The Conclusion of the Song (Part 5a)

Pastor Bill Farrow

Isaiah 27:1

¹In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong, Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea.

In that day - In that future time when the Jews would be captive in Babylon, and ultimately speaking of the final day when God will gather His people and punish His enemies, and when they (His people, Israel) would sigh for deliverance (see the note at Isa. 26:1). This verse should almost certainly be connected with the previous chapter, as it refers to the same event, and then this chapter would have more appropriately commenced with the poem or song which begins in Isa. 27:2.

The Lord with His severe sword - Hebrew word is ‘Hard’ Or even ‘Holy.’ It means a sword that is hard, or well-tempered and trusty.

Great and strong - The sword is an emblem of war, and is often used among the Hebrews to denote war (see Gen. 27:40; Lev. 26:25). It is also an emblem of justice or punishment, as punishment then was often inflicted by the sword (Deut. 32:41-42; Ps. 7:12; Heb. 11:37). Here, if it refers most directly to the overthrow of Babylon and its tyrannical king, it means that God would punish them by the armies of the Medes, employed as his sword or instrument. Thus in Ps. 17:13, David prays, ‘Deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword’ (compare the notes at Isa. 10:5-6). However, in type it also refers to the general overthrow of the enemies of God and His people at the time of the end as we have noted before.

Will punish Leviathan - Literally ‘The dragon.’ The word ‘leviathan’ is probably derived from the  Arabic, to weave, to twist and literally means, “the twisted animal.” The word occurs in six places in the Old Testament, and is translated in Job 3:8, ‘mourning,’ in Job 41:1, ‘leviathan’ - in which chapter is an extended description of the animal; in Ps. 74:14, it is rendered ‘leviathan,’ and seems to be applied to Pharaoh; and in Ps. 104:26, and in the passage before us, where it is twice also rendered ‘leviathan.’ Quite a number of commentators have gone to great pains to seek to show that by the leviathan the crocodile is intended; and their arguments are in my view, fairly conclusive.

The crocodile is a natural inhabitant of the Nile and of other Asiatic and African rivers; is of enormous ferocity and strength, as well as of fleetness in swimming; attacks mankind and all animals with great speed and suddenness; and is furnished with a coat so scaly and callous that it can even resist the force of a bullet (unless fired directly) in every part except under the belly. It is, therefore, an appropriate image by which to represent a fierce and cruel tyrant. The Biblical writers were accustomed to describe kings and tyrants by an allusion to strong and fierce animals (Ezek. 29:3-5 where the dragon, or the crocodile of the Nile, represents Pharaoh; in Ezek. 22:2, Pharaoh is compared to a young lion, and to a whale in the seas; in Ps. 74:13-14, Pharaoh is compared to the dragon, and to the leviathan. In Dan. 7, the four monarchs that should arise are likened to four great beasts. In Rev. 12, Rome, the new Babylon, is compared to a great red dragon).

In the place before us, I believe that the direct reference is to Babylon; or to the king and tyrant that ruled there, and that had oppressed the people of God. But among commentators there has been a great variety of explanation. As a “specimen” of the various senses which commentators often assign to passages of Scripture, we may notice the following views which have been taken of this passage.

One ancient version regards the leviathans, which are twice mentioned, as referring, the first one to some king like Pharaoh, and the second to a king like Sennacherib. Another supposes that the word denotes the most select or valiant of the rulers, princes, and commanders that were in the army of the enemy of the people of God. Yet another supposes that by the first-mentioned leviathan is meant Egypt, by the second Assyria, and by the dragon which is in the sea, he thinks “Tyre” is intended.

One writer supposes that by the dragon in the sea, Egypt is denoted. Another supposes that this will be fulfilled only in the times of the Messiah, and that the sea monsters mentioned here are Gog and Magog - and that these denote the armies of the Greeks, the Saracens, and the inhabitants of India. Another supposes that the Saracens, the Roman empire, and the other kingdoms of Gentiles, are intended by these sea monsters. Several Christian writers suppose that “Satan” is denoted by the leviathan. One supposes that this was fulfilled in the day of Pentecost when Satan was overcome by the preaching of the gospel. Other Christian interpreters have supposed, that by the leviathan first mentioned Islam is intended; by the second, “heretics;” and by the dragon in the sea, “Pagan India.” Luther understood it of Assyria and Egypt; Calvin supposes that the description properly applies to the king of Egypt, but that under this image other enemies of the church are embraced, and does not doubt that “allegorically” Satan and his kingdom are intended. The more simple interpretation, however, is that which refers it directly to Babylon and prophetically to the powers in existence at the time of the Second Coming. This suits the connection: accords with the previous chapters; agrees with all that occurs in this chapter, and with the image which is used here. The crocodile, the dragon, the sea monster - extended, vast, unwieldy, voracious, and odious to the view - would be a most expressive image to denote the abhorrence with which the Jews would regard Babylon and its king.