Isaiah 27 Study Notes: Leviathan Slain and the LORD’s Vineyard
The LORD defeats Leviathan, the sea monster, and sings over a vineyard He waters and guards, offering peace even to His enemies. Israel is disciplined but not destroyed like her oppressors, and her idols are smashed. At the sound of a great horn, the exiles in Assyria and Egypt return to worship in Jerusalem.
General
True or False: In 27:11, the people’s lack of understanding is given as the reason their Maker shows them no compassion.
Answer: True
This is true. The fortified town is abandoned, a place where calves graze and women gather dry branches for kindling (27:10-11). The reason given is that they are a people who do not understand, so their Maker withholds compassion and favor (27:11). Moses had described Israel as a nation lacking counsel and understanding (Deuteronomy 32:28), and Hosea said God’s people perished because they lacked knowledge, having rejected it (Hosea 4:6). Their ignorance was not innocent; it came from turning away from what God had made known.
- Isaiah 27:10-11 (BSB)“For the fortified city lies deserted—a homestead abandoned, a wilderness forsaken. There the calves graze, and there they lie down; they strip its branches bare. When its limbs are dry, they are broken off. Women come and use them for kindling; for this is a people without understanding. Therefore their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.”The fortified city lies deserted because its people lack understanding, so their Maker shows no compassion.
- Deuteronomy 32:28 (BSB)“Israel is a nation devoid of counsel, with no understanding among them.”Moses described Israel as a nation without counsel or understanding.
- Hosea 4:6 (BSB)“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.”Hosea says God’s people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because they rejected it.
Theological
True or False: 27:11 grounds the Creator’s withholding of compassion in the people’s lack of understanding.
Answer: True
This is true. The deserted city, given over to grazing calves and to women collecting dead branches (27:10-11), is explained by its people’s lack of understanding, and therefore their Maker and Creator withholds compassion and favor (27:11). This is culpable ignorance, the refusal of revealed truth, which Moses had already diagnosed (Deuteronomy 32:28) and which Hosea traced to the rejection of knowledge (Hosea 4:6).
- Isaiah 27:10-11 (BSB)“For the fortified city lies deserted—a homestead abandoned, a wilderness forsaken. There the calves graze, and there they lie down; they strip its branches bare. When its limbs are dry, they are broken off. Women come and use them for kindling; for this is a people without understanding. Therefore their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.”The fortified city lies deserted because its people lack understanding, so their Maker shows no compassion.
- Deuteronomy 32:28 (BSB)“Israel is a nation devoid of counsel, with no understanding among them.”Moses described Israel as a nation without counsel or understanding.
- Hosea 4:6 (BSB)“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.”Hosea says God’s people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because they rejected it.
General
What does 27:12-13 say will happen when the great ram’s horn sounds?
Answer: Exiles in Assyria and Egypt come to worship in Jerusalem
God will thresh His harvest across the whole region between the Euphrates and Egypt’s border wadi and gather the Israelites one by one, a picture of careful, personal gathering (27:12). When the great horn is blown, those perishing in Assyria and the exiles in Egypt will come and worship the LORD at His holy hill in Jerusalem (27:13). Isaiah elsewhere promises that the LORD will gather Israel’s exiles from the far ends of the earth (11:12). John notes that Jesus would die to gather God’s scattered children into one (John 11:52), and Jesus spoke of His angels gathering His elect with a great trumpet blast (Matthew 24:31).
- Isaiah 27:12-13 (BSB)“In that day the LORD will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, O Israelites, will be gathered one by one. And in that day a great ram’s horn will sound, and those who were perishing in Assyria will come forth with those who were exiles in Egypt. And they will worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.”God gathers His people one by one, and at the great horn the exiles come to worship in Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 11:12 (BSB)“He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will collect the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”Isaiah promises that the LORD will gather the exiles of Israel and Judah from every direction.
- John 11:52 (BSB)“and not only for the nation, but also for the scattered children of God, to gather them together into one.”Jesus’ death would gather the scattered children of God into one.
- Matthew 24:31 (BSB)“And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”Jesus speaks of a trumpet call at which His elect are gathered.
Theological
What is the outcome of the ram’s horn blast of 27:13?
