Think on these questions while you dwell in Isaiah 25:1-12:

1. In this passage, Isaiah speaks of God's ultimate victory over death and the promise of a future feast for all peoples. How does this passage emphasize the power and sovereignty of God? What significance does the concept of God swallowing up death hold for believers today?

2. The passage highlights the transition from a generic idea of God to a specific acknowledgment of Yahweh as the one who brings salvation. How does this transition in language and focus impact our understanding of God's role in our salvation? What does it mean for us to rejoice in His salvation?

3. Isaiah's prophecy points to the fulfillment of this salvation through the work of Jesus Christ, His resurrection, and His future return. How does this passage connect with the Christian belief in Jesus as the conqueror of death? In what ways does it offer hope and assurance to believers?

Transcript:

As we have been looking at all of these prophecies of judgment in the Book of Isaiah, I've been pointing out that this is a good reminder for us that God judges evil, that God has something greater going on, that He is holy, that He is just, and that he is in control. Here we see that, don't we? Because all of this judgment is over all the nations of all these places. It means that God has power over all things and that he is doing something here. He is doing something to the greater good for the greater bringing of glory to Himself. We see that here God is going to swallow up death forever. We get this idea that God has been a stronghold for the poor. We see that in verse 4, a stronghold to the needy in spite of all the distress that is being caused in the world. God is a stronghold to these people, and something even greater is going to happen. We see in verse 6, On this mountain, the Lord of Host will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine, well-refined.

God is going to bring satisfaction to His people. He's going to bring them together. He isn't just going to bring them in and say, Hey, here, Fenn, for yourself. He's bringing them to a feast. This is a very big image that Isaiah is painting for us. This eschatological, this end time language that God is going to bring his people together and they will feast in the house of Zion. They are being brought together. But there's something more than just bringing his people together, just bringing a certain group of people together. He is bringing all peoples together. Notice that. He will make for all peoples. Now, that doesn't mean every person, everywhere who has ever lived. All peoples means all the nations of the earth. That promise that goes back all the way to Abraham through your seed will all the nations of the earth be blessed. That's what all peoples means. It means people groups, the outsiders, the Gentiles are being brought in. They are now the people of God. We also again see that it's more than just a feast. It's more than just a party. It's more than just a bit of prosperity coming to them.

Now there is something major happening here, verse seven, And he will swallow up in this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, regardless of ethnicity. What is the covering that goes over all people? It doesn't matter who you are, where you're from, what your skin color is. What is the covering that's on all of us? It is death. It's a veil that's spread over all nations. We see here that this is going to all peoples, and all peoples have a problem so that all peoples need a solution. We see that what happens is that he swallow up death forever, and the Lord will wipe away tears from all faces. We know that language. You heard me read that language, and your mind probably immediately went to the end of Revelation, right? The idea that all tears will be wiped from their eyes. That's a quote, that's a reference to this idea here in Isaiah. This end time, this eschatological ending is being foreshadowed here and spoken more clearly of in the Book of Revelation, because now we know that it is in Christ that that comes from it. This was pointing to Christ.

Revelation gives us the full revelation of Jesus Christ. And notice, and the reproach of his people, he will take away from all the earth for the Lord has spoken. There it is again. We've seen that language out of Isaiah. When something is certain, it's for the Lord has spoken. He has spoken, so it is going to happen. Then we see what happens after that is realized. It will be said on the day, 'Behold, this is our God. We have waited for Him that He might save us. This is the Lord. We have waited for Him. Let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation. ' Now, notice something here. In English, this sounds redundant, and it is repetitive language for a reason. It is redundant. It's driving a point home here. But notice, behold, this is our God. That's more of a generic term for God, an all-powerful being. But then we get to, this is the Lord. Now, we talk about the Lord. We think of someone who is powerful and over us. Yes, that is true of God. But here, notice that this is in all caps and in the Old Testament, what they would do is they would not, in ancient Hebrew, they would not say the name of God, Yahweh, they would not say that.

They would say the word Adonai, Lord instead. So in our English translations, we respect that tradition of not saying the proper name of God by saying Lord, but we put it in all caps so we know that that is the proper name of God. So what is happening here with this repetition? Behold, this is our God. We have waited for Him that He might save us. This is the Lord. So God has saved us. Now, let me tell you who this God is, people of all the nations. It is Yahweh. It is the God of Israel. It is a particular God. It's not a generic God out there someplace. It is Yahweh. It is the God of the Bible. Notice how the repetition happens here. Behold, this is our God. We have waited for Him that He might save us. This is the Lord. We have waited for Him. Let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation. The idea is that the amplification here, the repetition, it rises the level of praise. It gets more specific. And this is who we praise, and we rejoice in our salvation because it is sure because the Lord God has spoken, Yahweh has spoken, and he has brought salvation to his people.

And so as we think about what this passage means for us, it's nice to have this passage right after all that judgment that we've seen. Yet there is language of judgment here. This isn't all a happy, fun chapter, is it? But we see here that the purpose behind all this is to bring glory to God, that He is going to destroy death. He is going to cover this shadow that is over all of us, and He is going to bring salvation to His people. And we can rejoice because we know that death has been swallowed up in victory by the work of Jesus Christ for us. It was not just His death in our place after living a perfect life in our place that guaranteed a salvation. It was his resurrection and his ascension. He has rose from the dead, and now in our very own flesh, has seated at the right-hand of the Father, showing that there is victory over death. And one day, He shall return. Even as we are lying silent in our graves, we will rise to praise the one who has won salvation for us, who has defeated death. We rejoice in that.

We praise God because of that, because He has rescued us. He has cured the deepest, darkest problem that we have is human's death. And so may we bring praise to him, and may we rejoice in our salvation this God that we have, Yahweh, who has saved us. Let us rejoice in his salvation today.