This chapter comes at the back of Isaiah 24, which was an oracle for the whole world — literally judgement on the whole earth. It describes the destruction and plundering of the earth, of its inhabitants, it describes the mourning and languishing of the earth and nature. It points to brokenness, and God’s judgement on a sinful world that has real implications on nations and geopolitics, both in those days as well as for us today.
Now Isaiah 25 is an oracle set against this backdrop, and teaches us what God is like, what His plans are for the world and how we should respond to ongoing developments in this light. Read together, we see clearly God’s plan and promise for the world - we saw final judgement and God’s wrath in Isaiah 24, and today we see God’s promise of hope and salvation for His people. Isaiah paints for us a picture of what God will do at the end when He comes again, and it is a wonderful and beautiful thing.
God is actually very clear with what we can look forward to and what we can hope for, and He gives us that clearly in His word — and if you think about it, that should be life changing shouldn’t it? If I know what’s to come, and there is certainty in that, and it’s assured by God - knowing what is coming must change how we behave and think, what and who we love, worship, long for, and hope in. This oracle points us to those things, and surely must shape our hopes, our obedience, our evangelism and our praise.
(A) Praise for what the LORD has done: Plans faithful and sure, judgement righteous and complete, a stronghold and refuge to the weak (Isa 25:1-5)
Isaiah begins by exclaiming “O LORD” (Isa 25:1a). He calls on the covenantal name of God – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of their forefathers. Isaiah knows God specifically and praises a specific nature of His.
He goes on to declare, “you are my God”. This is a personal relationship, not a concept or a belief or a religion. There is a such confidence in this claim. Remember that God is not just any deity but a covenantal one, who is God of his fathers past, who has seen the people through the years and delivered them from slavery. THis God also gave them their law, and life. It is this God that he declares to be his personal God!
Thus, Isaiah responds to God by actively praising Him (Isa 25:1b). He will exalt and praise His name. What do we see here? There is agency in such an action, not just a passive kind of response. As Isaiah reflects on the wonderful things God has done, he responds in praise.
Before we jump into what these wonderful things are, let’s take a minute to think about such a response. Isaiah considers God’s nature, His promises, His relationship, and what He has done - and his response is praise and exaltation.
Have we considered our own worship - why do we worship? Are we responding simply to how we feel in the moment, our emotions, or does our praise come from an active and conscious recognition of our Lord and who He is? Is it a matter of responding to a set of keys and chords and lighting, or is our worship fueled by a clear understanding and the knowledge of our faithful and unchanging God?
Isaiah also gives us a model for how we are to praise God. Praise and exaltation takes an active stance - it’s not something that comes naturally, it’s not something that just comes by the way. Rather it is a clear and consistent meditation of who God is that stirs Isaiah to praise, that drives him to worship. As we consider our own hardness of hearts - it is so much easier to binge four hours of TV than to read four minutes of scripture - perhaps we’re not actively meditating on God and all he has done. Are we clear about what exactly God has done to save us?
In Isaiah 25:1d-3, we see three things that Isaiah praises God for. Firstly, he praises God for “plans formed of old, faithful and sure” (Isa 25:1d). Other translations read - “your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth”. This specifically speaks to God’s word that is faithful. There is nothing more reliable and more everlasting and more faithful than God’s word. God is not surprised by this turn of events, nor is he responding to the events of the day. Such wonderful plans of salvation are plans that were made of old, before time began, and they are sure - there is no doubt in God’s sovereign plans. God is faithful, as are His plans.
Isaiah goes on to praise God for His actions against the city. God made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin, foreigners palace a city no more, it will never be rebuilt (Isa 25:2) and therefore, the people will glorify Him (Isa 25:3).
What is this city? It is likely a reference to the same city that was destroyed in Isaiah 24, and speaks to the totality of the destruction of God’s judgement — a palace of foreigners is o longer a city, and even the city fortified by man is laid waste and in ruin. God’s judgment is full, complete, irreversible and just. This is similar to Isaiah 24:4-6, where judgment is described as such: the world languishes and withers, the highest people languish, its inhabitants transgress the laws and therefore a curse devours the earth, its inhabitants suffer for their guilt, the inhabitants of the earth are scorched and few men are left.
As a result, strong peoples will glorify God and cities of ruthless nations will fear Him (Isa 25:3). The people of God see his judgement and glorify him, and the unrighteous fear him. God’s final judgement on sinners is righteous and complete.
