Isaiah 24-27

Introduction

It’s not quite time. We’ve got a couple minutes left. But we’ve got a lot to cover.

Got a lot to cover. Our lesson today is chapters 24 through 27, but I’m gonna back up to 22 because we didn’t finish with 22 on Wednesday night. We talked about back in chapter 20, Isaiah walking uh appearing naked and barefoot as a sign to the people. In chapter 20 and um really verse 6, it’s a verse I want to go back to because it kind of puts in context all of the things that we’ve talked about in these various chapters when he proclaims judgment against uh Moab, against uh Philistia, Assyria, and and so forth. Um in summary, Isaiah says, Surely such is our expectation, wherever we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria, and how shall we escape? And the answer is there is no escape.

All the nations around them would fail them. They might try to create alliances with Egypt and others, but those alliances would fail. There is no escape. If you look in history, uh 715, Hezekiah begins to rain, Ashdod is conquered by Sargon II. Ashdod is significant as you saw on the map there, because it’s the southern part of Isra Israel. Um so that’s how far Assyria had grasped control. Ashdod began to try to rebel again. Um I’m sorry. Why is that backing up?

And so it was 7-11 when the Tartan comes to Ashdod and reasserts control. It’s that year in which Isaiah begins to appear barefoot and naked. Is Tartan an Assyrian leader? Tartan is like a general, an Assyrian general. So the general comes, not the commander himself, not Sargon II, but his general comes and reasserts control, puts down the rebellion. And so you can see in those years of 712, 713, Israel might begin to hope that hey, there are people successfully rebelling. And then no, it’s taken away. And in the midst of that, they’re also looking to Egypt. And Isaiah is walking barefoot naked and saying, in like manner, Egypt and Ethiopia are going to be taken as well. Don’t depend on Egypt. And yet, just a few years later, the accession of Sennacherib, this political hope might begin to swell because there’s a new leader.

Sennacherib is now leader, and all these little empires begin to rebel. And so apparently Judah also has the same mind. Hezekiah apparently was the leader of a rebellion in Palestine, which included the city states of Ascalon and Ekron and gained the support of Egypt. And remember, Isaiah’s been walking barefoot and naked and saying, Don’t trust in Egypt, and yet this alliance is building. And you see that when a few years later, the Rabshekah comes and loudly proclaims in the hearing of all the people on the wall, do not trust in Egypt, for I know you are. And that shows how certain they were trusting in Egypt. Because he knows it. And remember that same time, he’s involved in a war with Terhakimah, or Terhaka from Egypt, not far away.

1. You Did Not Look to Its Maker

And he puts down that rebellion. And then he comes back to finish off Israel or Judah. And that’s when the 185,000 are slain overnight by an angel. So that’s that’s the political climate of the time that we’re talking about. So chapter 22, this proclamation against Jerusalem. He proclaims that they will have captivity, not battle, or not uh not, well, captivity, not uh death, I should say. Uh chapter 22 and verse 2, he says, uh, you, your slain men are not slain with the sword nor dead in battle. So he’s talking about a captivity. Uh he says he’s gonna weep bitterly because of the plundering of his people. Uh and he talks about the leaders having fled. Your rulers have fled altogether in verse 3. And that’s really the same picture you see in Ezekiel chapter 12.

The prince who is among them shall bear his belonging on his shoulder at twilight and go out, they shall burn through the wall and carry them out through it. I will also spread my neve over them, I will bring him to Babylon. Yet he shall not see it, though he shall die there. And we know the history from Jeremiah, the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. And then he put his the eyes of Zedekiah out and then took him off to captivity. Kind of like a trophy, you might say. The king had used the phrase king of kings, and he had kings in captivity, showing his domination. So that’s the situation. This part appears to look long term out toward the Babylonian captivity.

The shorter term, it also is applicable because the situation with Assyria is going to be very similar. In verse 8, he makes a statement about protection. He removed the protection of Judah. You looked in that day to the armor of the house of the forest. Anybody remember what the armor of the house of the forest was? Go back and look in 1 Kings chapter 10. Solomon had a lot of gold coming in, and he made 300 shields of beaten gold, using three miners of gold, that’s four pounds of gold on each shield. And they put them in the house of the forest at Lebanon, called the house of forest, because it was built with the cedars from Lebanon. And so these were ceremonial shields, not intended for battle.

