Isaiah Chapter 27 — The Restoration of the Vineyard
Isaiah 27 describes God's victory over evil forces and His protective care for Israel, likened to a vineyard, as He gathers His people from exile.
1In that day, the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan, the fleeing serpent, and leviathan, the twisted serpent; and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea.
2In that day, sing to her, “A pleasant vineyard!
3I, the LORD, am its keeper. I will water it every moment. Lest anyone damage it, I will keep it night and day.
4Wrath is not in me, but if I should find briers and thorns, I would do battle! I would march on them and I would burn them together.
5Or else let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me. Let him make peace with me.”
6In days to come, Jacob will take root. Israel will blossom and bud. They will fill the surface of the world with fruit.
7Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them? Or are they killed like those who killed them were killed?
8In measure, when you send them away, you contend with them. He has removed them with his rough blast in the day of the east wind.
9Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be forgiven, and this is all the fruit of taking away his sin: that he makes all the stones of the altar as chalk stones that are beaten in pieces, so that the Asherah poles and the incense altars shall rise no more.
10For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness. The calf will feed there, and there he will lie down, and consume its branches.
11When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off. The women will come and set them on fire, for they are a people of no understanding. Therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them, and he who formed them will show them no favor.
12It will happen in that day that the LORD will thresh from the flowing stream of the Euphrates to the brook of Egypt; and you will be gathered one by one, children of Israel.
13It will happen in that day that a great trumpet will be blown; and those who were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and those who were outcasts in the land of Egypt, shall come; and they will worship the LORD in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.
WEB Translation
Notable Verses
Isaiah 27:3
“I, the LORD, am its keeper. I will water it every moment. Lest anyone damage it, I will keep it night and day.”
This verse emphasizes God's constant and vigilant care for His people, using the metaphor of a vineyard.
Isaiah 27:13
“It will happen in that day that a great trumpet will be blown; and those who were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and those who were outcasts in the land of Egypt, shall come; and they will worship the LORD in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.”
It depicts the final gathering of the lost and scattered to worship in Jerusalem.
Chapter Summary
Isaiah 27 opens with the Lord's victory over Leviathan, the fleeing serpent and dragon of the sea, signifying the defeat of powerful forces of evil. The chapter then shifts to a song about a pleasant vineyard, where God describes Himself as its diligent keeper who waters and protects it day and night. Unlike earlier judgments, God expresses a desire for peace and invites those who oppose Him to seek His strength. The text predicts a future where Israel takes root and fills the world with fruit. While the people face a period of trial and their fortified cities are left deserted due to a lack of understanding, the purpose is to remove iniquity and destroy the tools of idolatry. The chapter concludes with a vision of a great trumpet sounding, summoning the outcasts and those perishing in Assyria and Egypt to return and worship the Lord on His holy mountain in Jerusalem.
Frequently Asked Questions
In this context, Leviathan is described as a fleeing and twisted serpent and a dragon in the sea. It represents powerful, chaotic forces or oppressive nations that the Lord will ultimately defeat with His sword.
The vineyard represents the people of Israel. In this chapter, it is a place of restoration where God acts as a protective keeper, watering it constantly and guarding it against harm.
The blowing of the great trumpet signals a divine summoning. It calls back the outcasts and those perishing in foreign lands like Assyria and Egypt to return to Jerusalem for worship.
Study Note
The metaphor of the vineyard in Isaiah 27 serves as a literary 'bookend' to the song in Isaiah 5, shifting the focus from judgment and wild grapes to divine protection and fruitfulness.
Related Chapters
Isaiah 5
Isaiah 5 also uses the metaphor of a vineyard but focuses on its failure rather than its restoration.
Psalm 74
This psalm also references God crushing the heads of the sea monsters or Leviathan.
Matthew 24
This New Testament chapter mentions a great trumpet call used to gather the chosen from across the world.
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