Introduction

‘LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more; it will never be rebuilt. Therefore, strong peoples will honour you; cities of ruthless nations will revere you. You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.’ Isaiah 25:1-5

PRAISE TO THE LORD

In this chapter, we read that Judah rejoices over her deliverance. These verses are a hymn of thanksgiving for the deliverance spoken of. Because of who God is and the things He did in the past, God is exalted, Isaiah 25:1 / Psalm 118:28 / Psalm 145:1.

There is rejoicing over the fall of the city of the captors who brought them into captivity, Isaiah 25:2. This would possibly be Nineveh, Babylon, Moab or any other strong fortress erected by the enemies of God’s people would become ruins when God gave the word, Isaiah 13:19-22 / 1 Corinthians 2:8.

Even the strong oppressors of God’s people were forced to recognise His power and might, Isaiah 25:3. God is a refuge and strength to the faithful, Isaiah 25:4 / Psalm 46:1.

Because God is a protective shelter for His people, He brings to silence those who have dealt ruthlessly with His people with whom He has a covenant relationship, Isaiah 25:5. Assyria came in a boastful and arrogant manner, but her song was short-lived, Isaiah 25:5.

‘On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain, he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.’ Isaiah 25:6-8

Here we read of the great rejoicing in Jerusalem, Isaiah 25:6 / Jeremiah 48:11. God is looking for fellowship with those upon the mountain. Mount Zion is the spiritual refuge of God’s people, Isaiah 25:7.

Coffman, in his commentary, says the following, concerning ‘the shroud’, Isaiah 25:7, or the ‘veil’ as the KJV renders it.

‘That veil of the temple was a symbol.’

1. Of Christ himself, Hebrews 10:19-22.

2. Of death, as indicated by its Location, symbolically, between the church, the sanctuary, and heaven, the Holy of Holies.

3. Of equality among God’s children, since it separated the High Priest and the lesser priests.

4. Of the veil of darkness that prevents unbelievers from understanding the Old Testament.

5. Of the law of Moses, being actually the pivotal instrument in that whole system.

These are some of the symbolic connotations of the veil of the temple, the most significant fact about that veil being that it was ‘rent in twain’. It is in that second condition of the veil, that is, after it was rent, that it symbolized Christ’s entering in ‘through death’ into that which is beyond the veil, Hebrews 6:19, it symbolized the opening of a new and living way for all men to be saved, Hebrews 10:20.

It symbolized the destruction of death as stated by Isaiah in this very chapter and it symbolized the opening up and clarification of countless passages in the Old Testament, which cannot ever be understood apart from their connection with Jesus Christ. Christ alone is indeed the ‘Key to the Scriptures’.’

Having a banquet with God at the end of great turmoil is hope that is given to His people, Isaiah 25:8 / Psalm 36:8 / Psalm 63:5 / Matthew 8:11 / Matthew 26:29 / Revelation 19:7-9 / Revelation 21:4.

Jerusalem was saved from extinction, and the deliverance provided relief for the people during that particular period. God destroyed death by destroying the Assyrian army, Isaiah 25:8. It is a banquet celebrating deliverance from the fear of death, 1 Corinthians 15:54-55 / Hebrews 2:14-15.

Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.

‘From these three verses, we learn the following.

1. That the Gospel is a plenteous provision: ‘I will make a feast for all people.’

2. That it is a source of light and salvation: ‘I will destroy the veil. I will abolish death. and bring life and immortality to light.’

3. That it is a source of comfort and happiness: ‘I will wipe away all tears from off all faces.’

‘In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” The hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain; but Moab will be trampled in their land as straw is trampled down in the manure. They will stretch out their hands in it, as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim. God will bring down their pride despite the cleverness of their hands. He will bring down your high fortified walls and lay them low; he will bring them down to the ground, to the very dust.’ Isaiah 25:9-12

Judah rejoices because she trusted in God rather than men, Isaiah 25:9. The Lord delivered on His promises, and so, the delivered are overcome with a song of gratitude, Isaiah 25:9.

De Hoff, in his commentary, says the following.

‘There is a great gulf fixed between those who trust in the Lord and those who consider themselves self-sufficient without His word. The gulf may now be crossed in either direction, but when we have gone into eternity, the gulf is ‘fixed’, Luke 16:26.’

The hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain, Isaiah 25:10, signifying protection, Ezra 7:6 / Ezra 7:28 / Ezra 8:18 / Ezra 8:22 / Ezra 8:31 / Nehemiah 2:8. Moab, the enemy of Israel, will be cast down, Isaiah 25:10.

Barnes, in his commentary, says the following concerning the words, ‘the straw is trampled down in the manure’, Isaiah 25:10.

‘As straw is suffered to lie in the yard where cattle lie, to be trodden down by them for the purpose of making manure. The image is one that is not of infrequent occurrence in the Scriptures, to denote the complete and disgraceful prostration of an enemy, Psalms 83:10 / 2 Kings 9:37 / Jeremiah 8:2 / Jeremiah 9:22 / Jeremiah 16:4 / Jeremiah 25:33.’

God delivered Judah then, Christ, for whom we waited, delivers us from sin. Those who wait on God are never disappointed. The hand of the Lord brings judgement as well as mercy.

The haughty and arrogant will be punished, Isaiah 25:10-11, and the righteous will be rewarded. Moab, the nation that seduced the people of God into committing fornication, is gone, Isaiah 25:12 / Isaiah 15:1-9 / Isaiah 16:1-14 / Genesis 19:30-38 / Numbers 25:1.

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