The Prophecy of Isaiah - Lesson 22: "Israel's Coming Salvation" (Isaiah 27:1-13)

The Prophecy of Isaiah
Lesson 22: "Israel's Coming Salvation" (Isaiah 27:1-13)¹

The Destruction of Evil (Isaiah 27:1)

¹ 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.

Israel’s Position as God’s Vineyard (Isaiah 27:2-6)

² In that day— “Sing about a fruitful vineyard: ³ I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it. ⁴ 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. ⁵ Or else let them come to me for refuge; let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me.” ⁶ In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.

The Purpose behind God’s Judgment (Isaiah 27:7-11)

⁷ Has the Lord struck her as he struck down those who struck her? Has she been killed as those were killed who killed her? ⁸ By warfare and exile you contend with her— with his fierce blast he drives her out, as on a day the east wind blows. ⁹ 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.

The Returning Remnant (Isaiah 27:12-13)

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.

Concluding Thoughts from Isaiah 24-27

• God Is in Control
• God’s Sovereignty Includes Judgment and Salvation
• God Calls Us to Peace
• Great Days Are Coming!

¹ The following outline is adapted from Bryan E. Beyer, Encountering the Book of Isaiah: A Historical and Theological Survey, Encountering Biblical Studies (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2007).