Isaiah: Chapter 27 | The Wolfe Notes

 Welcome, Family! We're spending 2024 with the prophet Isaiah. While we claim no expertise, we're excited to sit with you as we both learn at the feet of Jesus. Each month, we offer a calendar that outlines daily exercises (adapted from Jenn Wilkin's Women of the Word Bible study process) to progress through Isaiah. Download  May's calendar to begin with us and witness what we uncovered in our weekly "Wolfe Note" postings.

Contents:

1. Different Versions Noting and clarifying differences between KJV & NET.
2. Annotation My thoughts, connections, clarifications, and questions.
3. Research Symbolism of calves in the Bible.
4. Summary An approximately twenty word overview of the chapter.
5. Memorize Why I chose to memorize Isaiah 27:3.
6. Cross References Of Isaiah 27:3.
7. Respond Based on reflections on God's character and my own.

Different Versions

I read Chapter 27 in the King James Version (KJV) and the New English Translation (NET). The KJV is a  word-for-word translation and the NET is a thought-for-thought translation.

Major differences I noticed (*My thoughts alone are in italics and designated with an asterisk.):

• Isaiah 27:4
• Comparisons:
• KJV: Fury is not in me (1) who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them. I would burn them together.
• NET: I am not angry. (1) I wish I could confront some thorns and briers! Then I would march against them for battle; I would set them all on fire,
• Discrepancy: Is God wishing for a confrontation (NET) or confident that even if one came, He would be victorious (KJV)?
• Clarifications: *The KJV is poetic but loses clarity that the NET provides. I prefer the KJV interpretation on this one.
• Isaiah 27:7
• Comparisons:
• KJV: Hath he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him?
• NET: Has the Lord struck down Israel as he did their oppressors? Has Israel been killed like their enemies?
• Clarifications: *The KJV's overuse of pronouns makes this verse difficult to interpret. The NET clarifies it well.
• Isaiah 27:8
• Comparisons:
• KJV: (1) In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind.
• NET: (1) When you summon her for divorce, you prosecute her; (2) he drives her away with his strong wind in the day of the east wind.
• Discrepancies:
1. Is this verse about a divorce (NET) or about Israel growing, or shooting forth (KJV)?
2. Does he drive her away (NET) or protect it (KJV)?
• Clarifications:
• In Hebrew, the translation might be: "Having calculated, Israel is sent away, grappled with, and removed from a severe anger like comes during a day of eastern winds." (Eastern winds were known for being scorching hot. (See Brown-Driver-Briggs and other verses that use, qadim, the Hebrew word for east wind.)
• Ellicott explains that the chastisement, here given to Israel, is small compared to what they deserve: He only divorces Israel (See Hosea 1-3.) instead of going as far as legal proceedings would allow. (See Deuteronomy 24:1 and Malachi 2:16.) The punishment is for reformative purposes; to sift not destroy.
• Pulpit adds that instead of writing Israel off, God instead chooses to wrestle with her and refine her.
• Isaiah 27:12
• Comparisons:
• KJV: And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.
• NET: At that time the Lord will shake the tree, from the Euphrates River to the Stream of Egypt. Then you will be gathered one by one.
• Clarifications: *The KJV leaves uncertainty about what is being 'beaten off' that the NET clarifies.

Annotation

Notes on my process. *Denotes my thoughts alone. ! Denotes a connection. Researched quick answers are in italics. *R Indicates a topic with more extensive notes under the research heading.

