If there was ever a prophecy that shared the heart of a Father, it is Isaiah’s prophecy in this chapter. God is going to punish those that punished His chosen. He would take the leviathan or serpent; and do to them what they did to His chosen. The picture of leviathan comes from Baal mythology as the enemy that Baal defeated. God was sending the message that not Baal–but the one true God was the defeater of the evil one–whether that is Assyria, Egypt, Babylon, or Satan himself–God would destroy all whom would damage the ones He loves.
The other part of the prophecy reminds us that while God does discipline those He loves; it is always the Lord’s intent to restore the chosen and nurture and protect them. Isaiah’s imagery shows a passionate and loving caretaker. The prophecy also speaks of the remnant’s return to peace and prosperity. Isaiah draws a picture of a carefree child; peacefully resting in a safe and lovely place. That is God’s plan and desire for a people that will humbly follow His lead.
In our time, we have seen the rise and fall of many empires. We have seen nations trust God and as they did, they were blessed. Conversely, as they turned their backs on Him, chaos and destruction followed. God wants to bless those that follow Him–whether a nation or a remnant, He loves His own. We must be ready to trust and follow the Lord in all seasons and circumstance. If we will, He will bless us and walk with us through great and difficult times. As the old hymn says–trust and obey, there is no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
God Bless You
In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.
2 In that day,
“A pleasant vineyard,[a] sing of it!
3 I, the Lord, am its keeper;
every moment I water it.
Lest anyone punish it,
I keep it night and day;
4 I have no wrath.
Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!
I would march against them,
I would burn them up together.
5 Or let them lay hold of my protection,
let them make peace with me,
let them make peace with me.”
6 In days to come[b] Jacob shall take root,
Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots
and fill the whole world with fruit.
7 Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them?
Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain?
8 Measure by measure,[c] by exile you contended with them;
he removed them with his fierce breath[d] in the day of the east wind.
9 Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for,
and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:[e]
when he makes all the stones of the altars
like chalkstones crushed to pieces,
no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing.
10 For the fortified city is solitary,
a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;
there the calf grazes;
there it lies down and strips its branches.
11 When its boughs are dry, they are broken;
women come and make a fire of them.
For this is a people without discernment;
therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them;
he who formed them will show them no favor.
12 In that day from the river Euphrates[f] to the Brook of Egypt the Lord will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.
Walking With God 