Four pounds of gold makes a shield heavier. So gold is softer. These are ceremonial shields. And so this is an act of desperation to try to raid the ceremonial shields.

You numbered the houses of Jerusalem and the houses you broke down to fortify the wall. Preparations for war. Trying to gather armament, trying to fortify the wall. You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. Anything wrong with this?

Anything wrong with breaking preparations for war? Absolutely not. That’s what you would expect to do. There’s one problem with that. And the problem is, but you did not look to its maker, nor have you respect for him that died long ago. This I think is very applicable to us today. Most of us have insurance. Most of us are heavily insured. We’ve made preparations for the future. We have insurance against fire theft. I dropped my cell phone. Life, I mean, anything bad that can happen, there’s insurance you can buy for it. I mean, we’re prepared. Uh we’ve not prepared economically, gone out and spent a lot of money on education, studied hard, sacrificed so we can get a good job. We’ve made lots of preparations. But if these preparations don’t include God, will they be effective?

See, this is the comment that God has made toward the people. You made all these preparations, but you forgot me. I’m the most important preparation. Nothing wrong with the preparations, but you gotta keep God first. That’s the message. That’s where they had failed. And verse 12, uh, he talks about uh in that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and for mourning, for baldness and for girding with sackcloth. In other words, things worthy of repentance. Mourning. But instead, all he saw was joy and gladness. Um slaying of oxen, killings, rejoicing. Why do you rejoice in the face of sure judgment? It doesn’t make sense. And so in verse 14, it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of hosts truly for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, even to your death.

In other words, that’s he’s looking long term. Long term. This is the result. Then he says, uh, he’s got this judgment against Shebna. Proceed to the steward uh Shebna over the royal house, and you can look up Shebna on Google and you can find that uh they believe they’ve found the royal steward’s rock cut tomb in Siloam. There’s only three letters, the last name that remained that’s legible, but they think that that’s still him. Um remarkable that something like that could have been preserved to this day. But look at Shebna. What was his crime? When I prophets prophesy, they usually prophesy against nations. They don’t typically single out individuals. What was his crime was so great that Isaiah singles him out as an individual? Wikipedia will tell you that uh he appears to have been the leader of a party who favored an alliance with Egypt against Assyria.

Commentators such as Barnes will quote the Jewish commentator saying that he was intending to portray the city of Senacrum. In other words, they portray him as a despicable man. The text really talks about what Shebna was doing. Uh he’s building himself a tomb, rock cut tomb, which is something the kings would do, not something that a commoner would do. And so it was a matter of pride. Time of repentance is called for, but Shebna is looking out for himself. What does that say to the public? If I’m building a tomb in the face of imminent threat and destruction from God, what does that say? About Shebna. I think it says he’s trusting in Egypt. He’s trusting in the future, and so he’s building for the future.

That’s not repentance. That’s pridefully ignoring the message of God, and at least selfishly working for his own glory while neglecting the nation. Eliakim, God says he would pull Shebna down and put Eliakim in his place, and he would be like a father to the nation. And so that idea of serving the nation as a father is what Shebna should have been doing, and he wasn’t. Ruler over the household would probably involve being treasurer, also and being ambassador.

We’re going to see that in a minute. But this idea of rebellion. Shevna was apparently rebelling against the judgment because he was planning on the future, trusting in Egypt. Jeremiah singled out Hananiah for a similar situation. Hananiah was saying, the Lord says, within two years I’m going to break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar. Two years. Jeremiah is saying, no, Nebuchadnezzar’s going to take over. Well, here’s a man who’s standing up and publicly leading the people astray. And God singles him out and says, Because you’ve taught rebellion against the Lord, you will die. Shebna is apparently in a similar position. He’s teaching rebellion against the Lord. God’s calling for a time of repentance, and he’s building a tomb, a great and glorious tomb, trusting in Egypt to preserve them.

And so it’s that idea. Eliakim is put in his stead, and Eliakim is over the house when Sennacherib approaches. Remember when Sennacherib approaches, and the Rabshaka comes and yells in the hearing of all the people? Don’t trust in Egypt. I’ve conquered all these other gods, and I’m going to conquer yours too. Who comes out when he calls for the king?

He calls to the king.

