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- [00:06]
A
Hey, this is Shelby and Paul, and we are walking you through the book of Isaiah today. We're in chapters 25 through 27. Paul, what's going on in these chapters?
- [00:15]
B
Today's chapters are taking on a much more hopeful tone than what we've seen so far. I think so far we've seen judgment with a little bit of sprinkle of redemption, and now we're getting redemption with a little bit of a sprinkle of judgment instead. So there's a few different things I think, to focus on here for first, it's that the redemption that's being spoken of in these chapters is not just for Israel's current circumstance, and neither is it just for Israel. We read in verse 8 that there's going to be a time when God has swallowed up death once and for all. And so Isaiah's vision for redemption, unlike some other prophetic books, is all encompassing. He's thinking big picture about all of humanity, all of history, the whole earth. Right. And we know that Jesus began the fulfillment of this prophecy on Easter Sunday when he resurrected from the grave. And he delivered us from our sins and from eternal separation from God. But it's not going to be completely fulfilled until he comes back and he defeats sin for good. Obviously, we still die. Everything on earth dies still. But there's going to be a future day when death is eradicated entirely. I think the second thing to consider here is this portion in chapter 27 about a vineyard. Vineyard. And it's describing Israel as a vineyard. And so way back in Isaiah 5, God described Israel as a vineyard there as well. He talks about how he built it and protected it and cleared out all the stones and built a watchtower, but it yielded sour grapes, not good fruit. But here in chapter 27, it says that Jacob will take root, Israel will blossom and bloom and fill the whole world with. With fruit. And so it not only produces fruit for itself, but also for the whole world. So whereas previously they did not do as they should have, through God's judgment and his mercy, they now are able to give fruit to the whole world.
- [02:08]
A
Yeah. So what are our takeaways from these chapters? What application do we have for our lives today?
- [02:15]
B
It's really just that everything in history is moving towards Jesus final second Coming, when he will restore the whole world. I think sometimes the second coming feels just like this theological concept that's off in the distance somewhere. And theologians like to speculate about what it's going to look like. But revelation isn't the only place that things about Jesus's return are talked about. And so we see through the whole narrative of Scripture that the Second Coming is something that concretely affects the way we live today. And it's hope for the future. Because even in the midst of injustice and war and poverty and all the suffering that we have on earth, even our own sin, everything is moving towards beautiful redemption. And I think about Psalm 56:8 came to mind while I was reading these chapters. It describes God collecting our tears in a bottle and recording them in a book. And even though it's a metaphor, I think that it's true that every sorrow that we experience in this life is remembered by God. That really changes how we suffer. That changes how we grieve. Even when people that we love do die, it reminds us that God sees us in that suffering and he has a plan to do something about it on that final day.
- [03:36]
A
For my takeaway, I think I'm going to try to summarize what you just said. And it's just that for Christians, and this is a huge, huge truth, death isn't the end. Death isn't the end. And that doesn't mean that we won't experience deep grief at the loss of someone that we love and care for. It doesn't mean that we might not feel fear when we think about our own eventual death someday. But what it means is beyond that we have hope. And so I think there's this verse, Isaiah 25:8, and it's a really well known verse that we find in these chapters. My translation says, when he has swallowed up death once and for all. I know there's other translations that say that in different ways, but death is not the end. That's right for the believer is what I'm taking away from these chapters. Okay, we hope that you are taking away that as well, but we'd also love for you to leave a comment or review. Let us know what did you learn in Isaiah 25 through 27? We'll be back with more from Isaiah tomorrow.