The Redemption of Israel
Isa 27:1 In that day, the LORD will punish with his sword— his fierce, great and powerful sword— Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea.
Isa 27:2 In that day— “Sing about a fruitful vineyard:
Isa 27:3 I, the LORD, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it.
Isa 27:4 I am not angry. If only there were briers and thorns confronting me! I would march against them in battle; I would set them all on fire.
Isa 27:5 Or else let them come to me for refuge; let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me.”
Isa 27:6 In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.
Isa 27:7 Has the LORD struck her as he struck down those who struck her? Has she been killed as those were killed who killed her?
Isa 27:8 By warfare and exile you contend with her— with his fierce blast he drives her out, as on a day the east wind blows.
Isa 27:9 By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: When he makes all the altar stones to be like limestone crushed to pieces, no Asherah poles or incense altars will be left standing.
Isa 27:10 The fortified city stands desolate, an abandoned settlement, forsaken like the wilderness; there the calves graze, there they lie down; they strip its branches bare.
Isa 27:11 When its twigs are dry, they are broken off and women come and make fires with them. For this is a people without understanding; so their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
Isa 27:12 In that day the LORD will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, Israel, will be gathered up one by one.
Isa 27:13 And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.
1 The care of God over his vineyard. 7 His chastisements differ from judgments. 12 The church of Jews and Gentiles
The Redemption of Israel
Isa 27:1 In that day, the LORD will punish with his sword— his fierce, great and powerful sword— Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea.
Leviathan. See on Job 41:1; Ps. 74:13, 14. In ancient Canaanite mythology “leviathan” was regarded as a seven-headed serpent that fought against the gods and the forces of right and was itself thus considered a personification of the forces of evil.
Ancient Canaanite texts from Ras Shamrah speak of a seven-headed monster “Lotan,” which is believed to be the same name as the Biblical word “leviathan” (Heb. liwyathan). In the ancient Mesopotamian creation myth, there was a tradition of a primeval conflict between the gods and a dragon of chaos.
These and other legends among the heathen appear to indicate a confused but prevalent and persistent concept of Satan as a serpent engaged in a death struggle with the Seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15; cf. Rev. 12:3, 4). Job’s “leviathan” is, evidently from the context, a literal animal (Job 41), generally believed to be the crocodile.
The psalmist, referring to the destruction of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea, speaks of the Lord as breaking “the heads of leviathan in pieces” (Ps. 74:13, 14). A many-headed crocodile would be a symbolic monster quite appropriate as a designation for Egypt.
The crocodile flourished in the River Nile. Repeatedly in Isa. 27; 30; 31 Egypt is mentioned, and this tends to confirm the idea that “leviathan” here stands, first, as a symbol of Egypt. Compare also the “dragon” of Isa. 27:1 with that of Eze. 29:3; cf. ch. 32:2, 4.
Revelation pictures Satan as “a great red dragon, having seven heads” (Rev. 12:3), and declares that “Michael and his angels fought against the dragon” and that “the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceive the whole world” (Rev. 12:7, 9). “That day” when the Lord slays “leviathan” appears to be the day when “the Lord comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity” (Isa. 26:21).
Isa 27:2 In that day— “Sing about a fruitful vineyard:
In ch. 5:1–7 Isaiah sang a dirge over Israel, which is pictured as an unfruitful vineyard. Here the song is of a much more pleasant nature, for this vineyard ultimately fills the whole world with fruit (ch. 27:6).
Isa 27:3 I, the LORD, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it.
The contrast between this vineyard and the preceding one is striking. In ch. 5:1–7 the Lord took away the hedge of the vineyard, laid it waste, and commanded that no rain should fall upon it. In the former instance the vineyard is specifically said to have been “the house of Israel, and the men of Judah” (ch. 5:7). Here the same is apparently true (see ch. 27:6). Christ similarly compared His disciples to the branches of a vine (John 15:1–8).
Isa 27:4 I am not angry. If only there were briers and thorns confronting me! I would march against them in battle; I would set them all on fire.
God is not angry with His vineyard.
Briers and thorns. In the earlier vineyard briers and thorns took the place of the original vine, and the Lord pronounced sentence against Israel (ch. 5:6). Briers and thorns represent the work of the enemy; God will burn them up (see Matt. 13:30).
Isa 27:5 Or else let them come to me for refuge; let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me.”
