Isaiah 27:1-13 “In That Day” 4/18/2021

I had a friend, now deceased, who said that he would like to see something practical out of religion. You know, like, “I only believe in things that fix real problems now, not later.” What problems, you might ask? And what offers solutions, other than God? “Well,” comes the answer, “Science solves real problems now.” Like how to make a car that won’t break down or predict the weather accurately. Hm… how are we doing on those things? “Ok,” a person might respond, “we are working on cures for cancer.” Again, we do have some treatments, but we have more cancer than ever. I don’t see fixing problems now. “Well, we have built a better toaster!” Yes. We have done that. We have better toasters. And we have smart phones! How is that going for us? Are we better off? But are those our big problems? Of course not. What about things like racism and war and greed and famine? “Well, there we have to look to political solutions, not religion.” Oh, really? How have these political solutions been at fixing real problems now? The past 100 years have been the most bloody, oppressive, disastrous century in the history of the world.

I recall a conversation I had with a young man in Bulgaria 33 years ago. It was right after communism had collapsed in Russia and the wall in Berlin was torn down. He told me that Communism had been tried and found to be a failure at fixing society. I asked him, “now that communism has been tried and found wanting, what do you look to for solutions?” He told me, “The professionals and the capitalists.” That has not gone well in the 33 years since.

It is almost as if all the problems and our efforts to fix them only serve to demonstrate… that we are unable to come up with real solutions that fix real problems now.

It is like that one Christmas when Jonathan opened a new Lego set, a Star Wars spaceship. I was as eager as he to see what the pieces looked like and get to building. But no! “I want to do it!” he insisted. “Ok,” I was a little disappointed, “But do you want a little help?” “No.” Grasping for some way in I suggested, “Would you like to have the instructions?” Did you know that Legos come with detailed instructions for building the things on the box? I knew that they would require a little assistance to navigate. “No.” So, I watched. Then I left, with the instructions. 20 minutes later Jonathan found me, “Can I have the instructions?” A little later he cam back again, “Dad, could you help, just to read the instructions.” It feels like, as a society, we are at the point of God watching and leaving after we have told Him to leave.

There is no solution other than God’s solution. We are now in the process of proving the truth of that statement. When it comes to solutions for real problems we always begin badly and make things worse. Sure, we can make nice toasters, and even blenders. But the world will not be set right by better toasters and blenders. The real problems are problems with people. We are selfish and sinful and get sick and die. We lie and steal and riot and kill. When it comes to our problems, those are often our solutions. We must say, with Paul, “Wretched man that I am, who will set me free from this body of death?”

This is where the prophet Isaiah was trying to bring the people in Jerusalem in his day.

If only they could see that salvation comes from the Lord or not at all.

The Lord saves His sinful people. And the salvation project is now already underway, if we would just open our eyes to see it. It is so much clearer now that in Isaiah’s time, 2,700 years ago, before Christ came.

What is Isaiah telling the people of his day and how does it apply to us? I think it is time for a review of the book thus far. It has been a few weeks.

The name “Isaiah” means “Salvation is Yahweh.” The book certainly bears this out. Isaiah’s prophetic ministry took place in and around Jerusalem about 700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. The glorious reigns of King David and Solomon had ended 200 years before. Now the great Kingdom of Israel had split into two after a brutal civil war. The northern part was still called Israel and consisted of 10 of the 12 tribes. The southern part consisted of the tribes of Judah and little Benjamin. Jerusalem was its capital still. Israel and Judah were both awash with idolatry and people increasingly cared little about God. We find in Isaiah 1:1 that Isaiah prophesied during the reigns of four kings of Judah. But his words look ahead much farther than the times of these kings. In fact, we will see that Isaiah is looking ahead to the Messiah and then to the New Jerusalem. Of all the prophets in the Bible, Isaiah most clearly features the Messiah of Israel, long before He came.

The first five chapters begin with an introduction that begins with a picture of Jerusalem the wayward city. Isaiah 1:2-4 Isaiah, in his prosecutorial role, describes God’s people as rebels, sinful, and corrupt. Isaiah 1:10-15 God hates all their fake worship. This introduction concludes with the parable of the vineyard and six “woes” upon these people of God. Isaiah 5:1-7 The vineyard of God is the people of Israel and it is not going well.

Isaiah 6-39 is the Book of the King, the first of three major sections of the prophesy of Isaiah. This is followed by the Book of the Servant and finally the Book of the Conqueror. The Book of the King begins in Isaiah 6 with the call of Isaiah. The prophet sees the Holy Yahweh of Hosts in the Temple on His throne and says, “Woe is me…” He sees his own sin. God cleanses him of his sin. God sends him to speak to these people who will not listen, until they are destroyed, chopped down. Finally, God will send His Messiah, a holy seed in a seemingly dead stump. The book of the King then continues by describing the sinful state of first Judah and then Israel… and the Messiah coming for His people, a light to those who walk in darkness, a shoot from the root of Jesse.

This is followed by chapters 13-24 describing the coming Judgment of God on all the nations on earth. All have rejected Him and tormented Hs people. All will face judgment. Chapters 25-26 praise God, the one for whom we wait, who will save us. Now, chapter 27 gives a picture of just what this salvation will look like, in this final day. A word, first, on the perspective of the prophet, and perspective is just the right word. From Isiah’s viewpoint the last day is entirely future… this time when Messiah comes and salvation dawns. But now we are living in this last day. Like approaching the Rockies from the east. What is the nature of this coming day that we are now living in the middle of?