Answer: Exiles in Assyria and Egypt come to worship in Jerusalem
The chapter closes with ingathering: God threshes and gathers His people one by one (27:12), and at the sound of the great ram’s horn the perishing in Assyria and the exiles in Egypt come to worship the LORD in Jerusalem (27:13). The goal of the gathering is worship. Isaiah repeatedly promises this regathering of the dispersed (11:12). The New Testament speaks of Christ gathering God’s scattered children into one by His death (John 11:52) and of the elect gathered at the trumpet call of His coming (Matthew 24:31).
- Isaiah 27:12-13 (BSB)“In that day the LORD will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, O Israelites, will be gathered one by one. And in that day a great ram’s horn will sound, and those who were perishing in Assyria will come forth with those who were exiles in Egypt. And they will worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.”God gathers His people one by one, and at the great horn the exiles come to worship in Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 11:12 (BSB)“He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will collect the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”Isaiah promises that the LORD will gather the exiles of Israel and Judah from every direction.
- John 11:52 (BSB)“and not only for the nation, but also for the scattered children of God, to gather them together into one.”Jesus’ death would gather the scattered children of God into one.
- Matthew 24:31 (BSB)“And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”Jesus speaks of a trumpet call at which His elect are gathered.
General
In 27:4-5, what alternative does the LORD hold out to the thorns and briers that oppose Him?
Answer: To seek shelter in Him and come to terms of peace
God says that if thorns and briers rose up against Him, He would march against them and burn them (27:4). Yet He immediately adds an invitation: let them take hold of His protection and make peace with Him, repeated for emphasis (27:5). Even His enemies are offered refuge in Him. Through Ezekiel God declares that He takes no delight in the wicked dying but wants them to turn and live (Ezekiel 33:11). Paul pleads with people on Christ’s behalf to accept reconciliation with God (2 Corinthians 5:20), and he teaches that God made peace through Christ’s blood shed on the cross (Colossians 1:20).
- Isaiah 27:4-5 (BSB)“I am not angry. If only thorns and briers confronted Me, I would march and trample them, I would burn them to the ground. Or let them lay claim to My protection; let them make peace with Me—yes, let them make peace with Me.””God would burn up thorns and briers that oppose Him, yet invites them to make peace with Him.
- Ezekiel 33:11 (BSB)“Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’”God declares that He wants the wicked to turn from their ways and live.
- 2 Corinthians 5:20 (BSB)“Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.”Paul appeals to people on Christ’s behalf to be reconciled to God.
- Colossians 1:20 (BSB)“and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.”God makes peace through the blood of Christ’s cross.
Theological
What offer does the LORD extend in 27:5 to the thorns and briers that would confront Him?
Answer: To seek shelter in Him and come to terms of peace
The threat of 27:4 is real: whatever confronts God will be burned up. But 27:5 extends a sincere offer: let them grasp His protection and make peace with Him, doubled for emphasis. God’s warning and His invitation stand side by side. Ezekiel records the same heart in God, who does not delight when the wicked die (Ezekiel 33:11); the gospel announces the same appeal to be reconciled (2 Corinthians 5:20), grounded in the peace Christ made by His cross (Colossians 1:20).
- Isaiah 27:4-5 (BSB)“I am not angry. If only thorns and briers confronted Me, I would march and trample them, I would burn them to the ground. Or let them lay claim to My protection; let them make peace with Me—yes, let them make peace with Me.””God would burn up thorns and briers that oppose Him, yet invites them to make peace with Him.
- Ezekiel 33:11 (BSB)“Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’”God declares that He wants the wicked to turn from their ways and live.
- 2 Corinthians 5:20 (BSB)“Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.”Paul appeals to people on Christ’s behalf to be reconciled to God.
- Colossians 1:20 (BSB)“and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.”God makes peace through the blood of Christ’s cross.
General
In 27:1, what does the LORD do with His great sword?
Answer: He strikes down Leviathan, the serpent and sea monster
On that coming day God will raise His mighty sword against Leviathan, the fleeing and coiling serpent, and kill the monster of the sea (27:1). Leviathan is a vivid picture of everything powerful, chaotic, and hostile to God and His people; the point is that no enemy, however fearsome, can stand against Him. The psalmist uses the same picture when he praises God for breaking Leviathan’s heads at the sea (Psalm 74:13-14), and Job shows that Leviathan is far beyond any human power to tame (Job 41:1). Revelation uses dragon-and-serpent imagery for the devil, hurled down to the earth (Revelation 12:9).
- Isaiah 27:1 (BSB)“In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.”The LORD takes up His great sword to punish Leviathan, the fleeing and coiling serpent.
