Isa 27

Redemption of Israel

Hey guys, Good evening, I hope you’ve had a good day.

Tonight we come back to the Book of Isaiah that we have been walking through here on Wednesday nights.

Of course we remember Isaiah is considered the greatest of the OT prophets in a sense for several reasons, its length, content and future hope that God extends to them in the presence of the coming Messiah.

And thus far God has done a very fair job in explaining why the nations are judged, sin is always the issue and it will be judged.

We must never loose sight of the truth that God loves us and His given His Son to the world to redeem the world from their sin.

Now God also desires to redeem His people Israel, why? He promised them a future hope. A hope that was certain and a remnant that would be saved.

Lets open up the text and go from there today.

Isaiah 27:1 ESV

1 In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.

So there is that phrase, In that day, it is phrase that points us to a future event, one that involves the Lord and his future will for His people.

This phrase is often associated with the “great day of the Lord, usually the day of judgment.

It says here that on that day the Lord with a strong sword will slay the serpent, the leviathan, the sea serpent.

So who is the serpent? If it is a look backward we might assume that it is Assyria. But in a future tense the Lord will destroy it forever...

Revelation 12:7–9 ESV

7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Now verses 2-3 Isa 27:2-3

Isaiah 27:2–3 ESV

2 In that day, “A pleasant vineyard, sing of it! 3 I, the Lord, am its keeper; every moment I water it. Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day;

If you remember earlier on in our walk through Isaiah, the Lord planted a vineyard and made it a beautiful and strong one, but it did not yield good fruits, and so the Lord was angry with it.

He destroyed it, but here he is not angry with it any more.

He will no longer cause it to be filled with briars and thistles… we will see that more in a minute.

But here we see that there is hope in this land. God is seen as the planter and caretaker of the vineyard. He plants and waters it, repeated acts of care, every moment watering it reveals the love the Lord has for his vineyard.

It will never be destroyed and the Lord will keep it day and night. It is always secure.

Now lets move on to verses 4-5 Isa 27:4-5

Isaiah 27:4–5 ESV

4 I have no wrath. Would that I had thorns and briers to battle! I would march against them, I would burn them up together. 5 Or let them lay hold of my protection, let them make peace with me, let them make peace with me.”

Where the Lord once held wrath and punishment against the vineyard, now it says that I (God) has no wrath , no emotions of anger.

Instead now he will turn His anger against the briars and thistles, So a question you might ask is who do the briars and thistles represent? We cannot ascribe any particular group to this but we can say it is anyone who opposed God’s work among His people.

Now look at what is going to happen....

Verse 6 Isa 27:6

Isaiah 27:6 ESV

6 In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit.

IN the future time, Israel and Judah will be well rooted o that it produces many buds and blossoms.Listen to Hosea...

Hosea 14:6 ESV

6 his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon.

And that fruit, it will have a positive impact upon the Lord.

So looking at the whole scope of this we see hope for the future. God will fulfill his promise to his people. And his vineyard will bless all the nations of the earth.

Now lets start a new section. beginning at verse 7

Isaiah 27:7 ESV

7 Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them? Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain?

As we move forward. there is a question being asked, will God strike Israel just as he struck their enemies? Will his punishment toward Israel be the same as the punishment He extends to their enemies?

The answer is no! God will not strike them in the same way He strikes their enemies. God will exercise judgment on Israel, But He will also have grace toward them.

Now verses 8-9… Isa 27:8-9

Isaiah 27:8–9 ESV

8 Measure by measure, by exile you contended with them; he removed them with his fierce breath in the day of the east wind. 9 Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: when he makes all the stones of the altars like chalkstones crushed to pieces, no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing.

when you look at this passage you see three steps in how God will work with Israel.

God will bring punishment because of their sin. He just doesn’t punish them arbitrarily, no! He does so because of their sin… sin always has consequences.

Then the people must remove their pagan idols.

And finally, God will atone for their sins.

So when you see verse 8, measure by measure, it is the measuring out of their punishment… and that punishment is seen like a hot eastern wind coming off the desert.

In all this, the punishment God is working to save his people. He is disciplining to contend for the heart and soul of his people.

So think of punishment not like so vendetta, to punish sin.

When you look at the OT, you see times when the people sinned, and in their sin he would chastise them, it wasnt evil, sin must be punished, this is part of the justice and righteousness of God.

But what was the purpose of it all, … to draw us back.

So no vendetta, no God is at work in us to draw humanity back to himself.

God always wants to bring us back to himself, glory

Now verses 10-11 Isa 27:10-11

Isaiah 27:10–11 ESV

10 For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness; there the calf grazes; there it lies down and strips its branches. 11 When its boughs are dry, they are broken; women come and make a fire of them. For this is a people without discernment; therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them; he who formed them will show them no favor.

The city that is a symbol of the enemies of God’s people, it will one day be abandoned…it will lookl like a desert, desolation and ruin will be everywhere… the only inhabitants are the cattle that graze in the area...

Religious, commercial, political, human, and animal life will no longer exist in this place.

Why will this city suffer so much more than Israel? Think of this, in one circumstance, people will come to know who God really is, they will be forgiven of their sins and will abandon the worship of the false gods.

But the people who live in that fortified city, they will never understand the nature of sin, and how they sin has separated them from God.

As such, God will not have compassion on them. If they would reject their idols and repent of their sin, God would forgive them..

Vereses 12-13 Isa 27:12-13

Isaiah 27:12–13 ESV

12 In that day from the river Euphrates to the Brook of Egypt the Lord will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

This final section is like others where by people are gathered back to Jerusalem to worship God.

There is a harvest theme here, and God doesn’t mention the plight of unbelievers (but we know their plight).

But in that day the Lord will have the trumpet blown, God will divide the true faithful Israelites from the one who are apostates, unfaithful Israelites and from the Gentiles who have not beleived or followed)…it is like separating the wheat from the chaff...

And God’s gathering will involve two phases

Gathering them from within the borders of Israel and

and gathering those who were living outside the borders of Israel… like Assyria ( 10 tribes and Egypt)

Eveyone of his people will be gathered to himself, none will be excluded.

The trumpet is not clearly explained here. We know they blew it to get ready for battle but to also call the people to the temple for worship. To announce the coronation of a new king or to signal the beginning of God’s final battle against evil...

In each of these the trumpet announces something special.

Here it would appear that the trumpet will be usd to signal the beginning of a new opportunity to worship God at Jerusalem

The holy mountain where the glory of God dweells will be the center where the people will come to worship… it iwll be a wonderful time to sing praises to His name for his promises are true

He has gathered his people, the ones who God first made a covenant with their father Abraham so he fulfills that covenant promise, He is faithful to all genertations

And what has he promised us?

to take us home]]

to give us the joy of being with him

and will he keep it?

YES

and we will praise him all the more.