Day 159: Isaiah 27- The Lord's song of redemption

In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. 2 In that day, “A pleasant vineyard, sing of it! 3 I, the Lord, am its keeper;  every moment I water it. Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day; 4 I have no wrath. Would that I had thorns and briers to battle! I would march against them, I would burn them up together. 5 Or let them lay hold of my protection, let them make peace with me, let them make peace with me.”
 
6 In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit. 7 Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them? Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain? 8 Measure by measure, by exile you contended with them; he removed them with his fierce breath in the day of the east wind. 9 Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: when he makes all the stones of the altars  like chalkstones crushed to pieces, no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing. 10 For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness; there the calf grazes; there it lies down and strips its branches.


11 When its boughs are dry, they are broken; women come and make a fire of them.
For this is a people without discernment; therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them; he who formed them will show them no favor. 12 In that day from the river Euphrates to the Brook of Egypt the Lord will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.
 
Meditation
When I sing around my children, especially first thing in the morning, I am quickly asked to be quiet. My singing is rejected in the midst of their SLOW, quiet, teenage wakeup routines. God sings over His people and today’s passage compels God’s children to welcome His song of redemption.
 
Songs of redemption dot this section of Isaiah but this is the first sung by the Lord Himself. God sings over His people! The vineyard, the people of God, who were prophesied to be destroyed in judgment back in Isaiah 5 is now pictured as restored beyond containment! The lyrical parallels must be noted:
 
The Lord’s first Song (Isaiah 5)                   The Lord’s second Song (Isaiah 27)
No Fruit                                                          Fruit
No rain                                                           Rain
Abandon                                                        Guarded
Thorns and briars                                         No thorns and briars
Overrun                                                         Abundant fruit spreading out
 
The Lord’s song of redemption celebrates the re-rooting and restoration of His people as well as the restoration of their fruitfulness in the world as a renewal of His mission to bless all the families of the earth (27:6; Genesis 12:1-3).
 
The Lord’s song of salvation feeds us with His future grace, offering us an opportunity to find restoration in Him. Jesus is the true Vine (John 15) and when we abide in Him, rooted in His grace, we will experience the abundant life and fruitfulness His redemption offers.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What is your reaction when you consider the Lord singing over you? Is it awkward or inviting? My favorite picture of this is in Zephaniah 3:14-17.
 
-Which aspect of the restoration of the vineyard stands out to you the most? For me it is the description of the abundant fruit.
 
-How can you return to the Lord’s redemption and re-root in Christ’s grace, abiding in Him?
 
Key Verse
6 In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit