Day #200

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Isaiah 23-27 - Audio
Isaiah 23-27 - Reading

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Isaiah 23-27

Isaiah 23 – This is a doom song for Tyre – a poem that laments the fall of a king or a nation still in power at the time the poem is written. The doom song is followed by a brief prediction of Tyre’s restoration after seventy years.

v. 1 – Tyre is a successful port on the Phoenician coast and the commercial power at the western end of the ancient Near East.

v. 7-9 – Who could decree the downfall of so great a human power? “The Lord of hosts” will never make peace with human pride.

v. 15-18 – Tyre is portrayed as a prostitute that will soon be back in business, but v. 18 shows that like the other nations it will ultimately be redeemed. Tyre lived by an anything-for-money ethic. After a period of decline and recovery, Tyre charms, as a prostitute, her old customers back into trading with her. Deut. 23:18 forbids the wages of a prostitute from being consecrated; the reversal here implies redemption.

Isaiah 24 – Chapters 24-27 foresee the whole world in crisis at the end of history. The people of God are secured in their own city. These chapters are called “apocalyptic”, since they depict the final conflict and God’s victory in vivid images.

v. 1 – “scatter” - The same word as dispersed as Gen. 11. Alluding to Babel, Isaiah foresees another final judgment of human autonomy.

v. 2 – Social class will make no difference; God will judge everyone without exception.

v. 5 – The everlasting covenant may refer to God’s covenant with Noah in Gen. 9 with its ban on bloodshed.

v. 6 – “left” – The Hebrew word is also translated “remnant”. A redeemed people will be drawn out from all nations.

v. 10 – The wasted city is an important image in that Isaiah sees world culture as a city because it is a place of concentrated population and of imagined safety.

v. 14-16 – In these verses the drunken binge of v. 7-11 is replaced by the joyful worship of those redeemed from the world.

v. 18 – The pairing of heaven and earth indicate total disaster as in Noah’s flood.

v. 23 – The moon and the sun are outshone by the glory of God reigning in triumph forever from his city Jerusalem.

Isaiah 25 – After the terrifying visions of God’s judgments against the evil nations, this vision of God’s plan for deliverance comes as a breath of fresh air. Verses 1-5 are a prayer expressed by Isaiah directly to God, while verses 6-12 are a narrative of what will happen in the future.

v. 1 – “Plans formed of old” portray a long assured victory not a last minute attempt.

v. 6 – The festive banquet will celebrate the kingship of God. The finest foods and drinks will be enjoyed as a reflection of the grandeur of the event. The guests will come from all nations.

v. 10 – The dunghill is the only alternative to the feast depicted in v. 6.

v. 11 – The fallen man will spread out his hands to swim out of the muck of the dunghill (v. 10) in desperate measures to save himself.

Chapter 26 – This chapter begins with a tale of two cities. Isaiah contrasts the silent, ruined city of the world and the city of God, inhabited by the faithful. This city has God’s salvation for its “walls” making it plain that it is more than just a geographical place. God is its eternal rock, while the city that symbolizes earthly power will be crushed into dust. The poor and the needy will finally live in peace.

v. 10 – Isaiah acknowledges that God had shown common grace to the wicked nations. But they did not turn to Him.

v. 11 – God’s hand was about to strike the nations. The prophet prayed that God would act soon to demonstrate His blessing for His own people and bring judgment on the oppressive nations.

v. 17-18 – God had established His people for the purpose of bringing salvation to the world. This purpose is still the goal of God’s people. The rebellion of God’s chosen nature brought failure, but God would fulfill its purpose through judgments and blessings that are envisioned in these chapters. The redemption of a remnant of Israel opened the way for Israel’s purpose to be fulfilled. This goal would ultimately be realized in Jesus.

v. 19 – The new life given to God’s people in the restoration after the exile would lead to renewed opportunity in fulfilling the goal of the nation, ultimately fulfilled after the resurrection of believers at Christ’s return.

Chapter 27 – God was angry enough with His people to destroy them. He brought destruction on Israel not to annihilate His vineyard, but to cleanse His people. The fruit of the removal of Israel’s sin would be the destruction of idol worship.

v. 1 – Leviathan - The Old Testament employs this imagery to denote demonic forces behind oppressive political powers.

v. 3 – God cares for His people. He provides for all the needs of the restored nation.

v. 4 – He protects the vineyard from unwelcome intruders.

v. 5 – He gladly welcomes any who wish to be reconciled to Him.

v. 6 – God’s people become a worldwide garden of Eden.

v. 7 – Although outwardly it appeared as though God treated His own people the same way He dealt with other nations by subjecting them to Assyrian judgment, His purpose for them was very different from that for other nations.

v. 12 – God promised to restore His people with meticulous individual care. Representatives of those who would be taken into exile would be gathered back to the Promised Land. The fulfillment of this expectation began with the gathering of the tribes after exile. The final stage of this gathering began on the day of Pentecost and will be accomplished at Christ’s return.