Because he’s treasurer of the house, he’s the king’s ambassador. And he’s got Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder. Is this the same Shebna? We don’t know. Some say it is. If it is, he’s obviously been seriously demoted. If it’s not the same Shabnah, the other Shevnah may have fled already. He may have been in a foreign land. We really don’t know his situation. But he is no longer in the case of ambassador or head over the house. He’s been judged. And remember what the Rabsacca says? Behold, you are trusting now in Egypt. That was the current situation. And it’s in that context, 2 Kings 19 tells us about Teraka, king of Ethiopia, came to meet Sennacherib in battle. He was king of Ethiopia and probably also had sway over Egypt at that point in time.

2. The Burden Against Tyre

So we move on to chapter 23. The burden against Tyre.

Tyre was a very rich city-state at this point in time because of the trade. She had great harbors, two harbors, north and south, and a number of ships, and they traded amongst the world, and there was riches there. But he asked the question in verse 8 Who has taken this counsel against Tyre to call for its destruction? The Lord of hosts, verse 9, has purposed it to bring the dishonor the pride of all glory and to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth. The Lord has given a commandment against Canaan to destroy its strongholds. Although he doesn’t state it, it’s implied that their idolatry, along with the other nations, was a cause for bringing it down. So God had called for it to be brought down, just as he had other strongholds of Canaan.

And so verse 18, her gain and her prey will be set apart for the Lord. Interestingly enough, today there is a small Christian population there. Although it’s primarily Muslim at this point.

Charged against the nation.

Lucifer or Daystar. You have set yourself up against the Most High. So, this is not just an ordinary charge. This is a charge of great lifting up. And he says, Because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken, who was the gateway of the peoples, and now she is turned over to me. I shall be filled. She is laid waste. A secondary charge. When God’s people are laid low, Tyre is rejoicing. So you see this animosity toward Jerusalem. And so he says, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you as the sea causes its waves to come up. That is over and over and over again. And when you look in uh, oh, and verse 4, they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers.

I will scrape her dust from her and make her as like the top of a rock, and you shall never be rebuilt. There’s a couple of hard things about this. One is uh Nebuchadnezzar did not actually do this. But when you read Ezekiel 26, and I hope you’ll go read the whole chapter, what you see is this I will cause the nations to destroy Tyre, and they shall scrape her like a rock. And then it shifts and talks about Babylon, he will come and break down towers and so forth. But it’s the day that will destroy Tyre. History reports that Nebuchadnezzar did not take Tyre. But yes, she was taken. If you look at Tyre today, you see that it’s um looks more like a peninsula than an island.

History tells us the coastline was more like that, and that Tyre was a city on an island. And during the time of Alexander, he built a causeway, and it’s a causeway that’s silted up now and makes it look more like a peninsula. So if you look at history, it was often attacked by Egypt. 727 to 722 was besieged five years by Shalmaneser the Fifth, 13 years by Nebuchadnezzar. That’s a long siege. In the 370s, it was taken by a king of Cyprus. In 332, Alexander the Great, after a seven-month siege, he’s the one that built the causeway to the island and took it by land. It’s very difficult to take by land because a siege, you try to cut off the enemy’s food supply, starve them out.

3. Judgment on the Earth

It’s hard to do when they’re on an island, they got ships. So he literally took and scraped the ground to form rubble to go build that causeway and take the city. 315, it was taken by Antigonus. You look at Tyre today, and it’s still there. So the question is, how could the prophet say that it would never be rebuilt? Well, its remaining history is without significance. And so I look at that as it, that is, as it stood then, was never rebuilt. That is, Tyre never attained to the riches and glory and strength that it had in previous times. It was always a subjugated city from that point on. Okay, so then we move to chapter 24. Chapter 24 talks about judgment on the earth. So we talked about all the surrounding nations.

We’ve talked about Judah herself. And really now he begins to talk about just globally about the earth in general. And so in chapter 24, behold, the earth, the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it waste, distorts its surface and scattered abroad its inhabitants. And it shall be as with the people, so with the priest, with the servant, his master. In other words, they’re all going to suffer from this situation. There are verses that make it appear as though he’s talking about the entire world. For instance, when he gets down to verse 21, he says, It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord will punish on high the host of exalted ones and on the earth the kings of the earth. That is, he groups them all together.

