Isaiah 27-28 We stpped in the middle f the Isaiah s Little Apclypse Nw in Chapter 27, the sng mves t talking t anther event assciated with the end f Tribulatin The binding f Satan fr 1,000 years Is. 27:1 In that day the LORD will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, With His fierce and great and mighty swrd, Even Leviathan the twisted serpent; And He will kill the dragn wh lives in the sea. The Lrd punishes Leviathan The wrd Leviathan is the same wrd in Hebrew It is a name fr a serpent r sea dragn This is the serpent f ld Leviathan is als mentin in Jb, always as a reference t Satan (3:8, 41:1-34) Satan is cnnected t the sea and t dragns because Satan tk the frm f a serpent in the garden And the sea is used thrughut Scripture as a picture f the deep, black depths f eternal death in hell Smetimes called the abyss r in Hebrew tehlm It means the deep r the sea But it s als a picture fr death and Hell Psa. 86:13 Fr Yur lvingkindness tward me is great, And Yu have delivered my sul frm the depths f Shel. Speaking f Tyre, Ezekiel says... Ezek. 26:19 Fr thus says the Lrd GOD, When I make yu a deslate city, like the cities which are nt inhabited, when I bring up the deep ver yu and the great waters cver yu, 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Isaiah 27-28! 2 Ezek. 26:20 then I will bring yu dwn with thse wh g dwn t the pit, t the peple f ld, and I will make yu dwell in the lwer parts f the earth, like the ancient waste places, with thse wh g dwn t the pit, s that yu will nt be inhabited; but I will set glry in the land f the living. S a sea dragn is a melding f thse tw pictures In keeping with the rder f events in Revelatin, Isaiah cntinues with Satan ut f the way The Lrd can nw plant a fruitful vineyard D yu remember in chapter 5 we saw that descriptin f Israel as a vineyard that prduced n fruit, s Gd judged the vineyard? He brke dwn the walls and caused briars and thrn t grw in place f grapes He stpped watering it s that it dried up Nw in the Kingdm, with Satan gne, here s what happens: Is. 27:2 In that day, A vineyard f wine, sing f it! Is. 27:3 I, the LORD, am its keeper; I water it every mment. S that n ne will damage it, I guard it night and day. Is. 27:4 I have n wrath. Shuld smene give Me briars and thrns in battle, Then I wuld step n them, I wuld burn them cmpletely. Is. 27:5 Or let him rely n My prtectin, Let him make peace with Me, Let him make peace with Me. Is. 27:6 In the days t cme Jacb will take rt, Israel will blssm and sprut, And they will fill the whle wrld with fruit. Yu can see the ppsites thrughut this passages, as Israel returns t being fruitful It is nw a kingdm f believers fllwing their Messiah And He prtects and nurtures them as a natin And nw the sng f the Little Apcalypse ends with Isaiah summarizing the Lrd s plan regarding Israel 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Isaiah 27-28! 3 And in this summary, Isaiah returns t his wn day t speak f things t cme fr Israel Is. 27:7 Like the striking f Him wh has struck them, has He struck them? Or like the slaughter f His slain, have they been slain? Is. 27:8 Yu cntended with them by banishing them, by driving them away. With His fierce wind He has expelled them n the day f the east wind. Is. 27:9 Therefre thrugh this Jacb s iniquity will be frgiven; And this will be the full price f the pardning f his sin: When he makes all the altar stnes like pulverized chalk stnes; When Asherim and incense altars will nt stand. Is. 27:10 Fr the frtified city is islated, A hmestead frlrn and frsaken like the desert; There the calf will graze, And there it will lie dwn and feed n its branches. Is. 27:11 When its limbs are dry, they are brken ff; Wmen cme and make a fire with them, Fr they are nt a peple f discernment, Therefre their Maker will nt have cmpassin n them. And their Creatr will nt be gracius t them. Is. 27:12 In that day the LORD will start His threshing frm the flwing stream f the Euphrates t the brk f Egypt, and yu will be gathered up ne by ne, O sns f Israel. Is. 27:13 It will cme abut als in that day that a great trumpet will be blwn, and thse wh were perishing in the land f Assyria and wh were scattered in the land f Egypt will cme and wrship the LORD in the hly muntain at Jerusalem. Isaiah asks when Gd struck Israel in judgment, did He strike them s as t destry them? Has Gd dealt with Israel as He dealt with His true enemies ver time? N, Gd has taken a different apprach, a measured apprach He banished them and drve them away (the exiles) He expelled them frm their land fr a time Then in verse 9, Isaiah explains the plan t pardn Jacb s sin and bring them back int this Kingdm Only after Gd has destryed all the idls and the natin s affectins fr such things He will islate Jerusalem and destry it, speaking f the cming destructin at the hands f the Babylnians and later the Rmans 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Isaiah 27-28! 