- Psalm 74:13-14 (BSB)“You divided the sea by Your strength; You smashed the heads of the dragons of the sea; You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You fed him to the creatures of the desert.”The psalmist praises God for crushing Leviathan, picturing His victory over hostile powers.
- Job 41:1 (BSB)““Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook or tie down his tongue with a rope?”Leviathan is far beyond any human strength to capture.
- Revelation 12:9 (BSB)“And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”Revelation pictures the devil as the great dragon and ancient serpent, thrown down.
Theological
In the oracle of 27:1, what does the LORD accomplish with His mighty blade?
Answer: He strikes down Leviathan, the serpent and sea monster
The oracle pictures the LORD’s victory with the image of Leviathan, the fleeing and twisting serpent and monster of the sea, slain by His great sword (27:1). The image stands for every hostile power arrayed against God and His people; the emphasis falls on the LORD’s sovereign and complete triumph. The psalmist praises God for the same victory over Leviathan (Psalm 74:13-14), Job stresses that this creature is untamable by man (Job 41:1), and Revelation uses the dragon and ancient serpent for the devil, cast down to the earth (Revelation 12:9).
- Isaiah 27:1 (BSB)“In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.”The LORD takes up His great sword to punish Leviathan, the fleeing and coiling serpent.
- Psalm 74:13-14 (BSB)“You divided the sea by Your strength; You smashed the heads of the dragons of the sea; You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You fed him to the creatures of the desert.”The psalmist praises God for crushing Leviathan, picturing His victory over hostile powers.
- Job 41:1 (BSB)““Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook or tie down his tongue with a rope?”Leviathan is far beyond any human strength to capture.
- Revelation 12:9 (BSB)“And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”Revelation pictures the devil as the great dragon and ancient serpent, thrown down.
General
According to 27:9, what will be the visible fruit of Jacob’s sin being taken away?
Answer: Idol altars crushed and Asherah poles torn down
Verses 7-8 ask whether God struck Israel the way He struck those who oppressed her, and the implied answer is no: He contended with her through war and exile, but He did not slay her as He slew her oppressors. Verse 9 then draws the conclusion: the guilt of Jacob will be covered, and the clearest result of taking his sin away will be idol altars ground down like chalk, with no idol poles or incense stands left upright (27:9). Asherah poles were wooden objects used in the worship of a pagan goddess. Moses had commanded Israel to tear down such altars and cut down such poles (Deuteronomy 7:5), God promised through Jeremiah to discipline His people justly without destroying them completely (Jeremiah 30:11), and Hosea pictures a restored Ephraim done with idols (Hosea 14:8).
- Isaiah 27:7-9 (BSB)“Has the LORD struck Israel as He struck her oppressors? Was she killed like those who slayed her? By warfare and exile You contended with her and removed her with a fierce wind, as on the day the east wind blows. Therefore Jacob’s guilt will be atoned for, and the full fruit of the removal of his sin will be this: When he makes all the altar stones like crushed bits of chalk, no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing.”God did not strike Israel as He struck her oppressors, and her guilt is atoned for as her idol altars are destroyed.
- Deuteronomy 7:5 (BSB)“Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.”Moses commanded Israel to tear down pagan altars and cut down Asherah poles.
- Jeremiah 30:11 (BSB)“For I am with you to save you, declares the LORD. Though I will completely destroy all the nations to which I have scattered you, I will not completely destroy you. Yet I will discipline you justly, and will by no means leave you unpunished.””God promises to discipline His people justly without completely destroying them.
- Hosea 14:8 (BSB)“O Ephraim, what have I to do anymore with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing cypress; your fruit comes from Me.”Restored Ephraim is pictured as finished with idols, with its fruit coming from God.
Theological
In 27:9, what will show that Jacob’s guilt has been atoned for?
Answer: Idol altars crushed and Asherah poles torn down
God’s dealing with Israel differs from His dealing with her oppressors: He contended with her through war and exile, but did not slay her as He slew those who struck her (27:7-8). The result is atonement for Jacob’s guilt, and its evidence is repentance made visible: idol altars pulverized and no idol poles or incense stands left (27:9). Forgiven people abandon their idols. This carries out Moses’ command to destroy the apparatus of idolatry (Deuteronomy 7:5), matches God’s pledge to discipline justly without making a full end (Jeremiah 30:11), and echoes Hosea’s restored Ephraim renouncing idols (Hosea 14:8).
- Isaiah 27:7-9 (BSB)“Has the LORD struck Israel as He struck her oppressors? Was she killed like those who slayed her? By warfare and exile You contended with her and removed her with a fierce wind, as on the day the east wind blows. Therefore Jacob’s guilt will be atoned for, and the full fruit of the removal of his sin will be this: When he makes all the altar stones like crushed bits of chalk, no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing.”God did not strike Israel as He struck her oppressors, and her guilt is atoned for as her idol altars are destroyed.
- Deuteronomy 7:5 (BSB)“Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.”Moses commanded Israel to tear down pagan altars and cut down Asherah poles.
- Jeremiah 30:11 (BSB)“For I am with you to save you, declares the LORD. Though I will completely destroy all the nations to which I have scattered you, I will not completely destroy you. Yet I will discipline you justly, and will by no means leave you unpunished.””God promises to discipline His people justly without completely destroying them.
- Hosea 14:8 (BSB)“O Ephraim, what have I to do anymore with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing cypress; your fruit comes from Me.”Restored Ephraim is pictured as finished with idols, with its fruit coming from God.
General
How does the LORD describe His care for the vineyard in 27:2-3?
Answer: He tends it without ceasing and guards it at all hours
Here is a new vineyard song. The LORD Himself is the keeper; He waters it all the time and guards it day and night so that no one can harm it, and He says He is not angry (27:2-4). The result is that Jacob will be firmly rooted and Israel will flower and cover the earth with its produce (27:6). This reverses Isaiah’s earlier vineyard song, where the vineyard, Israel, gave only sour grapes and was judged (5:1-2, 7). Jesus taught that lasting fruit comes from remaining in Him, the vine (John 15:5).
- Isaiah 27:2-3 (BSB)“In that day: “Sing about a fruitful vineyard. I, the LORD, am its keeper; I water it continually. I guard it night and day so no one can disturb it;”The LORD sings of a vineyard He waters continually and guards night and day.
- Isaiah 27:6 (BSB)“In the days to come, Jacob will take root. Israel will bud and blossom and fill the whole world with fruit.”Jacob will take root and Israel will blossom and fill the world with fruit.
- Isaiah 5:1-2 (BSB)“I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it up and cleared the stones and planted the finest vines. He built a watchtower in the middle and dug out a winepress as well. He waited for the vineyard to yield good grapes, but the fruit it produced was sour!”In Isaiah’s earlier vineyard song, the vineyard produced only sour grapes.
- Isaiah 5:7 (BSB)“For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard a cry of distress.”That earlier song identified the vineyard as the house of Israel and Judah.
- John 15:5 (BSB)“I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.”Jesus teaches that fruit comes from remaining in Him, the vine.
Theological
In the vineyard song of 27:2-6, how does the LORD treat His vineyard?
Answer: He tends it without ceasing and guards it at all hours
The song of 27:2-6 answers the vineyard song of chapter 5. There the vineyard of Israel yielded sour grapes and faced judgment (5:1-2, 7); here the LORD is its constant keeper, watering it and guarding it around the clock, no longer angry (27:2-4), and its fruitfulness fills the world (27:6). The fruit is the result of God’s keeping, not the vineyard’s own vigor. Jesus applies the same principle to His people: fruit comes from abiding in Him, the vine (John 15:5).
- Isaiah 27:2-3 (BSB)“In that day: “Sing about a fruitful vineyard. I, the LORD, am its keeper; I water it continually. I guard it night and day so no one can disturb it;”The LORD sings of a vineyard He waters continually and guards night and day.
- Isaiah 27:6 (BSB)“In the days to come, Jacob will take root. Israel will bud and blossom and fill the whole world with fruit.”Jacob will take root and Israel will blossom and fill the world with fruit.
- Isaiah 5:1-2 (BSB)“I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it up and cleared the stones and planted the finest vines. He built a watchtower in the middle and dug out a winepress as well. He waited for the vineyard to yield good grapes, but the fruit it produced was sour!”In Isaiah’s earlier vineyard song, the vineyard produced only sour grapes.
- Isaiah 5:7 (BSB)“For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard a cry of distress.”That earlier song identified the vineyard as the house of Israel and Judah.
- John 15:5 (BSB)“I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.”Jesus teaches that fruit comes from remaining in Him, the vine.