Isaiah 27:1-6

D. JOINING OF JUDAH AND GENTILES, CHAPTER 27
1. JOINED BY DIVINE PROTECTION

TEXT: Isaiah 27:1-6

1

In that day Jehovah with this hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan the swift serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent; and he will slay the monster that is in the sea.

2

In that day: A vineyard of wine, sing ye unto it.

3

I Jehovah am its keeper; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.

4

Wrath is not in me: would that the briers and thorns were against me in battle! I would march upon them, I would burn them together.

5

Or else let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; yea, let him make peace with me.

6

In days to come shall Jacob take root; Israel shall blossom and bud; and they shall fill the face of the world with fruit.

QUERIES

a.

What is a leviathan?

b.

Who is to take hold of Jehovah's strength?

PARAPHRASE

In that day when Jehovah makes a feast and removes the covering spread over all nations and swallows up death forever, He will take His hard, great and strong sword and will bring judgment upon the monster, the swift, serpent-like one and upon the monster, the winding, serpent-like one. He will slay the monster that is in the sea. In that specific day, the Lord will have a delightful vineyard. O sing of it! I, Jehovah, am its Sustainer. My concern for it is constant and I will refresh it and protect it every day against those who would harm it. I, the Lord, harbor no spiteful resentment against My remnant. If enemies, like thorns and briers, stubbornly set themselves against My remnant, I will come upon them and destroy them. However, if these enemies cast themselves upon My mercy and make effort to come to terms of peace with Me and Mine, then they shall have My strength. Indeed, I invite all My enemies to make peace with Me and Mine. The day is coming when the true Israel of God will be established and it will certainly prosper. This true Israel of God will fill the earth with its offspring.

COMMENTS

Isaiah 27:1 MONSTER DEFEATED: Two Hebrew words in this verse may be translated monster; they are liveyathan and thaniyn. Liveyathan is translated crocodile in Job 40:25 (RSV) and thaniyn is translated serpent in most uses. In Ezekiel 29:3; Ezekiel 32:2, thaniyn is translated dragon, refering to Egypt. Some commentators have concluded that the first leviathan, since it is swift, symbolizes Nineveh (Assyria) built upon the swift, serpent-like Tigris River, while the second, winding, crooked, leviathan symbolizes Babylon built upon the winding, serpentlike Euphrates River, and the monster that is in the sea symbolizes Egypt.

It is evident from the context (Chapter s 24-27) the prophet is speaking of that day of the Messianic fulfillment (the first coming of Christ and the establishment of the church). Then what is the leviathan to be punished or slain? Obviously it refers to all the enemies of God and His people who were defeated at the first coming of Christ (cf. Ephesians 4:8; Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14-15; 1 John 3:8; John 12:31; John 16:11; Matthew 12:29; Luke 10:18, etc.) In the book of Revelation the Roman empire is referred to as the beast, false prophet and harlot, who is allied with Satan (called the great dragon). (cf. Revelation 13 through 20) But the beast, false prophet, and harlot are defeated and cast into the lake of fire. The dragon (Satan) is bound for a thousand years, then loosed for a short time and finally cast into the lake of fire forever with the beast. Daniel Chapter s 7 and 8 refer to the enemies of God as various beasts. Wherever the spirit of opposition to God has appeared, in whatever kingdom it may be, Satan is the author of it. He is the motivating spirt in all the forces that oppose God's rule in the universe. Perhaps in one area he assumes one characteristic, while in another he assumes still another characteristic. In Isaiah's day great world empires (Assyria, Babylon and Egypt) were the leviathans standing opposed to God's rule in creation (cf. Ezekiel 29:3; Ezekiel 32:2; Jeremiah 51:34; Isaiah 51:9; with Dan. ch. 7 & 8). The leviathan's (monster, serpent, dragon) strongest and most potent weapon against God and His people is deception. Isaiah points, in this section, to that day when the feast will be made, the veil is removed from all nations, and death is swallowed up forever. Leviathan, with all his power to deceive and hold man in bondage to the fear of death will be cast out, judged and triumphed over, when the Messiah brings life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Isaiah 27:2-6 MERCY DISPENSED: At the same time, on the same day, Jehovah defeats the monster He dispenses mercy to all men. God's vineyard (the covenant people) in that day (the church) will be producing according to His wishes. It will produce wine not sour grapes like the vineyard of Isaiah, chapter 5. Its fruitfulness and pleasantness will motivate a response of rejoicing. The Hebrew word ahnu means literally, to answer, respond to by singing. Songs of praise, honor and rejoicing for God's church are appropriate human responses for the mercy God has provided through His new covenant relationship.

