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Read Isaiah 27

Deliverance of Israel

27 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.

In that day—

“Sing about a fruitful vineyard:
    I, the Lord, watch over it;
    I water it continually.
I guard it day and night
    so that no one may harm it.
    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.
Or else let them come to me for refuge;
    let them make peace with me,
    yes, let them make peace with me.”

In days to come Jacob will take root,
    Israel will bud and blossom
    and fill all the world with fruit.

Has the Lord struck her
    as he struck down those who struck her?
Has she been killed
    as those were killed who killed her?
By warfare and exile you contend with her—
    with his fierce blast he drives her out,
    as on a day the east wind blows.
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.
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.
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.

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. 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.

Go Deeper

The first thing we notice reading through this chapter is the cryptic promise about a dragon-like serpent, Leviathan, who lives in the sea. Even though God will destroy this beast, what is it? Why is it referenced here? 

Chapter 27 opens with the promise that God will conquer the source of evil and fear. He will punish the serpent with His sword. He will kill the dragon in the sea. This is a reference to the mythologies of Israel and surrounding nations during that time. The myths mentioned here included a seven-headed, fire-breathing monster in the sea called the Leviathan. The Leviathan is mentioned in several places throughout the Bible in addition to Isaiah, including Job and Psalms. The Leviathan represents the fear, chaos, and death that come with sin. God’s destruction of the Leviathan is synonymous with the destruction of Satan. 

There may not be a Leviathan swimming through waters nearby, but there are certainly sources of evil and fear near us today. What are some common myths in our nation? How do lies told in our culture impact us? What fear, chaos and death do they bring? 

On the day death is destroyed, the people of Israel will be restored to Him. We begin to see a vision of the kingdom of God. People are safe and at peace. They blossom and fill the earth with fruit. They are under the protection of the God who loves them. Yet, those who rise against God experience something different altogether. Rather than their land being filled with life and fruit, it is a wasteland of death and poison. Those who rise against God are broken like old sticks used in a fire. The vision in the chapter ends with how God will bring the scattered people of Israel back to Him from all across the known world. At that time, this would include land from Egypt to Assyria to Jerusalem. All the sons and daughters of God will be restored.

Questions

  1. Which command is repeated twice in verse 5? Why do you think it was repeated? 
  2. Which images are used to represent being in the presence of God? Which are used to represent separation from God?
  3. When God gathers His people, where will they worship? How can you trust that God will conquer death in the end?

By the Way

For a complete and thorough description of the Leviathan, read Job 41. You can also find descriptions in Psalm 74:14 and Psalm 104:26!

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3 thoughts on “Isaiah 27”

  1. As I read this chapter I immediately thought of Romans 5:20-21, “But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” We are all sinners separated from holy God. I’ve heard it said that life is like a ladder to be climbed to get to God. We climb a daunting rung or two and fall to the ground. The sheer height of it all is overwhelming. Enter Jesus who came down that ladder from heaven to rescue us, empower us, and carry us into the very presence of the Father. We are forever held in his loving arms. What hope, peace & joy divine!

  2. When that trumpet sounds we will go with Him to heaven and prepare for the marriage supper of the Lamb. Oh what a day!!!
    Thy kingdom come, kingdom living now, here, get ready. This is about Thy kingdom come. We want all people to have the opportunity to be a part of the kingdom. https://www.gotquestions.org/img/share.svg
    Thank You God for how You made all things work for good. You want all to have the opportunity to know You. Thank You for thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Your whole earth will be filled with Your Glory, that is such a mind boggling picture that I love to worship with, Holy Holy Holy are You Lord God Almighty!!!!!!! Thank You for my glimpse of Glory!! Thank You for kingdom living now, here, everyday and that I can open my mouth and share it in Jesus name amen. WOOHOO!!!!!

  3. I wonder if making peace was their last warning and by repeating it, He wanted them to hear it—understand it. v11 referenced ‘For this is a people without understanding;’ I read that and remembered Jesus referencing the importance of understanding in the parable of the sower. Matthew 13:14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding’… Jesus also talked about their hearts being calloused in v15.
    I believe any creature referenced that many times in scripture had to be real. In Job, it referenced how all men feared him. Perhaps God needed something their eyes could see to put the fear of God in them—to see his power and control over Leviathan. I think there are many Christian’s today living in sin without fear of God’s wrath. They are abusing God’s grace and compassion to excuse them from repenting and making peace. If Isaiah couldn’t break their calloused hearts, and even God knew that it was the problem, what exactly is the answer?

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