In the time of conflict, when the enemy is directing his efforts against God’s people, the church is admonished to turn to God for protection. If the church does, the enemy’s efforts will not succeed.
God’s people have made their peace with Him and know Him to be their friend and not their enemy. They can look to Him with confidence, and during the greatest trials their souls may rest in peace. These words are particularly appropriate to the time of trouble, during the seven last plagues, when Satan does his utmost against the saints.
Isa 27:6 In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.
Fruit. Compare on Isa. 5:2; John 15:2–8. God planned that Israel should bring to all the world a knowledge of salvation. When national Israel failed, the task was given to spiritual Israel, the Christian church. By another analogy, the church, composed of Gentiles and Jews, is represented by branches grafted in to replace the rejected natural branches of the tree of Israel (see Rom. 11:11, 12, 15–26).
Isa 27:7 Has the LORD struck her as he struck down those who struck her? Has she been killed as those were killed who killed her?
Has God smitten His own people as He smote those who waged war against them? Isaiah draws a contrast between God’s dealings with His own people and His dealings with their enemies. God’s people may suffer trial and tribulation, but they will not be destroyed. God “smites” His people for their own good (see Heb. 12:5–11; Rev. 3:19), to remedy the defects in their character, not to destroy them.
Isa 27:8 By warfare and exile you contend with her— with his fierce blast he drives her out, as on a day the east wind blows.
Our heavenly Father carefully metes out to His children only so much as may be for their own good, and no more. His purpose is not to harm but to heal (see Jer. 10:24). Divine judgments upon God’s people are tempered with forbearance and mercy.
The east wind was a hot, dry, suffocating wind, blowing in from the desert, a fit symbol of death and destruction (Gen. 41:6; Job. 27:21; Ps. 48:7; Jer. 18:17; Hosea 13:15). Figuratively, this wind represents judgments God permits to come upon His people. The “east wind” is said to be the “breath” of God. Punishment appeared to come from natural causes, though in reality it was ordained, or permitted, by God.
Isa 27:9 By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: When he makes all the altar stones to be like limestone crushed to pieces, no Asherah poles or incense altars will be left standing.
It is the Lord’s purpose to purify His people, not to destroy them (see on vs. 7, 8). The chastisement of v. 8 is the instrument of purification.
The fruit. That is, the result. The “fruit” of chastisement, repentance, and forgiveness will be the removal of every vestige of idolatry. The Babylonian captivity cured the Jews of idolatry (PK 705).
Limestone. The stones of the altars will be crushed as if they were chalk, and the groves (Heb. ’asherim; see on Ex. 34:13; Deut. 7:5; 16:21; 2 Kings 17:10) and idols will be cast down and destroyed. God permits trials to come upon His people to purge them of their iniquities.
Isa 27:10 The fortified city stands desolate, an abandoned settlement, forsaken like the wilderness; there the calves graze, there they lie down; they strip its branches bare.
That is, Jerusalem, as symbolic of God’s people. What was now a flourishing city would become a wilderness. Where houses now stood there would be pasture (see ch. 7:23–25). This prediction came true a century later, in 586 b.c. (see Dan. 9:16, 17).
Isa 27:11 When its twigs are dry, they are broken off and women come and make fires with them. For this is a people without understanding; so their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
This is a continuation of the concluding picture of the preceding verse. A tree whose branches are stripped of leaves (v. 10) withers and dies. The wood becomes dry. The branches are then cut down and used for firewood.
The figure is like to that of Eze. 31:12, 13, where the fall of Assyria is compared to a tree whose branches have fallen. John the Baptist and Jesus both compared the wicked to trees that were cut down and cast into the fire (Matt. 3:10; John 15:6). Paul compared the literal Jews to natural branches cut off and replaced by the grafted branches of the church (Rom. 11:12–20).
Isa 27:12 In that day the LORD will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, Israel, will be gathered up one by one.
The Lord will thresh. Literally, “beat out,” that is. “Thresh [grain],” to separate it from the chaff. This is the great day of judgment, when the wheat is gathered into the heavenly garner and the chaff is burned (Joel 3:13; Matt. 3:12; 13:39, 40; Rev. 14:14–19).
The land promised to Israel extended from the Euphrates to the river of Egypt (see on Gen. 15:18; 1 Kings 4:21; 8:65). The nations within these boundaries would be “threshed” and their lands given to God’s chosen people.
One by one. God gathers the righteous one by one, not as groups, but as individuals.
Isa 27:13 And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.