11 - Line Upon Line (Isaiah 27-28)

Participants: Richard Draper (Professor of Ancient Scripture, BYU), Paul Hoskinson, Michael Rhodes, Ray Huntington.
Focus: Analysis of Isaiah chapters 27 and 28 and their apocalyptic context.

Apocalyptic Nature: These chapters explore the time of God's works being fully manifested in the last days.
Key Themes: Preparation for God's retribution against iniquity and the promise of eventual restoration for His people.

Invitation to Safety: Isaiah 26:20: "Come, my people, enter thou into my chambers, and shut thy doors about thee, hide thyself as it were for a little moment until the indignation be passed over."
- Meaning: God is encouraging His people to find refuge during a short, intense time of upheaval.
Reason for Punishment: Isaiah 26:21: "For behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity."
- Consequence: The earth will reveal the bloodshed and no longer hide the slain.

Leviathan Imagery:
- Description: "The Lord… shall punish Leviathan, the piercing serpent, even Leviathan, the crooked serpent, and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea."
- Symbolism: Leviathan represents chaos and evil, with roots in Ugaritic mythology.
- Nature of Chaos: Water symbolizes chaos in the ancient world, necessitating divine control.

Use of Language: The beauty of Hebrew imagery portrays the triumph of God over chaos.
Connection to Psalms: Similar themes in Psalm 74 about God defeating monster forces signifying chaos.
- Quote: "Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength. Thou breakest the heads of Leviathan in pieces."

Vineyard Symbolism: "In that day sing ye unto her a vineyard of red wine."
- Cultural Significance: Red wine is seen as valuable and signifies abundance and delight.
- Transformation: Contrasts a previously destroyed vineyard from Isaiah 5, now symbolizing restoration.
Emphasis on the Abrahamic Covenant:
- Outcome: Israel will flourish and fulfill its covenantal role of blessing all nations.

God's Role: "I, the Lord, do keep it."
- Imagery: God as caretaker, pruning and nurturing the vineyard to flourish.
Purging Process:
- Method: God uses adversity (often through other nations) to purge Israel's iniquity.
- Imagery of Pruning: Removing briars (sins) while nourishing the vine (Israel).
Verse 4 Insights: "Fury is not in me."
- Interpretation: God's actions aren’t born from anger, but love, akin to a parental reprimand.

Dependence on God: Trusting in worldly protection (briars and thorns) is inadequate; true strength comes from God.
Call for Action: The need for Israel to remove idolatry and sinful practices to restore the vineyard.

Shift in Focus: Returning to Isaiah's time, addressing immediate concerns of Ephraim (Northern tribes).
Verse 1 Commentary: "Woe to the crown of pride… drunkards of Ephraim."
- Leadership Critique: Leadership leads Israel away from righteousness; Samaria as a symbol of pride.
Imagery of Drunkenness:
- Spiritual Condition: Spiritual drunkenness as instability, losing the ability to perceive truth.
- Isaiah 28:8: "Tables are full of vomit," illustrating moral degradation.

Question of Readiness: "Whom shall he teach knowledge?" Referring to the inability of the drunken people to learn.
- Childlike State: Content to receive knowledge incrementally ("precept upon precept…").

Language of Delivery: "With stammering lips…"
- Adaptation: God communicates to a people unable to comprehend higher truths.
Consequences of Rejection: The people will fall and be taken due to their willful blindness and desire for complexity.

Foundation in Zion: "I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone…"
- Christ as the Cornerstone: Reference to Jesus Christ as the solid foundation that believers must rely on.

Verse 20 Imagery: "The bed is shorter than a man can stretch himself on it…"
- Inadequacy of Human Solutions: The outcomes of rejecting God lead to instability and chaos.

Verses 23-29: A Metaphor for Divine Order
- Careful Planning: God’s approach to gathering and establishing His people illustrated with farming practices.

Wrap Up of Chapters 27 and 28: Focus on purification, the establishment of God's people, and the warning against pride and idolatry, pivoting from apocalyptic themes to immediate condemnation of contemporary Israel.