1. God Keeps His Vineyard (27:1-5)
1. God's truth will nullify Satan's chaos.
1. ! "With his sore and great and strong sword" - like the Sword of the Spirit in Ephesians 6:17.
2. Leviathan = dragon of the sea = Satan. (See Leviathan research at Never Thirsty)
2. Then, His vineyard will sing for we know God keeps us. (See research on God's vineyard.)
1. *Our response to God's work is praise. 
3. He lovingly and efficiently removes obstacles to our growth.
1. *We are safe! He tends us. 
2. *It's silly that anyone thinks they could raise effective barriers to our growth when God tends us.
4. His desire is that even those who hinder us would recognize His strength and receive His peace.
1. 🎵It's a peace that the world does not understand.🎶 ("My Peace" performed by Maranatha Singers)
2. God Prunes His Vineyard (27:6-11) 
1. His people will prosper, they will fill the world with the fruit of His spirit.
2. Though you may question the process when it looks as though His people are being punished and slain, you will know they prosper when peace comes to them in the day of trouble.
1. ? Does this describe the day of Jacob's trouble? Read an explanation of Jacob's Trouble at Got Questions)
3. When God's vineyard removes all forms of idolatry, you will know her iniquity is cleansed.
4. The strongholds of deception crumble and God remains. 
1. ! The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. Isaiah 40:8
2. ! Connects to other places in Isaiah (7:21-25; 13:21-22, 17:2, 32:13-14) where strong cities crumble and beasts feed in the rubble.*This repeated imagery, of a prominent city ruined, represents human power left as rubble and turned over to God's creation. Afterall, He knows we are dust (Psalm 103:14); it's by His breath we live (Genesis 2:7 and Isaiah. 2:22)
3. Is there symbolism in the calf? *R
5. The false doctrines will receive no mercy or favor and will be destroyed.
1. ! The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Proverbs 9:10
2. ? Why is it women that burn the boughs? *Makes me think of the seven women in Isaiah 4:1 (see notes) and that women, symbolically, represent various faith philosophies (Under "What God Sees" subheading of Isaiah 4 annotation). Benson suggests the women gather the boughs because the men have been killed.
3. ! If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. John 15:6
3. God Gathers His People (27:11-13)
1. But, for the children of Israel, God will make a way, gathering them one by one.
1. ! Two-by-two. (Animals to the ark in Genesis 7:15; Sending of the disciples in Mark 6:7; Two are better than one in Ecclesiastes 4:9)
2. * How much more intimate is one-by-one. But, with Him we become two-by-two. How He loves us!
3. ! Another picture of God gleaning the remnant. (Isaiah 6:13; the name Shear-Jashub; 10:20; 14:1; 17:5-6; 24:13)
2. He gathers them from persecution (in Assyria) and isolation (in Egypt) so together they come to worship Him on His holy mountain.

Research

*Thoughts that are mine alone are marked with an asterisk and italicized.

Is there symbolism in the calf? (Isaiah 27:10)

Sacrifice

• Commonly used. (Easton)
• The fatted calf was supreme for sacrifice and feasting. (Easton)
• When cut in two, the fatted calf represented agreement on both sides of a covenant. (Easton)
• "The calves of our lips" refers to praise. See Hosea 14:2. *The calf will feed! Praise to God will live here in the rubble. 🎵God, you are my God and I will ever praise You. Step by step you'll lead me, and I will follow you all of my days.🎶

Idol Calves

• From Babylon and Canaan. (Exodus 32:4 and I Kings 12:28)
• *Likely not the calf here as after the destruction of the defensed city, then the calf grazes peacefully. Idol calves would be destroyed along with the city.

The Fatted Calf

• Is our inheritance in Christ. (Vinson)
• When we "bring out the fatted calf" we acknowledge our very best is only when we are in Christ. The fatted calf is absent in our works without Christ. (Vinson)
• It's our living sacrifice: living in service to God. (Vinson)
• We will receive our inheritance, our fatted calf, at the marriage supper. (Vinson)
• Proverbs 16:3 Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts will be established.
• Jesus is, ultimately, the fatted calf sacrificed so we can receive our inheritance. (Gill on Luke 15:23 and The Lord's Grace - PDF)
• 
  

*Conclusions: So, if a fatted calf is our acknowledgment of our need for Jesus by accepting that He sacrificed Himself for us, then a calf 1) feeding, 2) lying down, and 3) eating the branches represents our spiritual growth - our gaining wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of Christ. Spiritual growth happens when we 1) feed on His word, 2) rest in His protection and truth, 3) destroy falsehoods - idols, harmful practices, deceptions, vain philosophies, etc. - that are out to ensnare us.

Summary

God tends His vineyard, Israel, well. He protects, grows, prunes, weeds, and gathers it to Him. Together, now, they worship.

Memorize

I chose to memorize Isaiah 27:3.

I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.

Because it illustrates God's enduring faithfulness and tender care of us. It also challenges me: am I  as faithful and tender to my vineyards, the people in my care?

Cross References

*Thoughts that are mine alone are marked with an asterisk and italicized.

