Isaiah 27:1-13.  For my pathetic excuse for being late on this post see yesterday’s post.  This reading is the end of this third section of Isaiah.  We ended yesterday’s reading with a glimpse of the future day when God will deal with evil.  Of course it is not really a day.  The “great and terrible day of the LORD” can refer to a seven year period described in the book of Daniel as the time when God will fulfill the prophecies and promises he has made to Israel (Daniel 9:24).  In Jeremiah 30:7 that time is described much like it was in the last 2 verses yester day, it is called the time of Jacob’s Distress (a reference to trouble for Israelites, see “What’s in a Name”).  but some of the events don’t happen for 1000 year after God comes down to earth to rule as king (Revelation 20 compared with verse 1 in today’s reading).  And really the end started with the coming of Jesus (check out Matthew 3:2; 4:17; 10:7, Mark 1:15).  So it’s not really a day but a time period and we are actually in it.

As I mentioned above I think verse 1 may refer to the end of a 1000 year reign b God on the earth.  It will be a time when the promise to David of an everlasting kingdom will be fulfilled.  It is sometimes hard to get a clear picture from these messages of the flow of time.  As we have seen all of these events from the ministry of Jesus starting about 30 AD to the 7 years of Jacob’s Trouble (future, near?) to the 1000 year (millennial) kingdom after that, to the destruction of the Serpent (the devil, Genesis 3) at the very end of that “Day” are all compressed into one vision.  Here at the end of this section the point isn’t the timing but the certainty of the events.  The promises will be fulfilled and evil will be dealt with.  What I like about this reading is the very last verse though, “those who were perishing …and scattered…will come and worship the LORD (Yahweh)”.  That is the cool conclusion to a brutal section filled with judgment, the grace and mercy of God.

Lord thank you for being so merciful, even when you punish.  You don’t punish to be mean by to bring us back to where we need to be.  The punishment is the way our sins will be forgiven.  Not because we have paid for them ourselves but because the trouble will hopefully open our eyes.  We will see that only you are our refuge.  Thank you for being the keeper of the vineyard and it’s protector (Isaiah 27:2-3 contrasted with Isaiah 5:1-8).  Thank you for allowing people who are not Israelites to be a part or your garden.  Help me give you the honor that is due to you.  Help me see the greatness that is all of you and talk unendingly about your worth.  Help me worship and thank you for the opportunity to be a part of all that you are and are doing.