4 It will becme deslate fr a time And the reasn fr the judgment t cme was a lack f discernment in the peple f Israel The wrd discernment simply means understanding, in the sense f knwing the Lrd and knwing the way f righteusness Because they were blind and dead in the sin, they were under judgment Ntice, Isaiah says in that day the Lrd is nt kind r gracius Meaning His wrath is temprary and in that day nly In a future day, the Lrd returns t His peple In verse 12 Isaiah shws that turn, as the Lrd begins a threshing prcess, that starts at the waters f the Euphrates and extends t the brk f Egypt Remember, thse references define the brders f the Land f Israel in fullness S here it s a way f describing all Israel, the peple Isaiah is stressing that in a certain day f judgment, all Israel will be caught up in a perid f judgment And the beginning f that threshing prcess (the judgment prcess) will be a regathering In v.13 he says that all the Jews perishing utside the land will return and ultimately wrship the Lrd there This is the picture f Israel regathering in the years leading up t Tribulatin (tday) And the subsequent transitin int the 1,000 Kingdm S the Little Apcalypse f Isaiah shwed snapshts f Tribulatin, f the 144,000 evangelists, the return f Christ, the setting up f His kingdm, the binding f Satan and the Jews living in peace and stability in their land Nw Chapter 28 begins a new sectin f the bk... It runs frm Chapter 28-35, called the bk f wes 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Isaiah 27-28! 5 Explains the circumstances in Judah that led t the prblems during Hezekiah s reign In the Bk f Immanuel, we studied abut King Ahaz wh didn t trust in Gd, but instead sught an alliance with Assyria After destrying Syria and Israel, it turned n Judah and captured many cities and surrunded Jerusalem The natin f Judah was subjected t Assyrian dminatin fr the remainder f Ahaz s rule And the first furteen years f Hezekiah s reign fllwing Ahaz, the Assyrians remained in the Land After 14 years, the natin became fcused n finding a way t expel the Assyrians frm the land One factin in the gvernment f Hezekiah believed that the natin shuld seek an alliance with Egypt t repel Assyrian Anther factin, led by the prphet Isaiah, cunseled that Assyrian shuldn t be resisted, They taught that Assyria s dminatin f Judah was Gd s judgment against them because f Ahaz s faithlessness Hezekiah sided with the Egyptian alliance, ging against the prphet This was an uncharacteristically pr judgment n Hezekiah s part S under Hezekiah s leadership, the natin f Israel make a pact with the devil, s t speak They enter int a cvenant with Egypt fr prtectin, getting int bed with ne f their histric enemies S Isaiah speaks against this cvenant and hw it will lead t the dwnfall and destructin f Judah And in typical fashin, Isaiah uses these cntemprary events t draw a parallel t a future time The parallel is between this cvenant between Judah and Egypt 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Isaiah 27-28! 6 And a future cvenant between a regathered Israel and anther pwerful enemy wh ffers prtectin fr the Jews The future enemy is the Antichrist And this future cvenant is the cvenant mentined in Daniel 9 that begins Tribulatin S the bk f wes is a sectin f Isaiah describing the wes that befall Judah because they enter int these tw ill-advised cvenants The beginning f chapter 28 is an indictment against the leaders wh ignred Isaiah s cunsel and made this cvenant with Egypt Then chapter 28 flws int a descriptin f the wes that will cme upn Israel fr making that future cvenant with teh antichrist Is. 28:1 We t the prud crwn f the drunkards f Ephraim, And t the fading flwer f its glrius beauty, Which is at the head f the fertile valley Of thse wh are vercme with wine! Is. 28:2 Behld, the Lrd has a strng and mighty agent; As a strm f hail, a tempest f