Christ triumphs over chaos

In context, this section of Isaiah is immediately preceded by an eschatological judgement oracle, where the faithful are instructed to enter their rooms ‘until the wrath has passed’, for the Lord ‘is coming from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity’.

Chapter 26 commences with the Hebraism ‘on that day’, bâyôm hǎhû, a phrase repeated some 45 times in the prophecy of Isaiah. According to the Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon, this phrase is very often used in prophecy as a ‘formula in describing what is to come at time of future blessing, retribution, etc’.

It first appears in Isaiah 2:11, one of the cornerstone chapters of the prophecy, where the pride of mankind is brought to naught by the power of Yahweh. Of the first five chapters of Isaiah, Motyer notes that these oracles are constructed as a kind of ‘author's preface’ which serve as a backdrop to the entire course of Isaiah’s ministry. The motifs and themes laid out here will echo throughout, and the phrase ‘in that day’ is repeated eight times in these prelude chapters.

For instance, Isaiah 4:2 reads that on that day, the sěmǎh yhwh [Branch of the Lord] will be beautiful and glorious, speaking of course of the Lord Jesus, the Branch of David’s line. Isaiah 11:10, bayom hahu seres yisay, on that day the root of Jesse will stand as a banner. Isaiah 12:1, then you will say bayom hahu [on that day].

So as we approach Isaiah 27, we expect, owing to the phrase on that day, that this will be a future event. However, Isaiah is a prophet especially fond of ‘already-not-yet’ and ‘partial-and-future fulfilment’, so context and content will help us determine whether this is yet to be fulfilled.

The first verse of this chapter is dense with meaning, and can be divided (cf Lexham Hebrew Interlinear) into the following clauses:

 1.   On that day Yahweh will punish

2.   with his great and hard and terrible sword

3.   The fleeing snake leviathan

4.   Leviathan, the twisting serpent

5.   He will kill the monster that is in the sea

We are introduced, then, to two characters in this prophecy. Of Yahweh, Isaiah has a lot to say for obvious reasons, but he is paired with a character of great interest—Leviathan. It is perhaps presumptuous to say that this verse details the conflict between the two, because here it is a rather one-sided battle; Leviathan flees, and the Lord slays him!

Leviathan is a character that has long occupied the interest of many, even in the secular world. The name livyatan occurs some six times in the Hebrew Bible:

Job 3:8—those who are ready to rouse livyatan

Job 41:1—Can you pull in livyatan with a hook?

Psalm 74:14—you crushed the heads of livyatan

Psalm 104:26—livyatan, which you formed to play there

Twice in Isaiah 27

What can we learn about this creature from the text? Job 41 is very descriptive, and presents him as ferocious and untameable. What can we learn from other texts?

In the Ugaritic script, we have preserved for us the so-called Baal Cycle, which depicts the deity of Baal boasting of his triumph over ‘Litan’, which is described as the ‘wriggling serpent’, and the ‘writhing serpent’ and the ‘encircler’. This maps remarkably well on to the biblical description of Leviathan, alongside other names such as Rahab. Isaiah of course asserts that rather than Baal being the one who conquers Leviathan, it is the One True God of Israel who controls all things.

It is perhaps best not to think of Leviathan as a literal creature per se, but rather as a representation of chaos. One interesting connection with the NT is that in Revelation 12:9, we read of the Great War in heaven, where the drakon megas is thrown out of heaven, the great serpent of old, which is called the devil and Satan. Satan, the adversary of Christ in the NT, is explicitly compared with the serpent imagery of the OT.

In the LXX of Job 26:13, God’s hand pierced the fleeing serpent

In the LXX of Job 41:1, Leviathan is rendered as drakon

Same in Psalm 74:13-14

Psalm 104:26

And … in Isaiah 27

Tying all these themes together, we see that when God moved to create our world, He conquered chaos and established order. Satan, the adversary, alongside all the ranked array of nefarious forces, have sought to thwart God’s purposes. As Isaiah reminds us, the wicked are like the troubled and restless sea. Mankind, as Job reminds us, is incapable of preventing this chaos, so we should not imagine ourselves to be greater than we really are. However, Isaiah 27 tells us that on that day, Yahweh will move decisively and finally to vanquish leviathan once and for all.

How will this come about? According to the text, Yahweh will take his fierce, and great, and mighty sword, and will punish levyatin. Note the triad of terms used for the sword here, as Motyer states, it is an ‘image of power matching the task’. God, in other words, has precisely what is needed to quench chaos for good.

How would this come about? How will this coiling serpent be judged once and for all?

Through Christ.

In Mark 4, we read how the Lord rebuked the sea, and it was still. Another time, he walks upon it. In essence, not only is he showcasing his control and power over the natural laws of physics, but Christ was also signalling his eventual conquest of all chaotic forces. He will come, as Revelation teaches us, to vanquish the devil and his legions of darkness.

What practical effect does this chapter have for us?

Firstly, it helps us see that the Biblical authors were well-tuned to the culture of their day, but subverted it to prove the supremacy of Yahweh. Secondly, it ought to encourage us, since we have trusted in Christ, who will one day triumph conclusively over all chaotic forces. Until then, as we navigate the tumults of life, we can rely on the one who stilled the seas, and calmed the storms.