As the apocalypse of chapters 24-27 draws to a close, and with it the whole second part of the book, Israel comes back into focus as the nation which stands at the center of God’s purposes for the world; verse 6 sums it up. God has a plan which embraces all nations, and Israel is destined to play a central role in that plan. But before it can fulfill its calling it must be cleansed. In bringing that central idea back into sharp focus this passage is a fitting climax to chapters 13-27. It ends, as the book does, with the Lord being worshipped on His holy mountain in Jerusalem.

This song (vv. 2-6) must be read in the light of the earlier song of the vineyard in 5:1-7; a whole series of contrasts is developed. In essence this song announces that eventually (In that day) the judgment proclaimed in the first song will be totally reversed. Formerly the Lord was angry with Israel and invited her enemies to overrun her. But the time will come when His wrath against her will be spent (v. 4a). Then her enemies (briers and thorns) will encroach no more. At the end of the song the Lord speaks like a lover whose love for His beloved is so intense that He almost wishes someone would attack her so that He might have satisfaction of defending he (v. 4). The song finishes in verse 5, but verse 6 then makes the great reversal plain. The world will no longer invade the vineyard; the vineyard will invade the world, filling it with fruit. Here at last will be the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3.

However, in Isaiah’s day, Israel was very far removed from the ideal situation envisioned in verses 1-5. She was in the midst of the cleansing process, when the Lord had broken down the wall of His vineyard and allowed it to be overrun, as graphically described in chapter 1:7-8. We find ourselves back in the painful waiting period with which so much of chapter 26 was about. Three things are said about this judgment. First, it is less severe than that which the Lord has already exercised against Judah’s enemies (v. 7). Secondly, it is carefully controlled with no more severity than is required to achieve the desired end. Thirdly, that end is atonement – removal of what is offensive to God so that forgiveness can become possible (v. 9).

Two images are used in the closing paragraph (vv. 12-13). To express the final destiny of God’s people. The first is agricultural. When the threshing (judgment) is over, the precious grains will be gathered up one by one. There is great tenderness here, and strong reassurance. The grain will not be destroyed with the chaff. Not a single one of those who have relied on the Lord will ultimately be lost. The second image is cultic (having to do with organized worship). The great trumpet of verse 13a is both a proclamation of liberty and a call to worship. As the freed captives of long ago assembled at Mount Sinai to worship the Lord, so will those of the future assemble at the holy mountain in Jerusalem for the same purpose (v. 13b). Then and then only will they be the blessing in the midst of the earth that they were always meant to be (v.6).

A fuller picture of that end-time assembly emerges from elsewhere in Isaiah and, of course, from the New Testament. It will not be restricted to saved Israelites but will include people of all nations. For ultimately the one qualification for inclusion among the people of God in the acknowledgement that salvation is to be found nowhere else than in the God of Israel. All strands of the second major segment of the book converge on this single point: worship – God being acknowledged for who He is. Such worship is not an escape from reality but a return to it, and it is in returning to reality that the world, so long out of joint, will finally be made whole (66:22-23).

Isaiah 27:2-13 Reflection Questions:

What are the contrasts between chapter 5 and 27 songs?

Who is the singer in this final song (vv. 2-6)?

Have you ever been in a cleansing process from the Lord?

Is going to church to worship God reality or is being in the world (work, school, etc.) reality to you?