Welcome to the MHB Podcast. This is Michael Baun. And welcome to my ninetieth episode. In this episode I want to study Isaiah chapter 27. This is the final chapter that makes up the series that began in chapter 24. So chapters 24-27 are meant to be taken together. These chapters speak of a time when the Messiah, Jesus Christ, establishes His Kingdom in triumph and rules the entire world. For those living in rebellion to God, it is a time of judgment. For those who have made peace with God, it is a time of joy and praise. Let’s begin by reading verse one:
Isa 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.
So there’s a couple different ways we can interpret this Leviathan creature. One way is to understand it as an illustrative reference to the mythological dragon used to represent chaos. In the ancient creation myths, the world was created by various gods bringing order out of chaos. One example is the Canaanite creation myth where the Ugaritic Lotan, or chaos monster, is slain by Baal. Another example is the Enuma Elish, where the god Marduk cuts Tiamat into pieces and makes the world our of her. Isaiah might be using the Leviathan to explain how Jesus will bring an end to the fallen nature of reality and establish His eternal order.
It is interesting to note that the entire universe presently exists under the second law of thermodynamics – which is called entropy. Entropy tells us that everything in the universe is moving from a state of order to disorder across time. It’s also losing heat and getting colder. Entropy is why you need to eat food in order to maintain your body’s vital organs and stay alive. If you’re a homeowner, entropy is why you need to repair and maintain your house across time. Entropy is a clear scientific connection to this idea of existence being order from disorder. You can make of it what you want but the law of entropy is so pervasive and reliable in our world that it would be unwise not to consider it here. You can even see Paul talk about how creation is in bondage to decay in Romans 8:20-21:
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
If you understand Leviathan as a representation of disorder, it’s important to remember that Isaiah’s use of mythological references is not an indication that he believed the mythological stories. He just knew that everyone knew the stories – so the illustration would have made sense. Leviathan may also have been used to represent nations who are the enemies of Israel and enemies of God. A modern example of this illustrative technique is how we used to call powerful armies like Germany’s Wehrmacht war machines. It wasn’t literally a machine used to make war – it was just an illustration used to get the idea across. Another example is how we sometimes call peaceful superpowers sleeping giants.
The other way to understand Leviathan is to see it as a direct reference to Satan. I think this is the more commonly held interpretation. Satan was able to manifest himself as a serpent to Eve in the Garden of Eden – so it’s not unreasonable to suggest he will do so again in the future. We can tell from this verse that Leviathan is resisting God – fleeing and twisting as if coiled to strike. We can also see that Leviathan’s destiny is to be destroyed by God. We see Leviathan referenced in other passages of Scripture like Job chapter 3, Psalm 74, and Psalm 104. This context reinforces the idea that Leviathan is a mighty serpent-like creature who is connected with the sea and in rebellion to God.
It’s worth noting that Revelation uses this same imagery when describing the emergence of the Antichrist. Listen to this:
Rev 13:1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
Rev 13:2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority.
Rev 13:3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.
Rev 13:4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
Given the strong connection of Leviathan to Satan and the Antichrist – I think a safe interpretation of verse one is to see Leviathan as a manifestation of Satan. So, essentially, Isaiah is looking ahead to the day of Satan’s ultimate defeat when the Kingdom of the Messiah conquers all. Let’s read verses 2-6:
Isa 27:2 In that day, “A pleasant vineyard, sing of it!
Isa 27:3 I, the LORD, am its keeper; every moment I water it. Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day;
Isa 27:4 I have no wrath. Would that I had thorns and briers to battle! I would march against them, I would burn them up together.
Isa 27:5 Or let them lay hold of my protection, let them make peace with me, let them make peace with me.”
Isa 27:6 In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit.
The pleasant vineyard spoken of here can be understood to be Israel or the Church. God is the One who maintains His Church and without His continual watering of grace they wither and die. God protects the Church and preserves it against its enemies throughout the generations. In verse four we see that inside the Kingdom of God during the reign of Jesus Christ there will be no opposition to Him. Isaiah is saying that if there were opposition, God would march against them and destroy them. But even for those who are in rebellion to God, verse five offers an olive branch of peace. Let them lay hold of my protection, let them make peace with me, let them make peace with me. He says it twice to emphasize God’s deep desire that all of His people would make peace with Him.
Verse six shows us that during Christ’s reign, there will be no more opposition and His vineyard will be free to blossom and thrive – filling the entire world with fruit. This scene of perfection will not come until Christ establishes His Kingdom, but if we look to God now, He will take care of us in the same way described in these verses. When you come under the life-giving water of Jesus, your spirit is protected from withering of thirst. When you depend on God for His protection, He will keep you from those who seek your eternal destruction. Listen to what Jesus says in John 15:1-8:
Joh 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
Joh 15:3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.