They will be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit. So it’s clear that in one context, he’s talking about the whole world, but yet early on he talks specifically about Judah. Verse 5. Because they’ve transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Judah was the one that had the everlasting covenant. God didn’t have an everlasting covenant with the other peoples of the world. Context of everlasting covenant is an interesting one. Some go back and look at that and say, Well, that means everlasting it will never end. And yet that’s not the picture that we see in the prophets or the New Testament. It’s everlasting in that God made an unending commitment to it, but it had terms and conditions. When those terms and conditions are broken like any covenant, the covenant is broken.

So it was not that it would last forever, but God’s commitment was everlasting. Well, that’s age-lasting, right? Isn’t the word used age last year? That’s an argument that some use. You don’t find that language. God makes an unending commitment to it. But, like any covenant, it has terms and conditions. For instance, a company may make a commitment to you that I will warrant you this product forever. But it has conditions. If you abuse it, it’s no longer valid. So once you abuse it, is that covenant still in effect? No. But the company still made a forever commitment, didn’t they? Doesn’t change their commitment. But the covenant is broken because Judah broke it. Verse 13, it shall be like the shaking of an olive tree. And so we saw that picture earlier of Judah being in the time of Assyria, like the waters coming up to the neck, and they shall be like a few, like an olive tree that’s shaken, and there’s just a few up at the top left.

And then verse 23, we see this picture. The Lord will reign on Mount Zion. Because this is a conclusion. If you look at Judah, they will be taken into captivity. Will it be the same captivity as the other nations of the world? That’s the question. Because God has a judgment with the earth. Not just with Judah, not just with Moab, not just with Pallistia. God has an argument with the world. And he will punish the world. And verse 22, the kings shall be gathered together as in a pit. Verse 23, the moon will be disgraced and the sun of shame, for the Lord of hosts will reign on that Zion and in Jerusalem before his elders gloriously. That is, when you look at the kingdoms of man, they will not last, they will be taken away.

Kings will be punished, but God will reign. This is the same picture we got early on, right? The mountain of the Lord’s house will be lifted up above the mountains of the other kingdoms. And his kingdom will endure forever. Same picture you saw in Daniel chapter 2 of uh the kingdom that was made without hands, and it shall grow up and fill the earth, and it shall last and endure, the others will not.

It’s uh it’s interesting when you look at uh let’s see. We’re gonna read that in a few minutes, but he talks about his problem, his charge against the nations, the idolatry that persisted. You look at uh world kingdoms today, where is idolatry? It’s basically non-existent. There may be some left on the earth, but his argument with the nations, God has punished them, and idols do not persist to this day, they’re taken away. I think that the perception of idolatry is shifted from an external object to an internal glorification. I think that that we glorify the humanism, that has become the idol. That part is true. Um the idea of an external physical idol may be somewhat gone away with, but the condition of the heart that elevates something else besides God is still still there.

4. A Picture of Future Glory and Praise

God still has an argument with that, that’s for sure. Chapters 25 through 27 are really going to be more a picture of future glory and praise than what we’ve seen. And this pattern we’ve seen over and over again. Remember the first uh first uh four chapters of Isaiah. We saw basically first the charge against the nation. We saw the judgment that would come, and then we saw a picture of future glory, starting in chapter 2. Remember the uh the mountain of the Lord’s house, all nations shall flow to it, swords will be beaten in the ploughshares, picture of future glory. And we see that same pattern here. We’ve had all these judgments against the nations, the charges, the judgment, and now we’ve got the future picture of glory for God’s people.

And so starting in chapter 25, future plans. Verses 1 through 5, he talks about praise. And the praise is clearly from what is God has done. Read with me the first five verses. O Lord, you are my God, I will exalt you. I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things. Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. You have made the city a ruin. I think he’s talking clearly about Babylon here. A fortified city a ruin, a place of foreigners to be a city no more. It will never be rebuilt. So he’s speaking in retrospect after the judgment of Babylonian captivity. God did judge Babylon. And so, where is God’s people now? Therefore, the strong people will glorify you. The city of the terrible nations will fear you, for you have been a strength to the poor.

