Isaiah 27: Sea Serpent Slain, Faith’s Fruit Flourishes -- 2019/10/23

Rev. Bernard Ross, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Alma, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 27. “He will slay the dragon that is in the sea.” Isaiah chapter 27 begins with this act of God’s judgment, concluding the previous chapter. Angels are often described in serpentine terms in the Old Testament. Here God promises to punish a fallen angel, the coiling sea dragon named “Leviathan,” as He destroys the nations and evil forces that have oppressed Israel. And where there are serpents, there is often fruit. The next verse goes back to the vineyard metaphor of chapter 5. God calls His people to repentance, to bear good fruit by destroying their idols. King Hezekiah led the people of Judah in this temporal atonement, but he represents Jesus Christ, the good king who gives us spiritual atonement, not only through His suffering and death, but also through His resurrection and works of love.