Here the Jewish Remnant desire the return of the Lord’s countenance, which, as we know (Isa. 8:1717And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. (Isaiah 8:17)), is now turned away from Israel. And they are conscious that till then, the earth will all be out of order. For Israel is the center of the Lord’s earthly arrangements; Zion is the place of His earthly rest.
They own that they had been drinking the wine of astonishment, or gathering the bitter fruit of God’s righteous displeasure. But in the midst of all that, they equally own that those who had continued in His fear had known Him, because of His truth and faithfulness, to be a banner to them.
With increased confidence they claim the hopes of beloved ones (Isa. 60:55Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. (Isaiah 60:5)). Then God answers from the sanctuary. Their cry awakens Him, as it were, to a sense of His glory, or inheritance in the earth. For He now surveys His earthly possessions. Shechem, Succoth, Gilead, Manasseh, and distant parts of Moab and Philistia are now owned by Him, and He triumphs in the sight of His glory. He rejoices over them all as His possession, anticipating, in the midst of this, His insultation over Edom. This may call to mind the exulting action of the mighty angel (Christ) in Revelation 10:1-31And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: 2And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, 3And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. (Revelation 10:1‑3); He there anticipates His inheritance of the earth in a spirit of triumph.
And thus it often is. The touch of the poor woman in the crowd at once awakened Jesus, and the repentance of the prodigal opened new joys in the Father’s house. And so here. The desires of the Remnant, the hopes and claims of the beloved one uttered on earth, call God’s thoughts toward His possessions here, and give Him a joy and triumph over them.
Messiah, on listening to this voice in the sanctuary, in spirit enters this scene of deep and strong affections, longing for the day of battle in the land of Edom, over which His shoe is to be cast. (See Isa. 63:11Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. (Isaiah 63:1).) He is “expecting till His enemies be made His footstool.” He is zealous to meet the enemy, assured of victory through the help of the God of Israel.