Joh 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
Joh 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Joh 15:6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
Joh 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
Joh 15:8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
Jesus is saying that if you abide in Him, trust in Him, and depend on Him then He will give you what you need to do His will. He doesn’t promise to spare you from the difficulties of life. To the contrary, He promises that the difficulties of life are coming for you. But He promises that if you remain in Him you will transcend the suffering and make it out on the other side. That’s because there is something inside of you – a spark of divinity – that is more powerful than any amount of suffering or evil you can experience in this world. Let’s read verses 7-9:
Isa 27:7 Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them? Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain?
Isa 27:8 Measure by measure, by exile you contended with them; he removed them with his fierce breath in the day of the east wind.
Isa 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.
Verse seven shows us that God stayed His hand from punishing Israel as severely as He punished the nations who did not belong to Him. It’s important that we do not read this as some form of divine nepotism. The Israelites didn’t receive preferential treatment simply because of their lineage. There are two main reasons why God did not completely wipe out Israel like he did other nations. The first is that God had made a covenant to never fully destroy Israel – and God always keeps His word. The second is that each time the Israelites faced a judgment and were brought low, they returned to God to seek forgiveness.
We can learn a lesson of humility from the preservation of Israel. The fact that they had the humility to return to God each time they were punished is in large part why they survived. In our own lives, we need to maintain a sense of humility so that we can guard against things that aim to take us out. If you become convinced of your own greatness, pride will make you blind to the thing that threatens you. Then when it gets you and you fall down – pride will make you believe that none of it was your fault and that there is something wrong with God Himself and being itself. You’ll become bitter, resentful, and your chances of coming back into the joy of God decrease dramatically. But if you make a mistake and you fall with a sense of humility – you’ll ask yourself what you can do differently and very often you’ll solve your own problems. Humility is what allows the Spirit of God to whisper to you and point out areas of weakness before these areas fester into a mortal wound.
Verse nine shows God destroying Israel’s idolatrous altars so that they can be free to worship Him. God wants to set you free from the things that dominate you. Worshiping God is not for God’s benefit – it’s for your own. If you choose to love God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength then the idols in your life will lose their power over you. God will put them into proper perspective the same way He did with Israel in this passage when He took down their altars. Let’s read verses 10-11:
Isa 27:10 For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness; there the calf grazes; there it lies down and strips its branches.
Isa 27:11 When its boughs are dry, they are broken; women come and make a fire of them. For this is a people without discernment; therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them; he who formed them will show them no favor.
Remember in the last few episodes on Isaiah how I told you to remember the term wasted city? Here we see that city again. This is the city of man which represents humanity’s attempt at social order without God. Verse ten tells us that this social order is made desolate by God’s judgment. I want to say a few things about the world. You’ll often hear Christians say we must be in the world but not of the world. And that we should not trust or depend on the world. Many Christians hold a huge misunderstanding on this point and they think that the world means the creation. This leads to people not trusting science or the scientific method. When the Bible talks about not trusting the world – it doesn’t mean the creation. It means humanity’s attempt at social order without God. Romans 1:20 puts to bed this issue of not trusting the creation when it says:
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
To put it plainly, the universe we live in is rationally intelligible. It has syntax and we can decode it and understand the way we do written words. All of this information points us to a mind behind its creation. If we analyze the created order in an effort to arrive at truth – it will point us back to its Creator. There is no reason not to trust good science when it is founded on the created order.
Anyway, the world system gets leveled by God’s judgment and verse eleven gives us a dire warning. It says, For this is a people without discernment; therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them; he who formed them will show them no favor. It’s hard to say exactly who these inhabitants of the city of man are and I tend to strictly avoid commenting on the status of any individual’s salvation. But I think a good indication that you are in the danger zone is if you’re highest value is empowering yourself. If you’re more interested in power than you are in love – then look out. If you desire to sit on the throne of your own heart the truth is that God will grant you your wish – as well as the consequences. Let’s read verses 12-13:
Isa 27:12 In that day from the river Euphrates to the Brook of Egypt the LORD will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel.
Isa 27:13 And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.
God’s judgment is perfect. He never has and He never will make a mistake. This is comforting when it comes to eternity. I feel immense gratitude that I’m not the one in charge of anyone’s eternity. I would get it wrong. Even if we had to save ourselves – just imagine how many different ways we would screw that up. This chapter closes the series by giving us a vision of God bringing His people home one by one. You should know that God loves you. God is deeply interested in you personally. He’s with you right now even as you listen to this podcast. His greatest desire is that you will make the choice to come home. That you will make the choice to allow Him into your heart. And you can make that choice today and everyday. All you have to do is ask.
If you find this content valuable, feel free to share it and to use it in your own studies. If you’d like to support this podcast, you can do so at www.patreon.com/michaelhbaun. There is a link in the description. Your generosity goes a long way to promoting the growth of this enterprise and the cause of free speech. Thank you all for joining me this evening, and I will see you in the next episode.
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