destructin, Like a strm f mighty verflwing waters, He has cast it dwn t the earth with His hand. Is. 28:3 The prud crwn f the drunkards f Ephraim is trdden under ft. Is. 28:4 And the fading flwer f its glrius beauty, Which is at the head f the fertile valley, Will be like the first-ripe fig prir t summer, Which ne sees, And as sn as it is in his hand, He swallws it. Is. 28:5 In that day the LORD f hsts will becme a beautiful crwn And a glrius diadem t the remnant f His peple; Is. 28:6 A spirit f justice fr him wh sits in judgment, A strength t thse wh repel the nslaught at the gate. The intrductin f this we uses the nrthern kingdm f Israel as a negative example fr Judah Ntice the fcus is n the leadership f Ephraim The princes wh are described as drunkards 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Isaiah 27-28! 7 The fading flwer is a reference t their capital city, Samaria They are t be destryed by the mighty verflwing waters, a euphemism fr an invading army, which we knw is Assyria The speed f the invasin is pictured in verse 4, as fast as yu can eat a ripe fig the city will be gne But the believing remnant left in Nrthern Israel, Gd s justice is a delight t His peple wh desire His justice (vs.5-6) Is. 28:7 And these als reel with wine and stagger frm strng drink: The priest and the prphet reel with strng drink, They are cnfused by wine, they stagger frm strng drink; They reel while having visins, They ttter when rendering judgment. Is. 28:8 Fr all the tables are full f filthy vmit, withut a single clean place. Nw Judah says t these als meaning t a new grup that shares the same qualities f the earlier grup in Nrthern Israel We re talking abut Judah nw Like Ephraim, Judah staggers drunk with wine S much drinking and debauchery that they vmit leaving n clean place Graphic way t picture hw Gd views their sad state These are the leaders wh ignred Isaiah s cunsel t avid making a cvenant with the enemy Egypt Is. 28:9 T whm wuld He teach knwledge, And t whm wuld He interpret the message? Thse just weaned frm milk? Thse just taken frm the breast? Is. 28:10 Fr He says, Order n rder, rder n rder, Line n line, line n line, A little here, a little there. Is. 28:11 Indeed, He will speak t this peple Thrugh stammering lips and a freign tngue, Is. 28:12 He wh said t them, Here is rest, give rest t the weary, And, Here is repse, but they wuld nt listen. 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Isaiah 27-28! 8 Is. 28:13 S the wrd f the LORD t them will be, Order n rder, rder n rder, Line n line, line n line, A little here, a little there, That they may g and stumble backward, be brken, snared and taken captive. This is actually a bit humrus My translatin actually cnfuses the meaning a little here, because it prpses that the persn speaking ( he ) is the Lrd Himself T whm wuld He teach, as in Gd But in reality, the cntext tells us this is actually Isaiah recrding hw he was mcked by the leaders f Judah when he tld them nt t ppse Assyrian The sense is clearer in the Hebrew Read verses 9 & 10 as if spken by Isaiah s detractrs They ask Isaiah wh des he (Isaiah) expect t teach knwledge and wisdm? Wh des he presume t interpret Gd s wrds? Des he (Isaiah) think these leaders are just weaned frm milk and taken frm the breast? In ther wrds, des Isaiah think they were brn yesterday? Then they mck him by mimicking the sund f Isaiah stuttering ut his prphecies Order n rder, rder n rder, line n line, etc. In the Hebrew these are all single syllable wrds And the wrds n dn t appear in the Hebrew text It s the same Hebrew wrd fr rder (tsav) repeated fur times Fllwed by line (qav) repeated fur times The effect if yu read this alud in Hebrew wuld be the sund f smene stuttering 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Isaiah 27-28! 