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Isaiah 27 - Leviathan and a Detestable Vineyard · Tabernacle Talk - A Bible Study Podcast with Pastor Bryon Self

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Welcome to Tabernacle Talk. Tabernacle Talk is a Bible study
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podcast brought from Tabernacle Baptist Church in Essex, MD.
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I'm your host, Brian Self. We hope this podcast encourages
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you to know Christ, grow in his word and show his love to
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others. Let's dive right in.
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Hey, welcome back to Tabernacle Talk.
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Today we are in Isaiah chapter 27.
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We're in the very last chapter of Isaiah's mini apocalypse, the
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little apocalypse of Isaiah. This is looking at what God
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reveals about the end of the human story.
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And so I'm super, super excited for today's episode because it
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has one of my favorite things in the Bible, which is the sea
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dragon, the sea serpent leviathan, the tanneneem is one
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of the Hebrew words for that. And so let's read through and by
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way of refresher, we've talked about this in Psalms, we've
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talked about it in Acts, we've talked about it.
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We actually talked about it several times through in Psalms
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and we've seen it a couple of times already in the book of
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Isaiah. I'm also going through a Bible
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study right now in Job over on our Tabernacle Baptist Essex
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sermon podcast with a small group on Sunday nights.
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We're almost done with that study and it's come up a couple
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times there too. The, and I've mentioned it when
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I was preaching through Genesis chapter 1, the Bible was written
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in a particular time and within a particular culture, the
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ancient Near East. So that would be the area of
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Israel, Canaan by Iran, Iraq and ancient Assyria, Babylon and
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over by Egypt and some of those cultures.
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So the Bible wasn't written into a void.
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It wasn't written before anything else was written.
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There were other works and even other religious thoughts and
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cultures that were around. The Bible did not borrow from
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other sources truths about God. It did not borrow from other
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people what like events took place.
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But often scripture will use similar language or it will use
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a story type to talk about a spiritual reality.
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And one of my favorite ways that they do this is through talking
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about, I'll call it the Chaos Dragon.
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And there's a great series that was put out, podcast series, and
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then a video with some descriptions on this that you
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can look at that the Bible Project put out tracing this
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theme all the way from Genesis 1 where it first appears, all the
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way to Revelation where it ends up with the apostle John.
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And he, and he's certainly drawing from things here and in
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Daniel seven, among other locations.
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So what is the Chaos Dragon? In the surrounding nations, they
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thought of the start of the world, the start of human
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existence or animal existence as being kind of a fluke.
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It was an accident. It was not something that was
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inevitable. It wasn't something that was
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even intended to ennoble the human race.
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Instead they viewed spiritual beings as the ultimate, like the
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quintessential reality. And that there were the various
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gods and demigods that showed up onto the scene.
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But that as they began making animals and even humans as like
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their slaves, the things that they were enslaving for their
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purpose, that the humans were just meant to serve the various
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gods, that there were primordial evil, I'll say malevolent
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spiritual beings typified by the waters.
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So as you got closer to like Canaan and and Palestine, that
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would be like the Mediterranean Sea waters in other locations of
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the world. That would be, you know, the
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various oceans, the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic way over
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towards the other end of of Europe and Africa or the Pacific
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Ocean as you get out towards, you know, Japan and China,
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places like that. I've heard speculation as well
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that even knowing the effects of the flood from Genesis 6 and
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wherever you go in the world you will hear these flood stories of
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when the waters came and destroyed what existed except
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for one portion of humanity. That no matter where you go in
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ancient cultures you will find that story.
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The thought was this that if you are watching the video version
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of this I did not notice that my reactions thing was on.
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So you just saw a giant thumbs up appear out of nowhere.
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So the with the waters that came and destroyed the earth, there
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was a recurring fear and legend story that what was animating
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the waters to come and destroy the world were giant sea
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serpents or the kind of older word would be dragon.
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That is a large great reptile. I've mentioned it down here
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before. Don't think medieval dragon with
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you know, the legs and wings. More of a just giant sea snake
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is is how you could think about that.
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You can also look in the book of Job and see kind of God's
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description of this. There is some unknown aspects of
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whether or not this was also describing A literal creature
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that existed during those time periods.
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Most of the time it's used metaphorically and especially in
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the prophets it's used as a metaphor so that the sea snake,
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the chaos dragon, the waters wanted to destroy life so the
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gods had like made humans to be their slaves.
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But then the water, malevolent spiritual beings, they wanted to
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destroy everything that was on the land.
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So it is used in the other cultures of the ancient Near
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East to talk about evil spiritual beings.
