Isaiah 27 Devotional
by Pastor Lawrence
Chapter 27 is the final installment in Isaiah’s ‘little apocalypse’ touching on some of the main themes of God’s judgment at the end times. In v.1, the prophet uses the mythological language of the sea monster Leviathan to describe the power and authority of the devil. He describes him as the fleeing serpent before the presence of the Lord, the twisting serpent, showing how he perverts the words of God, and the dragon. In the final day, the Lord will punish and slay this monster/dragon/serpent with his hard/great/strong sword representing the strong Word of God.
Verses 2-5 record a second song about God’s vineyard. The first was recorded back in Isaiah ch.5 as an indictment against God’s people for not bearing good fruit. But in this song, the Lord sings of his delight in his vineyard and how on the last day everyone will see how God has kept his vineyard, watered it and protected it from all enemies. In days to come, Isaiah says in v.6, that his people will take root, blossom, put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit. In other words, he has indeed struck his own people but that was only to prune them and to help them to grow more. He never struck Judah like he did Egypt or Assyria. Measure by measure he contended with them pointing out their sin that they might worship Him alone. In fact, on the last day Isaiah pictures the Lord crushing all their false altars and spreading the true gospel to the nations.
The fortified city representing the ancient tower of Babel does not fare well in comparison. It’s like a ghost town where only cows graze and women burn the broken boughs from dead trees. In that day the Lord will gather his people who were lost in Assyria and in Egypt and they will come to worship the Lord at Mt. Zion. Again, Isaiah sees the Lord’s mercy on full display in giving grace to a people who do not deserve it; not only those who were originally his people, but even those who were not called his people would now be called his people. Those who had not received mercy now have received mercy.
This passage covers many of the main themes of eschatology. What happens to the devil? What happens to the church? What happens to the evil system of this world that stands in opposition to the Lord? And what happens to nations? Isaiah sees much of God’s plan in advance even if it is somewhat clouded in mystery in the Old Testament. All of this revelation flows out of the redemption that God promises His people in v.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.” Because Christ Jesus has already come and made atonement for us as His people, we are now looking for the fruit of these things to be brought to their fulfillment as well. We’re praying that Satan would continue to be on the run, that the City of Destruction would crumble at its foundations, that the Church of Christ would be built up and that the gospel of grace would be preached to all the nations of the world.