9 Making Isaiah sund like a fl r village idit S Isaiah respnds t their mcking f him in verse 11-13 Indeed, the prphet Isaiah will speak t these peple thrugh stuttering lips But it wn t be Isaiah s lips that will sund strange t them It will be a freign tngue that sunds strange t them that will prduce the sunds they hear In ther wrds, Judah will knw that Isaiah speaks Gd s truth when they hear the vices f the Assyrians speaking in their land and at their city walls Thugh the Prphet spke wrds f relief t them, they wuld nt listen S the Lrd will speak t them Himself And it will sund like stuttering Tsav, tsav, etc. And they will stumble backward and be snared and captive f the Assyrians And the sunds f the captrs will sund like the stuttering they mcked Isaiah with In 1Cr 14, Paul draws reference t this sectin f Isaiah t make a similar pint cncerning hw Gd intended t use the gift f tngues in the early church In Isaiah s day, the Jews failed t believe the message they heard and they mcked the messenger S their unbelief is answered with a strange peple speaking in tngues that sund dd t the ears f unbelieving Jews But just as in Isaiah s day, the effect f this experience is nt t set the Jews free and bring them t an understanding Rather, it is judgment against them t their wn destructin 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Isaiah 27-28! 10 In Isaiah s day, the judgment came at the hands f the Assyrians because they rejected Gd s message thrugh the prphet Isaiah s In the early church, the destructin was the Rman invasin f Jerusalem because the Jewish peple had rejected Gd s message thrugh the Messiah This is anther reasn we can say that the gift f tngues was shrt-lived and intended fr the early church nly Once the judgment signified by the tngues had arrived fr the Jewish generatin that rejected Christ, the gift had met it s purpse and was n lnger relevant Then Isaiah jumps frward prphetically t describe the effect f a future day when the natin will repeat this mistake in an even mre serius way... Is. 28:14 Therefre, hear the wrd f the LORD, O scffers, Wh rule this peple wh are in Jerusalem, Is. 28:15 Because yu have said, We have made a cvenant with death, And with Shel we have made a pact. The verwhelming scurge will nt reach us when it passes by, Fr we have made falsehd ur refuge and we have cncealed urselves with deceptin. Is. 28:16 Therefre thus says the Lrd GOD, Behld, I am laying in Zin a stne, a tested stne, A cstly crnerstne fr the fundatin, firmly placed. He wh believes in it will nt be disturbed. Is. 28:17 I will make justice the measuring line And righteusness the level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge f lies And the waters will verflw the secret place. Is. 28:18 Yur cvenant with death will be canceled, And yur pact with Shel will nt stand; When the verwhelming scurge passes thrugh, Then yu becme its trampling place. Is. 28:19 As ften as it passes thrugh, it will seize yu; Fr mrning after mrning it will pass thrugh, anytime during the day r night, And it will be sheer terrr t understand what it means. Is. 28:20 The bed is t shrt n which t stretch ut, And the blanket is t small t wrap neself in. Is. 28:21 Fr the LORD will rise up as at Munt Perazim, He will be stirred up as in the valley f Giben, T d His task, His unusual task, And t wrk His wrk, His extrardinary wrk. 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Isaiah 27-28! 11 Is. 28:22 And nw d nt carry n as scffers, Or yur fetters will be made strnger; Fr I have heard frm the Lrd GOD f hsts Of decisive destructin n all the earth. Therefre, hear the wrd f the Lrd all yu scffers wh lead Israel Remember, the leaders f Israel in Jerusalem in the last days are simply the last in the line f leaders wh scff at the truth f Gd s prphets But in v.15, Isaiah says they enter int a cvenant with death And with Hell itself This is the mment Daniel predicts in chapter 9 Dan. 9:26 Then after the sixty-tw weeks the Messiah will be cut ff and have nthing, and the peple f the prince wh is t cme will destry the city and the sanctuary. And its end will cme with a fld; even t the end there will be war; deslatins are determined. Dan. 9:27 And he will make a firm cvenant with the many fr ne week, but in the middle f the week he will put a stp t sacrifice and grain ffering; and n the wing f abminatins will cme ne wh makes deslate, even until a cmplete destructin, ne that is decreed, is pured ut n the ne wh makes deslate. After a perid f time, Daniel says the Messiah will be cut ff, which refers t Jesus crucifixin and rejectin by Israel And a peple will cme t destry Jerusalem, which was the Rmans Their advance is like a fld f water, a picture f a rapidly advancing army But smetime fllwing this event, he will make a cvenant with the many fr ne seven year perid The he is the prince in verse 26, the Antichrist And the many are apstate Israel wh accept this agreement It s many rather than all because the remnant f Israel rejects any alliance with the antichrist This event f the signing f the cvenant between Israel and the antichrist begins the seven years f Tribulatin 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Isaiah 27-28! 