Isaiah 63:16
Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting. Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.
Though Abraham does not know his descendants and Israel does not recognize them, the LORD himself is their Father and Redeemer whose name and fatherly care endure from everlasting. He is Father by right of creation, by bountiful provision, and by gracious adoption, the same Father addressed at the beginning of the Lord's Prayer. Abraham's ignorance shows that the dead sleep in unconsciousness, knowing neither the honor nor the abasement of their sons on earth and exercising no watchful care over earthly affairs. Therefore prayer is not offered to dead fathers who cannot hear, but lonely, tempted, and discouraged souls may come directly to God as Father, asking and trusting his welcome and help even when the world forsakes them. Standing in the closing chapters of Isaiah, the verse points forward to what the Lord himself would do when Christ came, and shows Gentiles who believe and repent receiving the inheritance with the patriarchs and prophets.
Father and Redeemer Everlasting
The God addressed is the Our Father named at the beginning of the Lord's Prayer. He is Father by right of creation, by bountiful provision, and by gracious adoption. Though Abraham is ignorant of the people and Israel does not acknowledge them, the LORD is their Father and Redeemer. His name and fatherly relationship endure from everlasting, while the dead patriarchs are unaware of the condition of their descendants.
The verse assures lonely, tempted, and discouraged people that God is their Father. It gives them courage when the world forsakes them. Even amid weakness and imperfection they may come to God and ask, trusting His welcome and help.
Prophecy of Christ's Work
The verse belongs to the closing chapters of Isaiah's prophecy that point forward to Christ's sufferings and the glory of his reign, foretelling what the Lord himself would do when he came to this world. It stands in the five days' reading of Isaiah 46-66 before the Gospels, with Isaiah 63-66 appointed for Thursday. Those chapters are prophecies filled with promises that foretell the very work and words of Christ, and they hold the closing predictions of the glorious new earth and its capital city, the destruction of sin and sinner, and the everlasting dominion of God's children. In its place there, the verse gives God's children incentive to consecrate themselves to him.
The verse shows the call of the Gentiles, that Gentiles who have believed and have repented of the sins they committed shall receive the inheritance along with the patriarchs and the prophets and the just men descended from Jacob. This inheritance comes although they neither keep the Sabbath, nor are circumcised, nor observe the feasts.
The Dead Are Unconscious
Abraham's ignorance of the people seeking the inheritance promised to him means he cannot be their guardian angel or watch over their earthly affairs, so God alone is addressed as their Father and Redeemer. Abraham is ignorant of Israel because the dead sleep in unconsciousness, for the dead know not anything, and the dead father knows neither the honor nor the abasement of his sons upon the earth. Abraham's ignorance of his descendants shows that the dead are unaware and do not continue thinking after death.
Abraham is dead and ignorant of the living, which shows that the dead are not conscious of events among the living. The dead fathers have no knowledge of their living descendants and give them no recognition, and the dead do not praise the Lord and exercise no power of mind, proving that in death there is no remembrance, awareness, or care for what happens among the living. Abraham is an example of the dead who are ignorant of the living, showing that the dead do not hear prayers offered to them. The verse calls for self-examination about readiness for a home with God.