The Song of Salvation in the Land of Judah
26: 1-19
Although Chapters 24-25 focus on the victory for the believing remnant and the feast that follows, Chapters 26-27 reflect soberly on the meaning of this victory for Isra’el. The prophet wrote a song that will be sung by the redeemed when Messiah establishes the Messianic Kingdom. Isaiah was picturing himself standing in the redeemed land with the remnant, listening to the people express their thanks to, and confidence in ADONAI, making special use of the imagery of a vineyard. This chapter is about perseverance in spite of hardship and uncertainty. We in the west know little of this. For two hundred years we have experienced a rarity on the face of the earth: a culture profoundly influenced by biblical ethics from top to bottom. To be sure, there was plenty of corruption. But when such was revealed, it was not winked at or taken for granted. It was reviled and rooted out as much as possible. As a result, we have inherited a culture where courtesy and respecting God’s commandments had been “givens.”
Now, however, since the cultural upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s in America, when parents began to give up their responsibilities, and when the Jesus Movement produced a feel-good revival instead of a moral overhaul, our entire heritage has begun to be quickly eroded. Believers are finding themselves with less and less influence while cultural wise men spend millions of foundation dollars (often earned by hard-working believers) trying to find out what is the missing glue that once held American society together.
How shall believers respond to circumstances like these? There is a degree of escapism involved, because it is hard to keep one’s focus when we are neither popular nor overtly persecuted. So, we fantasize about a time when everything will be perfectly clear, when the lines will be drawn so that everyone can see them. But these verses in Isaiah are written for just such a hazy time as ours, when the lines are not clear. They tell us to do four things: Trust God in an active way (26:8), honor the LORD’s name alone (26:13), believe ADONAI can do what we cannot (26:11, 20-21), and do not let go of the resurrection (26:19).88
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