restoration. He will redeem His people, restore the broken, and bring peace and joy.

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