Of Isaiah 27:3.

I the Lord do keep it,...

• John 10:28 NET: I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand.
• Isaiah 31:4-6 KJV: As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.
• Isaiah 42:6 KJV: I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles.
• *In, The Men We Need, Brant Hansen recognizes the role of man is "Keeper of the Garden."  Here, we see that God perfectly embodies His role as the perfect and ultimate "Keeper of the Garden." When we seek an example of 'the men we need,' start here.

...I will water it every moment:...

• John 7:37-39 KJV: In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
• Deuteronomy 31:6 NET: Be strong and courageous! Do not fear or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is the one who is going with you. He will not fail you or abandon you!"
• Isaiah 58:11 KJV: And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

...lest any hurt it, ...

• In Hebrew, paqad means to attend to, visit, muster, appoint, punish. *So lest any visit it (with ill-intent is implied).
• Exodus 20:5 KJV: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
• Hosea 4:14 KJV: I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.
• Jeremiah 13:21 KJV: What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee as a woman in travail?
• *Remember, He will slay Leviathan. He defends you against the evilest of evil. With the Hebrew word used, and in light of the corresponding verses, it definitely seems like God watches over us to protect us from wrong thinking, evil philosophies, doctrines of devils.

...I will keep it night and day.

• Psalm 121:3 KJV: He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
• Exodus 13:21 KJV: And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
• Proverbs 31:18 KJV She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out at night. (*See our notes on Proverbs 31:18)
• Mark 4:27-29 NET: He also said, "The kingdom of God is like someone who spreads seed on the ground. He goes to sleep and gets up, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. By itself the soil produces a crop, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. And when the grain is ripe, he sends in the sickle because the harvest has come.

*Conclusions: God keeps (guards, defends, protects) us! He quenches our thirst with living water continuously. He is our gate, keeping watch  for evil that might ensnare us, and He never sleeps. Rest easy; we are safe! He guards us from darkness we don't even know exists and tends us so we grow. There is no safer place to be. Abide here; never leave.

Respond

1. God defends, tends, and guards us. I don't always believe it because I don't see it, feel it, or acknowledge it. I can trust that He is always watching over me and look for signs of it. I can thank Him for His care of me even when I don't perceive it because I know that His care for me is not dependent upon my belief that He does. I can likewise defend, tend, and guard my vineyard: the people and responsibilities God's entrusted to me.
2. God weeds His vineyard. I need to be weeded. I allow sin in. I think and do the things I don't want to do, the things that I know aren't righteous. (Romans 7:15-20) I allow self-doubt, selfishness, the desires for ambition, affection, and admiration to overtake me. What's more evil that I am not even aware of entraps me. I can submit to His weeding. I can burn the pile He removes instead of replanting it and covering it up.
3. God gathers His people one-by-one. I struggle to believe this. I believe others perceive me as insignificant, disappointing, and an easy target for ridicule. So, if people see me this way, why would God see me differently? Why would He choose me when no one else does? Because, that's God. He knows my name and calls me to Him. 🎵You are not hidden. There's never been a moment you were forgotten.🎶("Rescue" performed by Lauren Daigle) I will allow the wall of hurt and distrust to crumble so He can pour His love into me. I will be satisfied with His love  so I can love others, embracing them as more of His people that He has gathered together.

In Closing

God, You love us! Just as I start thinking I grasp the depth of Your love for us, You reveal to me another level of Your love. Though we push You away, ignore You, run in the opposite direction, ridicule You, scorn You, and blame You, You still love us. We would never let anyone treat us the way we treat You. Yet still, You love us. You tend to us in every moment. Day and night You guard us against known and unknown evils. Let us not forget. Let us awaken to the fullness of Your love, to our need for You, and in response, guide us to likewise love others.

Learning with You,

Ready for Chapter 28?

Sample these related posts:

To locate the Isaiah study guide for May.

To review notes on Isaiah Chapter 25 and 26.

To discover more about God's care of His vineyard.

To read notes on Proverbs 31:16 which includes topics of fruit, planting, and vineyards.

To rest in your walk with God.

Interested in more faith-related blogs? Then you're looking for Faith Food. At Faith Food, you'll find links to all our faith-related blogs and a short description of each.

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