That’s right. It says their Maker will not have compassion on them. But we will get to that.
1)Leviathan Slain
The opening of this chapter is that the great and mighty Leviathan is slain. And then it goes and talks about Israel. So…why this? Why here? Why….? It just seems like an odd interjection.
Who is Leviathan (Job 3:8, Job 41, Psalm 74:14, and Psalm 104:26.)? It doesn’t specify other than he is a fleeing serpent, a twisting serpent, and one that will be killed by the Lord. So is this the devil? The enemies of Israel? Representative of those who rebel against the Lord? Or all of the above?
I’m not sure. But perhaps a little of our mistake is to totally disconnect the devil and his emissaries. Just as earthly evil will be defeated, so the devil will also be defeated.
2) Judah or the New Kingdom?
Some say this is the new kingdom of the Messiah. Others proclaim it as reference to Israel. I think it’s probably both. Although I’m more inclined for it to be of Judah because of how he deals with her, but certainly with the preceding chapters it has implications for that which is to come.
On Judah the Lord has brought punishment for their many sins to turn them back to him, but he will forgive them (27:9). It had to come through judgment and punishment that wasn’t pleasant, but they had to see for themselves the futility of what they had been trusting. Somewhat like a parent has to give a child over to discipline and what they want to know the futility of their desires.
3) No Compassion
But there are a people on whom the Lord will not show compassion.
“…for they are not a people with understanding. Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them, and their Creator will not be be gracious to them” (v. 11).
Is God a mean God then? No. He is saying they persist in their rebellion and in their own ways and not the ways of God. They are a people without understanding which in Scripture is understanding the ways of God. It’s like someone who persists in their evil. There is compassion and mercy for those who repent, but for those who continue to do the same things and persist in them, without repentance, then that is a problem. Repentance is available, but without repentance, he cannot continue to bless them (aka – show compassion). There must be consequences.
So is this talking of Israel? Or of Babylon? Or of ungodly cities?
I’m inclined to think it is Babylon and the representative of evil of this world. It speaks of the desolation of the city and cows walking through it, and God had prophesied Babylon would be destroyed and not rebuilt.
Also we see in v. 9 God showing compassion to Israel. So it would make sense that he has shown compassion to His people, but judgment to unrepentant Babylon.
4) The Gathering of the People
The Scriptures say that God will blow a trumpet and the lost in the land of Assyria and those dispersed in Egypt will come to worship in Jerusalem. Is this the dispersed Jews returning home, or is it yet to come? Yes. The Lord brings back his people both then, which he did, and even now with his people returning to the land of Israel. And ultimately there will be a gathering of his people to himself on the Final Day.
Gleanings
Israel will be a nation that will never perish. From its inception Israel that was the promise. It did look bleak for a couple of thousand years, but it has persisted.
The Gentiles nations on the other hand have no such promise. If we have understanding and pursue the ways of God, then he may hold us together. But if we persist in unbelief and rebellion against his ways, then we too may be cast out as a nation by God. And I believe right now we see that happening.
The US is in a slow motion train wreck. At this point it is a mathematical certainty we will face a huge and sudden crash. Whether that will be through war or economic disaster, it will happen. Our only hope is in repentance and crying out for the mercy of God. But the moral foundation of our nation has been crushed, both within and outside the church. We have become a people without understanding. If we persist in this decay, it will not go well with us. But if we repent and find the understanding that comes from God ways, there is still a sliver of hope.