So you see, first of all, the God has made his name to be feared in the world for the greatest of nations. Has been made an example. And so the terrible nations will fear you, for you have been a strength of the poor, a strength of the needy in a distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat, from the blast of the terrible ones, as a storm against the wall. You ever feel like life is like a storm? You need a wall. God is that wall. And when you trust in God, all this life is like a terrible storm that beats against the wall, but you’re sheltered, you’re protected. You’re trusting in God. You will reduce the noise of aliens as heat in a dry place, as heat is in the shadow of a cloud.

The song of the terrible ones will be diminished. But in this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for all people a choice, a feast of choice pieces. A feast of wines on the leaves, of fat things of the full of marrow, a well-defined wine on the leaves, and he will destroy on this mountain the surface of the cover and cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations, for he will swallow up death forever. And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces. If you go back and look at 1 Corinthians 15, you’ll see him talking about end times. And he talks about the end, when Jesus will hand over the kingdom to the God and Father, when he has abolished all rule and all authority and power.

For that picture is given of the Christ that all will submit to his rule. Every knee will bow. For he must reign until he put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. So who’s going to be victorious over death? Messiah.

Not sure I said that right, but uh, this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying which is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. You probably got a footnote in your Bible. That’s this passage in Isaiah. That’s the picture of future glory he’s talking about. Not just the return from Babylon. He’s talking about long term. What is God going to do for his people? Ultimately, he’s going to swallow up death forever. Where’s that going to happen? And who’s that? Who’s going to get that benefit? Well, he says, here on my mountain, that is in my kingdom. Who’s going to do it? The king, Messiah. The rebuke of his people, he will take away from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.

That’s a wonderful picture. That’s a beautiful picture still for today of that future glory. And it will be said in that day, behold, this is our God. We have waited for him, and he will save us. Obviously, this is the faithful remnant speaking. This is the Lord we’ve waited for him, and we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. That should be our picture today. For on this mountain the hand of the Lord will rest, and Moab will be trampled under him. I think the idea is God’s hand and God’s blessings are on in this mountain, the kingdom of God. Any place else is subject to the punishment of God. God is a wall and a production where? For his people, on his mountain for those that are faithful to him.

5. Trust in the Lord Forever

Where do you want to be? I want to be on the mountain. Because that’s where the wall is. That’s where salvation is. That’s where protection is. As he who swims, well, let’s get down to chapter 26. Closing in. Chapter 26 and 27, and we’ll meet our goal. Future plans. Trust in God. First six verses. In that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah. We have a strong city. God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks. Think about that. What does that mean? Remember what he said in chapter 2? Beat our swords and the plowshares? If I don’t need swords anymore, I don’t need walls anymore. God will provide the walls. Salvation is his walls. Think about that. What does that mean for us today?

Salvation is our protection. And that’s from God. So open the gates that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in, that is the faithful remnant. You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever. So our minds need to be stayed on God because we need to trust in God. I remember Robert’s theme in the front of the book, trust in the Holy One of Israel. There it is. Trust in the Lord forever. For in Yah, the Lord is everlasting strength. Does anybody’s translation not have Yah in that verse? Jehovah. Lord says Jehovah. God the Lord. Okay. Translators have dealt with that differently, just like they deal with the Tetragamaton differently.

Tetragamaton is the four-letter just consonants for God’s covenant name and the Old Testament.

Because that’s the way it was written. Bowel points were only added to the Hebrew much, much later, and by that point the pronunciation was unclear, so we really don’t know the Bible points. So they translate it as difficult. So translators have some taken the Bible points from Adonai, which means Lord, and poured them into that and come up with Jehovah. Other translators have said, we think the Bible points probably are more closely to Yahweh. And because of the difficulty, many translators have just said Lord. Or Lord God.

The King James says Yah, because this is the poetic contraction for the Tetragrammaton. And makes sense that that’s the first syllable of Yahweh. So understand the difficulty and why the translations are difficult. For in the Lord, which Lord? The Lord God of all the earth, the Lord God of Israel. Whether you use Jehovah or Yahweh, that’s the God of Israel. In him is everlasting strength. He brings down those who dwell on high, the lofty city. He lays it low. He executes judgment, in other words, on all the earth. Verses 12 through 15 are significant. He says, Lord, you will establish peace for us, for you have done all our works in us. Think about that. Isn’t that an interesting phrase? You have done all our works in us.