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Scripture talks about these beings not as some sort of rival
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to what God was wanting to do. Instead, we're told in Genesis
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One that God created the tenonym, the great sea monsters,
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that he is the one that created these.
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He is the one that created all spiritual beings.
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And there's even a pattern that is put into Genesis 1 where God
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says that he's going to make two things and then he ends up
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making three things. So he says he's going to make
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the sun and moon or the the greater light and the lesser
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light. The sun and moon aren't even
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named in that particular chapter, Contra the worship of
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the sun and moon that was very common back in that time.
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So God doesn't even call them by their names.
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He he just says the big light and the little light.
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He says, I'm going to make these.
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And then it says, and he made the stars also.
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And as I've told you guys, anytime you hear stars mentioned
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in scripture, always be thinking of the spiritual beings as well.
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And the physical lights that you can see in the night sky or that
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you can look at with a telescope or Google pictures of those are
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emblematic. The representative of the fact
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that far above human existence, far above physical existence,
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there is a spiritual reality that affects so much of our
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world. And Scripture talks a lot about
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that. So there was the sun and moon
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and he made the stars also. Then God says that he's going to
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make the birds above and the fish below.
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And it says that he did that. And it said, and he also made
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the Tannini the great sea monsters.
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So just as the stars is a way to speak about or a way to think
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about the spiritual beings, so it is as well with the Tannini
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that all throughout the scriptural story, these
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mythological sea monsters were a way that the biblical authors
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described spiritual beings, evil spiritual beings in particular.
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And then they apply that to human governments and rulers to
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say that when these human governments and rulers, they're
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not behaving like God, they're not seeking human flourishing.
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They're seeking destruction, incredible like taxation,
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brutality, sexual immorality, greed, all of that.
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They are not following the lead of God's spirit, of God's way.
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Instead, they are acting like the sea serpents, the chaos
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Dragons that want to destroy everything, if you will, using
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kind of more of a, a modern example, you would say, OK,
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right now Putin is acting like Godzilla, destroying this land
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and churches and all of that kind of stuff that you would say
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he is acting like Godzilla. That's kind of the same picture
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that the biblical authors give. So that's the way that we're
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walking into this truth. Isaiah 27 verse #1 On that day,
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Yahweh with His relentless, large, strong sword will bring
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judgement on Leviathan, the fleeing serpent.
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Leviathan, the twisting serpent. He will slay the monster that is
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in the sea. And now you see why I did 10
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minutes of back story for that statement.
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Because now you go, oh, God is going to crush and destroy
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spiritual evil. It's also part of the picture of
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why Satan is called a serpent. That in Genesis 3 in the garden,
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there was someone that is there that talks about, hey, if you do
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this, you will be like the Elohim.
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You will be like God, or you'll be like the gods, the spiritual
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beings, knowing both good and evil.
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Well, who is the serpent that knows what the Elohim are like?
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This is, as we would know him later, Satan, that great
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serpent. And so that's what John calls
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him in Revelation 12. That's what Luke, that's how
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Jesus describes it in Luke chapter 10.
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This is that one that is fallen that was cast down in Isaiah 14,
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that one who wanted to be proud, that one who wanted to ascend
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into the mount of the highest, but he was cast down.
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And so this is this one, and God is going to kill him.
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I love the descriptive words there, the relentless.
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There's nowhere that Satan will be able to go that God's justice
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will not pursue him. It is large, it is greater than
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Satan is, and it is a strong sword that it doesn't matter the
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might of the quote UN quote evil one, that God reigns supreme.
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He is better, He is stronger, He's more powerful, He is
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bigger, and He will not stop until He brings judgment on this
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One who wanted the death and destruction of all humanity.
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Verse #2 On that day, sing about a detestable vineyard.
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I am Yahweh who watches over it to water it regularly.
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So there's this place, no one wants it, but God is going to
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care for it. He's protecting it.
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He's watering it daily, He says, so that no one disturbs it.
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I watch over it night and day. I am not angry.
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If only there were thorns and briars for me to battle, I would
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trample them and burn them to the ground, or let it take hold
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of my strength. Let it make peace with me.
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Make peace with me. In days to come, Jacob will take
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root. Israel will blossom and bloom
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and fill the whole world with fruit.
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Here God says there is this place, this people that right
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now no one wants anything to do with them.
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They are not popular. No one's like, Oh yes, we are
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just so in awe of Judah and Israel.
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And God says, no, I'm watching over them, I'm protecting them.