12 And in the middle f the week r at the 3.5 year pint, the Antichrist betrays his agreement with Israel and begins t persecute them Isaiah describes the leaders as scffers wh shake ff any warnings in their day, just as befre They make the agreement intended t gain security fr the natin They say that the verwhelming scurge that they sense is cming at the hands f this wrld leader will pass them by Fr they have saved themselves by aligning with deceptin and falsehd Nw in cntrast t that kind f false security, where des the remnant f Israel turn t seek security and refuge frm the scurge f the Antichrist? In verses 16-17 Gd describes the security He is prviding t His faithful remnant in that cming day f Tribulatin He lays a crnerstne in Zin, firmly places Anyne wh believes in this stne will nt be disturbed Justice is the measuring line and righteusness the standard fr measurement And the waters f Gd s judgment in Tribulatin wash away thse wh trusted in the Antichrist rather than the true Christ Isaiah then says that cvenant that the many rested in will be cancelled By the Anitchrist f curse In mid Tribulatin, the Antichrist is murdered, accrding t Revelatin 13:3 and cmes back t life because Satan indwells him and brings his bdy back t life At this pint, Satan takes ver and causes the Antichrist t break the cvenant as Daniel predicts and begins t persecute the Jews And they are trampled in place says Isaiah 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Isaiah 27-28! 13 Fllwed by insecurity and dear everywhere they g during thse final 3.5 years In describing this perid f destructin, Isaiah draws cmparisn t their histry f Israel Isaiah describes Mt. Perazim and valley f Giben These were places where David and Jshua wn great victries against enemies f Gd and Israel We knw bth these men are types f Christ, Jshua shares the Lrd s earthly name And Isaiah says that the effect f Israel s cvenant with Gd s enemy is t see the Lrd fight against them as when He fights against the enemies f Gd And furthermre, the decree frm Gd is a decisive destructin f the Earth as a whle Is. 28:23 Give ear and hear my vice, Listen and hear my wrds. Is. 28:24 Des the farmer plw cntinually t plant seed? Des he cntinually turn and harrw the grund? Is. 28:25 Des he nt level its surface And sw dill and scatter cummin And plant wheat in rws, Barley in its place and rye within its area? Is. 28:26 Fr his Gd instructs and teaches him prperly. Is. 28:27 Fr dill is nt threshed with a threshing sledge, Nr is the cartwheel driven ver cummin; But dill is beaten ut with a rd, and cummin with a club. Is. 28:28 Grain fr bread is crushed, Indeed, he des nt cntinue t thresh it frever. Because the wheel f his cart and his hrses eventually damage it, He des nt thresh it lnger. Is. 28:29 This als cmes frm the LORD f hsts, Wh has made His cunsel wnderful and His wisdm great. Isaiah ends this chapter with tw parables t explain Gd s actins and purpses during this judgment in the end times First, when the farmer stirs up the sil and plws, it s a destructive prcess But des the farmer plw frever? 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Isaiah 27-28! 14 N. Thugh it s destructive, it s meant fr gd in that it prepares fr a planting and harvest S the first pint is that the judgment f Gd against Israel is nt a never ending judgment It has a gd purpse and it eventually cmes t an end s that a planting and harvest might result Fr Gd teaches and instructs prperly Secndly, Isaiah uses a parable f threshing When threshing grain, the farmer beats at the seeds in the grain in varying degrees f harshness Sme seeds need greater frce than thers Sme grain is intentinally crushed while thers are just shaken lse Yu dn t thresh t lng n every grain therwise it will be destryed S the secnd principle is that Gd s judgment is fr different utcmes in different grups within Israel Sme in Israel will be subjected t Gd s wrath s that they might be destryed r crushed Others are experienced a mre limited threshing s that they might be brught thrugh it intact In Tribulatin, Gd brings His wrath t destry sme Jews and t chasten thers Ultimately, the natin survives and is brught thrugh t their glry in the kingdm 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.