It reminds me of our current situation. We have salvation. Did we earn it? Did we merit it? No. God did it for us. You have done it. God done it. Oh Lord our God, other masters besides you have had dominion over us. That is, they had been in subjugation to Assyria at one point, Babylon at one point. But we only make mention of your name. Why? They’re dead. They will not live. They are deceased. They will not rise. But you, Lord, live all the time. Therefore, you have punished and destroyed them and made all their memory to perish. You have increased the nation, O Lord, you’ve increased the nation. You are glorified. You have expanded all the borders of the land. And verse 18, he says, We have been with child, we have been in pain.

We have, as it were, brought forth wind. In other words, we have tried to bring forth deliverance for ourselves, and we could not. We brought forth nothing useful. In fact, he says, We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth, the last part of 18, nor have the inhabitants of the world fallen. In other words, we could not do this. But back to verse 12, you have done this for us. Your dead shall live. Together with my dead body, they shall arise, awake and seeing you dwell in the dust. I believe he’s talking about the nation being as it were pressed down into the dust. And it looks as if they’re dead. In fact, Ezekiel has this picture of the valley of dry bones, right? Can these bones live, O Lord?

And he says, Yes, they will live. And so this picture is I’ve got this great glorious picture of my nation. And I am her walls, and I am her protection. But Lord, all I see now is this nation that’s just pressed down the dust. Awaken seeing you who dwell in the dust, for God has plans for you. For you do is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter your chambers and shut the doors behind you. Hide yourself as it were for a little moment until the indignation is passed. For behold, the Lord comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. So there’s judgment coming. And for those that are faithful, he says, Hide yourself.

David? Yes. You know, we’re talking constantly that the prophets spoke to the people at their time and things that would surely come to pass. But could this also relate to when Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life, and it’s, you know, that even though he who dies will live, you know, the dust of the ground versus of the dead in sin versus alive in Christ, it could that be relevant to this as well? The picture is so similar, isn’t it? We look at us today. In the New Testament, the scripture is quoted that says, Are we like sheep or like sheep for the slaughter? We love our lives and say God is our victory, and yet we might be killed by man, killed by disease.

We are buried in the dust of the earth. Is our situation similar? Yeah, I think so. We shall rise. Absolutely. I think in Isaiah, many times it’s sort of difficult to see a difference between what the restored remnant would enjoy when they came home from captivity, and what we enjoy in a spiritual way during the messianic period. That one in one sense physically portrays what would happen spiritually. And so in Isaiah, there are times like that. I think it’s rather difficult to discern. Is he talking only about the physical remnant? Well, some of the same promises will fit the spiritual remnant. And it’s just difficult between to say, oh, it’s only this or only that. It’s a common picture. And we can see that. Whether they could see it or not, we can see it.

6. I the Lord Keep It

That the picture of the resurrection of Israel is much like the picture of the church in Messianic times, absolutely. And physically we will be resurrected. We know that. And so the picture is strikingly similar, isn’t it? So the message that Isaiah has for them then, I think is very relevant for us today. Yes, we live in a time of tribulation, time of uh death and disease. Hide ourselves and trust in the Lord, for He will reign. That’s the message for us today. Chapter 27, verses two through six. In that day, sing to her a vineyard of red wine. I the Lord keep it. I water it every moment, lest any hurt it. I keep it night and day. Sound familiar? Remember back when uh chapter five, he said, Judge me between me and my vineyard, what more could I have done to my vineyard than I have not done in it?

Remember those chapters that we covered Wednesday night, when we talked about God says to Israel over and over again, I still choose you. Yes, these nations are fall, and yes, you will fall, but I still choose you. Your fall will not be like their fall, for I will bring back your captives. And the vineyard will be reinstated. Because that’s God’s purpose for his people. You see his devotion to the vineyard. I the Lord keep it, I water it every moment, lest any hurt it, I keep it night and day. Fury is not in me. Who would set briars and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together. It’s easy to look at life and think that life is getting the better of us.

Life is bringing in briars and thorns. How is it that God cares for me every moment? There’s a struggle to see that. And yet that’s the picture that God gives us. Those who come, he will cause to take root in Jacob. Israel will blossom and bud and fill the face of the world with fruit. And so the idea is that God’s people will be returned. Remember back Isaiah chapter 2 and verse 2. The mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and all nations shall flow to it. So those that come, he will cause to take root in Jacob. All those from the world that come. They’re looking for salvation. It’s in God’s people. It’s from God. Verse 7. You ask the question, has he struck Israel as he struck those who struck him?