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And again, this is them about to go into exile in the next 100
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years. But God says that even though
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you are going to experience hardships, don't let it make you
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think that I am angry with you. I am actually sustaining you
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through this time. Even as we would read like the
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book of Esther is a great example of this, that God was
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actively caring for and protecting his people even from
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kind of existential a death that could that could take place or
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people just abandoning any worship of Yahweh or observance
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of his commands. That God sustained both their
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worship and their lives, their national identity during that
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time, so that then he would bring them back into the land.
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And Even so, it is with us today that God watches over us night
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and day. He cares for us.
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He's protecting us. He, he says, man, I wish that
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some thorns and briars would try to attack my people because I
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would bring those thorns and briars down here.
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These effects of the curse that what was brought on because of
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the serpent God is going to undo every aspect of the curse.
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Even the curse that was happening in the exile.
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God would bring it down. Verse #7 Did Yahweh strike
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Israel as he struck the one who struck Israel?
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Like did God deal as harshly with Israel as he did with
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Assyria or with Babylon? Certainly we know from history
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the answer is no, He dealt more harshly with the others.
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Was Israel killed like those killed by Yahweh?
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You disputed with Israel by banishing and driving her away.
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He removed her with his severe storm on the day of the east
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wind. So God removed Israel from the
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land by Assyria. Verse #9 Therefore Jacob's
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iniquity will be atoned for in this way, and the results of the
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removal of his sin will be this. When He makes all the altar
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stones like crushed bits of chalk, no Asherah poles or
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incense altars will remain standing.
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For the fortified city will be desolate pastures, deserted and
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abandoned like a wilderness. Calves will graze there and
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there. They will spread out and strip
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its branches. When its branches dry out, they
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will be broken off. Women will come and make fires
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with them, for they're not a people with understanding.
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Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them, and
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their Creator will not be gracious to them.
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On that day Yahweh will thresh grain from the Euphrates River
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as far as the Wadi of Egypt, and you Israelites will be gathered
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one by one. On that day a great ram's horn
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will be blown, and those lost in the land of Assyria will come,
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as well as those dispersed in the land of Egypt, and they will
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worship Yahweh at Jerusalem on the holy mountain.
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So though there would come a time of desolation, a time, the
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time of exile where everyone was gone, the false worship in the
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idolatry that was the reason for their exile from the land, the
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idolatry would cease. That's those ashra poles, the
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altars, the incense, all of that, that would all go away.
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The great, you know, fortifications of mankind,
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symbols of their power and military might, they would go
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away, but God would be the one to bring them back into the land
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and he would care for them. And I love that he says new
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Israelites will be gathered one by one.
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God has a care for each individual person.
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And on that day, when judgment comes, it's not going to matter,
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if you will, who is holding the ball last, It will return to its
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rightful owner. That's what we would read even
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in the Beatitudes, that it's not the powerful or the rich that
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will inherit the earth, that will be a part of the Kingdom of
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God. It is those that have a humility
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before God, those that hunger and thirst after right
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relationship with God and with people.
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It is the poor in spirit. It's the meek.
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It's those that are peacemakers in a broken world.
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And so may we seek to be the kind of people that God would
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want to have in His Kingdom. And we know that as we attempt
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that and often fail it, that just like the Israelites, we can
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be forgiven and atoned for, not through what we do, but through
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what heaven does on our behalf. I'm even preaching at the time
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that I'm recording this, this coming Sunday on John 1916
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through 30, which is Jesus and the crucifixion and how he gave
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his life for us and he cried out on the cross to Telesty.
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It is finished. The work is complete and because
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the work is complete and Satan is going to be judged and
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crushed, life is what awaits us and the we were the detestable
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vineyard that we were at enmity with God, if you will.
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We were on Team Leviathan, Team Serpent of our Father the Devil,
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as Jesus tells people at various times during his ministry.
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Yet we can be those that are brought into relationship
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through accepting what Christ has done on our behalf.
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And God is the one that watches over us, that cares for us, that
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protects us even through the wilderness until we are reunited
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with Him. Thank you for tuning in to
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today's episode. Next episode, we're going to go
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back into some condemnation, some woes, woe, some woes
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against the various nations around Israel, around Judah.
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And it'll be a good for us to remember once again that yes,
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there is good that is coming, but that good isn't guaranteed
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for every nation or for every place.
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Instead solely for those who have placed their faith and
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trust in Christ. And so that is our call then is
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both to be those who have believed in Christ and we ought
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to tell others about the Lord so that one day when every nation
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falls except for the Kingdom of heaven, that we would be joined
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to that wonderful group. Thanks for tuning in today.
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God bless.