What does Isaiah 27:9 mean?
Israel will be driven from the Promised Land into exile by the fierce breath of God (Isaiah 27:8). And yet, the Lord promises that the people will be restored. One day, in the end times, they will flourish so much that their fruit will go out into all the world (Isaiah 27:6).Isaiah uses the phrase "atoned for" in this verse. The exile will be a discipline from the Lord that will contribute to the atonement for the guilt of Jacob. God renamed Jacob "Israel" (Genesis 32:28) and made him a patriarch of the nation. Scripture often uses his birth name as a poetic reference to God's chosen people. Full and complete atonement from sin can be found only through individual faith in Christ, the atonement sacrifice (Romans 3:23–25). God does not punish believers for their sin because Jesus experienced that punishment for us on the cross. God is "the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus" (Romans 3:26, NIV).
However, God's relationship with the nation of Israel was a covenant with conditions. If the people obeyed and kept the law, He would bless them in extraordinary ways. If they were faithless and worshiped other gods, disaster would strike:
"The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand…They shall besiege you in all your towns, until your high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout all your land. And they shall besiege you in all your towns throughout all your land, which the LORD your God has given you" (Deuteronomy 28:49, 52).
The nation of Judah will be made to atone for its sin, in part, when God keeps His word and sends the nations to attack and scatter His people (Jeremiah 25:7–11). Their atonement will be complete when there is evidence of true repentance by the people (Jeremiah 29:12–14). In this case, that evidence is the utter destruction of physical objects used for worshiping foreign gods. Some of this destruction may come after Israel is restored to their own lands.
The elimination of these idols is extreme. All that remains of the limestone is a chalky substance that could be used for mortar or whitewash. In addition, all poles used in the worship of the pagan fertility goddess Asherah and incense altars will be torn down. Judah's repentance will be so complete that the people will leave nothing standing that might provide a way to go back to their sin.