Jehovah Himself is the notsrah (keeper) which has the connotation of preserver. He will refresh it constantly. He protects it constantly (cf. Psalms 121:4). The Lord watches over this new vineyard (the church) in such a manner that even the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. There are many enemies ready to destroy the church but not one shall succeed. God's new vineyard will be invincible. Whatever wrath Jehovah once held for His rebellious vineyard (Isaiah 5), He does not hold for His new vineyard. God's wrath against His covenant people is removed and punished in Christ. His wrath is still abiding on those who do not believe (cf. John 3:18; John 3:36), but those who believe are made branches in the Vine (cf. John 15:1-11) and God cherishes them, prunes them, they produce much fruit and have much joy. Since this vineyard is symbolic of the Messianic kingdom it is a prediction of that day when all nations (Isaiah 26:5 ff) are part of it. It is a prediction of the joining (grafting, cf. Romans 11) of the Gentiles with the Hebrews.

If briers and thorns attempt to choke out the vineyard, God will step upon them and crush them, then burn them. There is the challenge of the sovereign God here to His enemies. Nothing foreign to His vineyard can enter and take His vineyard. He will protect and purify it. Destruction is inevitable to the enemies of His vineyard.
There is one alternative open to His enemies. They may take hold of His strength. God bids His enemies take refuge in His maoozyi, or His fortress, refuge or stronghold. If the enemy comes into God's fortress (the church) he does so only after he has made peace with God. The Hebrew word translated make is the most fundamental Hebrew word for make, ashah, and therefore indicates a significant part of the peace between man and God is action initiated by man in making peace with Him. That action is belief, repentance and obedience. When an enemy of God believes, repents and obeys, he is no longer an enemy but has come into God's stronghold (the new vineyard, the new covenant, the church). The repetition of the phrase, let him make peace with me, serves to emphasize God's merciful grace in offering the invitation to His enemies to come to peace lest they be crushed and burned like weeds (cf. Psalms 2:1-11; Luke 3:7-9; John 15:6, Jeremiah 12:10 ff, etc.)

In days future to Isaiah, Israel will take root. How many days in the future this promise is we are left to surmise from the context. It is obviously speaking of that day of Isaiah 25:6; Isaiah 25:9; Isaiah 26:1; Isaiah 27:1-2, in other words, the day of the Messiah. The Messiah is to be the shoot and branch out of the stump of Jesse (cf. Isaiah 11:1 ff). The Messianic people will take root, flourish, produce fruit and fill all the earth with its fruit (cf. Hosea 14:4 ff). In the missionary proclamation of the gospel this passage finds it fulfillment, the Israel of God (cf. Galatians 6:14-18).

So, as before in these Chapter s (24-27), we see the focus of God's purging, chastening judgments on Judah is the preparation of a remnant through which He may accomplish His Messianic redemption of all mankind. Jews and Gentiles, all enemies of God, will be given opportunity to come into His stronghold (the church) when they have made peace with Him. God's judgment on Judah in her captivity was not capricious nor malicious but loving and purposefulGod aimed it all at calling to Himself a people zealous of good works.

QUIZ

1.

What do leviathan and monster symbolize?

2.

Where is God's vineyard mentioned elsewhere in the Bible?

3.

When is all this going to take place?

4.

Why is God's wrath no longer upon the vineyard?

5.

How do God's enemies make peace with Him?

6.

When is Jacob to take root and fill the earth with fruit?