Adult Class
December 2006-May 2007
Isaiah
Lesson 12: Judgment—and Redemption
We have worked through several judgment oracles that Isaiah had to deliver concerning various nations. In chapter 24, he summarizes the whole program of God’s judgment, and then brings messages of hope, praise and redemption. These messages contain startling promises from God that we have seen fulfilled in Jesus. This section stretches from Isaiah 24-27.
Isaiah 24—Judgment Universal
As noted, this chapter serves as a cap to the judgments declared by God in the preceding chapters. The various enemies of Israel have been taken to task for their evil and violence, and even Israel has been sentenced for its crimes. Now God sweeps across His entire plan for the nations and declares judgment on the earth. There are several components to this judgment.
First, God notes that the judgment will stretch across all segments of society. This is not a situation where wealth and position will shield someone from the most unpleasant aspects. All will be affected. Also, God again reveals that the sin of humanity impacts the natural order. This has been true since creation, itself, but we must be reminded from time to time. The devastation of the land is intense and there is no relief. In a vivid picture, God likens to remaining inhabitants to those few olives left after the trees are completely harvested or to the grain scattered in a harvested field that has already been picked over by gleaners. However, those few will enthusiastically praise God for their deliverance in this devastation.
Isaiah is personally grief-stricken by the prospect of this overwhelming judgment as he is forced to envision the ruin that is coming. The earth itself is broken up, perhaps by earthquakes, but certainly by the hand of God. The end of this entire catastrophe is that God will reign in glory and His enemies will be vanquished.
Isaiah 25—Praise
The result of the devastation by God is praise for Him. Anyone who contemplates what has happened must recognize that God has all power and that He destroys the powerful, protects the weak and intervenes in human affairs. This judgment is no snap decision or petulant fit of temper and frustration—it is the longstanding plan of God. He long ago decided to execute wrath upon His enemies and upon the violent.
Within this outpouring of praise is a sterling promise. Verses 6-8 have universally been held to apply to the Messiah. It is His flesh and blood that is the “best of meats and finest of wines” laid out for all the nations. In fact, Paul quoted verse 8 in his description of the end of death in 1 Corinthians 15:54. It is in the activity of the Messiah that death itself will be removed and all need for grief and shame will be taken out of the way. This is a stunning promise of redemption in Christ, and it was granted to Israel more than 700 years before the fact. The certainty of this redemption is fixed by the implacable statement, “The Lord has spoken.” There is no possibility of reversing, altering or modifying this plan.
The last section of the chapter touches on the amazed relief of those who put their faith in God. They are saved while “Moab,” which seems to stand for all the enemies of God’s people, will be destroyed completely and shamefully. No struggle by the enemies will help at all. God is as fixed in this as He is in the redemption that is to come for His people through the work of the Messiah.
Isaiah 26—A song of praise
In complete contrast to the defeat of “Moab,” the people of God sing of their salvation. The cities of “Moab” may be destroyed, but God has prepared a lasting city for His people. Those who turn completely to God are blessed by God and allowed to enter His city, where there is perfect refuge and care. Those people who turn in faith to God give Him complete control over their lives—He provides “the smooth way.” By contrast, the wicked accept God’s grace, yet do not turn to Him. They do not change their lives, and they would not change if they lived in a perfect world. They continue to do evil, and so they must be punished for their crimes. Even in their pain they may not turn to Him and escape their fate.
It is sometimes claimed that there is nothing in the Old Testament about resurrection from the dead, and that the idea of resurrection is only found in the New Testament. However, Isaiah 26:19 is one of the passages in the Old Testament that makes a resurrection hope perfectly explicit. In this verse, God promises that He specifically will raise the dead. The wording is intense and graphic as He claims that the earth will give birth to the dead.
Along with this is a message of hope and comfort in verses 20-21. This seems best understood as a dismissal of His people in peace. They can die in peace and enter “their rooms” without fear of extinction. Their burial will only be for a “little while” and they will be sheltered from the wrath that is coming. Since there is a resurrection in order, we no longer fear death (Hebrews 2:14-15).
Isaiah 27—Restoration
This chapter opens with a cryptic declaration, for Leviathan is only a mythical sea-creature that was thought to be very evil and an enemy of God and His people. God is not lending legitimacy to any actual sea-monster by using this figure here. He is only using an illustration that would speak powerfully to the people of the day. He will definitely destroy His enemies.
Meanwhile, He will protect His vineyard. The vineyard is understood to be the people of Israel, God’s covenant nation, since the discussion in Isaiah 5:1-7. God is zealous to protect and shelter the vineyard, eradicating its enemies yet being prepared to accept all who will make peace and live in it.
He notes that He did not punish Israel as He did her enemies. He was far more ferocious with Assyria, for example, than He was with Judah. And in this general purging, Israel will finally remove its idols and clean them out of the nation. And if it takes a general devastation, that will be done. However, even in that discipline, God will gather His remnant from across the world. From each direction the exiles will flow back toward their homes in Israel. His covenant will never be forgotten.