Isaiah: Who is Winning?

Isaiah 27

Have you ever looked at what’s happening in the world and wondered, ‘Who is winning?’ Wars erupt around the globe. In our country, politics are polarizing, marriage and family have been redefined, and the state of the stock market seems to occupy our thoughts constantly. Who oversees all of this? I imagine there were times when God’s people in Israel had the same question: ‘With everything going on…who is winning?’

When the prophet Isaiah appeared on the scene, the northern kingdom was nearing collapse, while the southern kingdom, his target audience, was weakened and vulnerable. Isaiah 27 assures us that God always fights for his people.

Isaiah 24-27 is sometimes called “Isaiah’s Apocalypse.” After warning Judah about impending judgment (Isa. 1-12) and reminding them that the surrounding countries would not help (Isa. 13-23), this section foretells future global judgment, intense suffering, and the blessing of a coming kingdom. Let’s examine Isaiah 27. The phrase “in that day” introduces three distinct sections. 

Judgment will come to an end (Isaiah 27:1).

Isaiah 27:1
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. 

The pagan nations surrounding Israel believed Leviathan was a powerful, dragon-like deity—a seven-headed creature intent on destroying creation (Job 3:8). Isaiah does not subscribe to this myth; however, he utilizes Leviathan, “the fleeing serpent” and “the twisting serpent” of the sea, to symbolize evil. This is not a stretch, as Satan appears in the first book of the Bible as a serpent (Gen. 3), and in the last book, he is again described as a serpent and a dragon (Rev. 12:3, 9; 20:2). Isaiah states that God will slay the dragon with his “hard and great and strong sword.” 

Just as God will use his “sword” to take care of evil, there are many times when God has used pagan nations to discipline Israel. He controls the flow of history, utilizing them as a “hard and great and strong sword” in his hand. 

God is the “keeper” of Israel (Isaiah 27:2-6). The passage below is today’s ANCHOR POINT:

Isaiah 27:2-3
In that day, “A pleasant vineyard, sing of it! I, the Lord, am its keeper; every moment I water it. Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day….” 

This section portrays Israel as a vineyard for the second time. The first vineyard depiction emphasized God’s discipline (Isa. 5:1-7). Here, the focus is on God’s constant protection. If Israel does not follow God, he will judge them (Isa. 27:4), but he desires that they make peace with him (Isa. 27:4-5). If Israel seeks God as their refuge, they “shall take root... blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit” (Isa. 27:6). God reiterates his promise that all the nations of the world will be blessed by them (Isa. 27:6; see Gen. 12:3). 

God’s compassion results in discipline (Isaiah 27:7-11).

Isaiah 27:7-8
Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them? Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain? Measure by measure, by exile you contended with them; he removed them with his fierce breath in the day of the east wind. 

It’s challenging to view God as loving when he disciplines us. However, love is the root of all godly discipline (Heb. 12:7-10). Due to Judah’s continued disobedience, despite all of God’s repeated warnings, he allowed them to be taken captive by the Babylonians, described here as the east wind. This period in exile “would help purify Judah so that she would not worship foreign gods and goddesses.”^[1]

Isaiah 27:9
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.

Atonement can only come through Jesus, Israel’s coming Messiah. The forerunner of Jesus’ atonement was the animal sacrifices (a “placeholder” for the Perfect Sacrifice) and obedience. Evidence of Judah turning to God is what Isaiah calls “the full fruit of the removal of his sin….” This would be demonstrated when the nation crushed the stone altars to Baal and tore down the wooden Asherim poles. However, since Judah did not obey the Law (Deut. 28:49-52, 64), the people of Jerusalem would be taken captive; “the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness” (Isa. 27:10). For a time, God would withdraw his compassion and favor (Isa. 27:11). This happened in 586 BC, when the Babylonians captured Jerusalem and sent its inhabitants into exile. However, one day, everything will change with the sound of a great trumpet.

The Regathering (Isaiah 27:12-13).

There will be a day when God’s people who were taken captive by the Assyrians and the Babylonians will be called back home. Isaiah describes this as God’s plentiful harvest where his chosen “will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel” (Isa. 27:12). On that day a “great trumpet will be blown” and God’s people will be regathered to “worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem” (Isa. 27:13).

Bible scholar Warren Wiersbe reminds believers that we are also waiting for the trumpet to sound. He writes:

Of course, God’s people today are also awaiting “the sound of the trumpet” (1 Cor. 15:50-58; 1 Thes. 4:13-18) announcing the coming of the Lord for His church. Then we will go with Him to heaven and prepare for the marriage supper of the Lamb. We shall return with Him to earth and reign with Him in the kingdom. Are you praying daily, “Thy kingdom come”?^[2]

So, back to our question, ‘Who is winning?’ Today’s passage confirms that God is winning and has secured the win for eternity. He has always had the victory. He is writing our story of renewal until we hear the trumpet call, meet the Lord in the air, and live with him forever!

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Time in the Word: Read and reflect on Isaiah 27. Focus on our Anchor Point: Isaiah 27:2-3.

Talking to God: Thank God for his constant care and protection. Thank him for the victory that has already been won!

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