Isa 27:9     By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when He maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up.

     God's chastisement upon His children who seek Him is still part of the subject here. Remember, that chastisement is light, and is for correction, because... He loves us. He's our Father and even His "just" need correction at times. If any one of us denies that need, then that is to think of oneself as 'a Christ' to themselves! A loving parent corrects their children because they love them. Our Heavenly Father is no different in that with those who love Him.

 

 Job 5:17. Behold, Happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not the chastening of The Almighty.

 

 Hebrews 12: Read All.

 

 Rev.3:19. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

 

 So don't get upset when His correction comes upon you if you belong to Him. It's not the same as upon the wicked. Thus it is by this act of God's chastisement upon His children, whereby the iniquity of His children is purged of wickedness.
     Also, don't make the mistake of thinking that our Lord Christ changed this chastisement upon His, when He came to die upon the cross.

     These "chalkstones" are of limestone (Strong's 68 & 1615). These represent the false rock altars of false religion, as the word "groves" is Hebrew 'asherah', meaning 'Asherah (or Astarte) a Phoenician goddess; also an image of the same' (Strong's 842). Therefore, false idol worship goes along with this chastisement Message within this verse. How that might fit for the latter days; the rebellious of His children?

 

 Let me put it this way; for those who have believed on Christ as their

Saviour, yet they don't care enough to discover what God wants them to do for our latter day generation by study in His Word, do you think they might need a bit of correction by our LORD? Are they strong enough in The Lord today, so they won't build up false "chalkstone" altars in false worship as led by the wicked? If you don't know the answer to that by now, given throughout these Isaiah studies, then go back to Isaiah Chapter 1, and start again.

Isa 27:10      Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.

     Recall back to Isaiah 25 where God gave a rebuke to this "defenced city". He's speaking of future flesh Jerusalem, with the king of Babylon of The Book of Revelation sitting there. With a false messiah sitting in God's Temple in Jerusalem proclaiming himself as God, and even many believers really taking his false bait, that will certainly cause Jerusalem to be a ruin ('tohuw'), a wilderness of abomination, forsaken and left desolate. That's exactly the condition the "abomination of desolation" of Lucifer playing king there will create

 

Daniel 9:27;

 

Daniel12:11;

 

 Those who once believed, but fall to worshipping false messiah instead of 'waiting' for The True Christ will be as withered branches (see next verse). That means dried-up dead wood that falls off a goodly tree; or even 'vine' one could say.