That is, has he struck Israel the way he struck other nations that opposed and took Israel? Well, in measure, by sending it away, you contended with it. So God does show his judgment. But then in verse 9 he says, This is the by this the iniquity of Jacob will be covered. And this is the fruit of taking away all of sins. And this is the point of his judgment. When he makes the stones of the altar like chalk stones that are beaten to dust. I don’t think he’s talking about his own altar, the true altar to God. I think he’s talking about the altars to the idol gods. When wooden idols and incense altars do not stand up, that’s the focus. Yet the fortified city will be desolate, the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness.

The calf will feed and will lie down and consume its branches. Why? It’s the people of no understanding, verse 11. Therefore he will make them, he who made them will not have mercy on them, and he who formed them will show them no favor. You see this judgment of God. And Judah fell into that because they were doing the same thing. But he has not struck Israel as he struck the other nations. That’s the point. And so the conclusion. It shall come to pass in that day, verse 12, that the Lord will thresh from the channel of the river, that is apparently the Euphrates, to the brook of Egypt. And you will be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel. That is, the nations may have dispersed God’s people, but God will come through and thresh the nations, and he will retrieve his people.

And so in verse 13, it shall be in that day that the great triumph shall be blown, uh great trumpet will be blown, and they will come who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, and they who are outcast in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem. Does that last picture remind you of anything we studied in recent weeks?

I thought I had it on the slide.

Okay, chapter 11 and verse 11. Ah, finally came up. Okay. It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people who are left from Assyria and Egypt, Pathros and Cush, Ela, and China, and Hamath and the islands of the sea. In other words, God will bring back his people.

This one, I believe, he’s talking about in times of Messiah. It’s similar to the time that he talks about here in 27 and 13, where he talks about bringing back his people.

Look in uh look with me in chapter 11 and verse uh 16. Turn your Bibles over there. Verse 16, he says, There will be a highway for the remnant of his people who will be left from Assyria, as it was for Israel in the day that he came up from the land of Egypt. So you see this picture of a highway. So when it’s time for God’s people to return from Assyria, from Babylon or Egypt, doesn’t matter. God will provide a way, and it’s been described as a highway. That is, it’s not a struggle. It’s an easy path for God’s people to come back to him. So God would bring them back out of captivity. And even a second time, Isaiah 11 says, the second time is during times of Messiah.

When God’s people are again called to return to him. No future one has been proclaimed, but that’s the time that they will return to him. And so it’s a glorious picture that we see here in chapter 27 of uh. Yes, it looks like God’s people are judged. Yes, it looks like they’re going to be in captivity, and they will be like the dust of the ground, but he will bring them back. Those that are outcasts in these foreign lands, he will bring them back and cause them to worship the Lord and his holy mount at Jerusalem. And even the second time, from Isaiah 11 and 11, he will again bring back his people. Tremendous, tremendous, the highway that will exist. And we’ll have more to say about the highway in future chapters.

Any questions? I know it’s been a kind of a whirlwind. You skipped over one of 1. Yeah, the Leviathan. Okay. It’s not the big focus point, but it is a message that’s interesting. In that day the Lord will, with his severe sword, strong and great, will punish Leviathan, the fleeing serpent, Leviathan, the twisted serpent, and he will slay the reptile that is in the sea. It’s obviously a figure of uh it’s a symbolic vision of let’s say a man against the sea beast. And there are beasts of the sea, beasts of the land and the world. If we go up against a great beast in the sea, it’s it’s we have no power over it by ourselves. Now, man with his technology and he can bring guns and cannons and all these weapons, maybe.

But at this time, man was kind of helpless against the great beasts of the land and the sea.

What is he talking about? Look at Assyria, look at Babylon. These are like great behemoths of the world and their power over man to crush him. Who’s gonna do battle with them? God says, I will. John, you had a comment. Yeah. Only on the uh those three creatures or monsters. The uh I view that as being the evil, the evil of the earth. And that evil of the earth could be evil nations or just evil individuals that uh he will slight, he will take care of for the benefit of those who trust in him. Okay, good point. Uh it looks like everybody’s getting out. I didn’t hear the second bell ring, but it’s time. But it’s time, so we’ll break there. Robert will be teaching on Wednesday night.