Isaiah 27:1 says, In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. Matthew Henry says this refers to when God delivered His people from Sennacherib and to the destruction of the army of the Assyrians in one context, but it also refers to the deliverance of the church throughout the ages. I believe it ultimately refers to the final deliverance when Jesus Christ returns again when Satan will be forever defeated. Those enemies that are too powerful for us to defeat on our own have already been defeated by Jesus Christ, and all we have to do is put our faith in Him to claim this victory.
Verse two adds, In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine. We, like the people of Israel, or Judah in this case, are a part of God’s vineyard and He will always take care of us spiritually. For that reason, we need to sing praises to Him every day.
Verse three continues, I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. Isaiah said that God had promised to take care of His vineyard, His people, day and night. This is the assurance that we have as followers of Christ today. There is never a time when we are not protected by God, no matter how big our enemies may seem.
Verse four states, Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together. Isaiah said that even though the people of Judah had rebelled against God, that He didn’t look on then with fury. If God found briars and thorns in His vineyard, He would trample them down, but not out of fury. I believe that when we rebel against God and He has to chastise us, it isn’t out of fury, but out of love and with remorse.
Verse five adds, Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me. Isaiah then said that God invited the people to take hold of His strength so that they might make peace with Him. In order to take hold of God’s strength, we must acknowledge that we are powerless to defeat sin and death on our own and put our faith in Him.
Verse six continues, He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit. Isaiah then said that if they came to Him that God would cause the descendants of Jacob, His chosen people, to take root and fill the world with good fruit. As followers of Christ, we are a part of His chosen people, and He expects us to fill the world with the good news, the gospel, and with good fruits of righteousness.
Verse seven says, Hath he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him? Isaiah said that those who are supposedly a part of the family of God but who aren’t obeying Him will be judged by Him. They would be allowed to be killed in their disbelief. As followers of Christ, when we disobey God, we do not lose our salvation, but we will one day have to account for our actions. Just being a Christian does not give us the right to do whatever we choose to do.
Verse eight adds, In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind. Matthew Henry says this means that God will judge the actions of His people, and even though they are His forever, He will still expect them to obey His word. If we are disputing with God, we need to understand that we will always be wrong, and He will always be right.
Verse nine continues, By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up. Isaiah said God was going to take away the iniquity of Jacob, or of his descendants, when they turned away from false gods and false worship and turned to Him. The only way we can be saved is to come to Jesus Christ and put our faith in Him. After we are saved, then we must do our best to live in accordance with God’s word. Our iniquity is healed when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.
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