I. Yahweh will defeat Satan with His great and mighty sword. Isaiah 27:1 “In that day Yahweh will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent.” = Who? What is this? It is difficult because Leviathan is used in the Bible in various ways. Leviathan was a mythical many-headed dragon that lived in the deep sea. At times it is spoken of as a picture of the greatest of sea monsters… Job 40, Psalm 104:26 In Psalm 74:14 it is used depicting a great many-headed sea monster. Here Leviathan is described as a serpent (from Genesis 3:1) and “fleeing” and “twisted.”

Because Leviathan is described here as a twisted (morally) serpent (or dragon) to be punished… and slain by the Yahweh and His great and mighty sword… We can be certain that Leviathan is being uses to depict Satan himself. Just as Satan is presented as a crafty serpent in Genesis 3 and a great red dragon in Revelation.

The Bible presents Satan in many different ways… and as very real. 1 Peter 5:8-9 This world is really messed up because of sin, but some people and events are inexplicable… without an understanding of the real evil working of the devil. Why would someone shoot up a school or burn down businesses in their own neighborhood? It makes no sense, unless there is some malevolent irrational deception at work. Why come up with ideologies that say that Jews are not humans or babies can be murdered? The Bible speaks of Satan as the father of lies, a deceiver and a schemer, the accuser of the brethren. The Bible tells us that Satan wants to torment Christians and destroy people’s lives. He causes people to despise themselves and want to harm themselves. He is our adversary because he is God’s adversary. He hates all of God’s children.

And his days are numbered. Already his rule in this world is in crisis. In Luke 10 Jesus sent His disciples out in pairs to announce the Kingdom of God, to heal, to share the gospel. Listen to Jesus’ words to them when they returned from their first preaching ministry. Luke 10:17-20 The fall of Satan is already underway. His kingdom is collapsing. What we are witnessing worldwide is the final death throes of the fall of his empire. As you go out and speak God’s words, the Kingdom of Satan in the world is falling. And, someday, its collapse will be complete. Revelation 19:11-15, 20-21 and Revelation 20:10

II. Yahweh will restore His vineyard by His grace. Isaiah 27:2-6 Remember the vineyard from Isaiah 5 that the Lord cares for so much but has produced only stinkfruit? That vineyard that depicts the precious people of God? “In that day” it will be transformed. This part of the project, too, is already underway. What will be true of the precious vineyard of God? The Lord will be proud of it. He will water it constantly, care for it and guard it night and day. He will no longer be angry. He will kill all the weeds and be at peace with it. This vineyard, God’s people, will fill the whole world with its fruit.

Jesus speaks too of this vineyard. Mark 12:1-11 They were angry because the vineyard is given to others. We are now this vineyard and the keepers of it. The whole world is hearing the good news. What is this good news? The beautiful fruit of the restored vineyard? Repentance and forgiveness.

III. Yahweh will pay for and forgive His people’s sin. Isaiah 27:7-11 Verse 7 is a verse that is frustratingly difficult to translate and to understand. I have spent some time on it this week and my favorite Isaiah scholar, Alec Motyer, has helped. All the Hebrew pronouns in this verse are masculine singular. The KJV does the best job with this. It really matters. Why does the NAS and ESV make some pronouns plural, “them?” Because they understand these pronouns to be referring to Israel. Israel is often in the OT called God’s son and referred to as a “him.” But in English this might be confusing. Unfortunately, this change loses and important intended double meaning in verse 7. That is that the “him” that is Israel will ultimately be fulfilled in the “Him” that is Israel’s promised Messiah. Jesus Christ has taken the punishment that God’s people Israel deserved. He hung on the Cross in their place… and in our place as well. Romans 3:21-26 Jesus is the propitiation for our sins, our atoning sacrifice. 1 John 2:1-2 Anywhere in the world where people have their sins paid for, it is Jesus who does the paying.

This is why by the time we get to verse 9 Jacob’s iniquity will be forgiven. This is why “all the fruit of the removing of his sin” will be the destruction of idolatry.

Verses 10-11 tell us that some of God’s people will be cut off forever. Why?

IV. Yahweh will gather His people from the nations. Isaiah 27:12-13 What is the purpose of threshing? (vs. 12) It is something one did to harvested grain. Now we have combines that do it.

But 2,700 years ago they would send laborers out into the field to cut the stalks of grain. They would tie them into bundles (sheaves) to dry and then be carried into the threshing floor. Threshing is the process of separating the kernels of grain from the chaff (husks and stems and stalks). This is accomplished by beating the grain or dragging over it a threshing sledge. Then one would winnow the grain by throwing it into the air so the wind could blow the chaff away. They you would gather up the grain into your barns or bins.

Thus, the day when the Lord comes (we are in that day) will involve Yahweh threshing his people. The Lord is already sending out laborers into His harvest field. (Luke 10:2) He is beating the grain to separate the good grain from the chaff. You might imagine this to be not so comfortable for the grain. One has but to look out into the world today and see that God is doing this with His people. This is God’s reason for allowing sufferings and persecutions and all kinds of tribulation.

This chapter of Isaiah is so important for understanding what these last days are supposed to be like. To understand is to not become discouraged with what is going on in the world. Satan and his empire of lies is being cast down. It is being made to God and His people to look as foolish and futile as it really is. All the lies and pain and sin are on full display… and judgment is already apparent. God’s precious people, His vineyard, is being restored and producing fruit that fills the world. This fruit is the wonderful grace of His sin-payment and forgiveness and grace. And all the while He is separating His true people from all the others so that He can gather us for Himself.

And someday soon will come that day when the great trumpet will be blown (vs. 13)… and He will gather us all into His barns. People who were “perishing in Assyria and scattered in Egypt” will come and worship the Yahweh. This is a picture of Israel in exile coming back to the Lord. This is a picture of people from every tribe and tongue coming to worship the one true God. This is a picture of Revelation 7:9-12.