Lastly, in Isaiah 25:4-5 we read of how God has been a stronghold to the poor, to the needy, a shelter from the storm and shade from the heat. He is our shelter, our stronghold, our protector. He stills the ruthless and subdues the foreigners. This imagery of shade and heat and shelter and storm really gives us a clear picture of how we are to see our God. Not only is he a righteous and just judge, not only is his word faithful and true, He is also our protector. He welcomes the weak, he relieves the needy, he protects the poor and lowly. Our covenantal God is all these things to us.
These verses give us a picture of who God is and not just what He has done. He is a personal God who cares for His people, and also shows covenantal faithfulness. The title for this section is “Praise for what the LORD has done: Plans faithful and sure, judgement righteous and complete, a stronghold and refuge to the weak”. Do we think about these characteristics of God? Do we stop and think about His character in these ways? Are these the things we meditate on as we consider God’s word? Are these the things we praise God for? Are these the things we know and hold fast to?
This pattern of remembering what God has done is also key in our daily lives. Friends, this pattern of remembering what God has done is so key to our lives as believers. As believers, we look back on what Christ has done for us - he obeyed perfectly for us, he died for us, and he was resurrected for us - that we may be saved. Have we grown tired of beating the same old drum? Are our hearts cold towards the gospel message? Do we meditate on these truths, and does it cause us to worship and praise Him?
(B) Praise for what the LORD will do: The richest feast, the final victory, the long-awaited arrival, all things made new (Isa 25:6-12)
In Isaiah 25:6, Isaiah describes a feast that the LORD prepares. This feast takes place “on this mountain”, likely a reference to Mount Zion from Isaiah 24. This is where the Lord of hosts reigns, and His glory will be before His elders. On this mountain the covenantal God prepares the fullest and riches and most lavish feast — food full of marrow and fat, and wine well aged and refined.
But what is this feast all about? We know from the New Testament that Isaiah here is describing exactly what Jesus spoke of himself in the gospels, and later in Revelation as well. This feast is the marriage supper of the Lamb, and it is the feast that is prepared and held when Christ comes again. Christ while instituting the Lord’s Supper says this in Matthew 26:29: “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom”. This is the great feast, the wonderful celebration that is promised when Christ returns and the final battle with sin and death is over.
And notice who this is for. God says this is for all peoples (Isa 25:6a). Revelation 19:9 reads: “And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”” This feast is for all of God’s people — those who are saved and who are invited to the supper. It is those God counts as righteous and faithful — those who have received Christ as their Lord and saviour.
This may be new to some of us here. Have we realised that this is actually part of the gospel message? As we preach the gospel, we often speak of our sin, our need for a Saviour, salvation that comes through faith in Christ, and then conclude by mentioning that we are saved. That picture is actually not complete. What does it mean to be saved? What will we do after we are saved? God is very clear about this — we will be restored, and we will celebrate. The full picture of the gospel goes from salvation to resurrection to restoration, and we will celebrate with our Creator with the richest feast.
Another helpful thing to note is the contrast between this glorious celebration of richness and fullness and food, and the sheer desolation we saw in Isaiah 24 and in the city that God judged. We are meant to see this celebration against the backdrop of righteous judgement described in Isaiah 24:7-11, that Christ is coming again and when He comes all sin will be no more, all sin will be punished, and His people will be welcomed to the table in glorious celebration. So what exactly are we celebrating? Why should we be so delighted and happy? Let’s look at what exactly the LORD will do in the next verses.
God will “swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations” (Isa 25:7). A similar idea is picked up on in 2 Corinthians 3:14-16 and Isaiah 44:18. The references show us this veil is what is over their hearts and causes their minds to be hardened. It is the cause of the dulling of eyes and hearts, the reason we turn away from God. It is the veil that is lifted only through Christ and can only be removed when one turns to the Lord. The promises in Isaiah 25 is that on this day, on this mountain, God will swallow up this veil. It will be no more, and now we can fully turn to God with clear eyes, soft hearts and minds.
Next, we see that “He will swallow up death forever and the LORD God will wipe away tears from all faces” (Isa 25:8a). Death itself will be swallowed up forever. Death will be no more! Death and pain and suffering were introduced into this world because of sin, and now that sin has been conquered and Christ has returned and conquered, death is forever no more. John picks up on this in Revelation 21:1-4, where he writes about how when Jesus returns, He will wipe away tears from all faces - death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
Recall what we read earlier in this passage, where He promises to be a stronghold to the poor, to the needy, a shelter from the heat (Isa 25:4). We see how God is systematically undoing the curse — to the point that the final judgement, death itself, will be swallowed up. And as death is no more, God will give us perfect comfort, perfect peace, and He will dwell with us as our God and we, His people.
Thirdly, “the reproach of his people He will take away from all the earth for the LORD has spoken” (Isa 25:8b). We see the reversal of the curse further on a community aspect — where his people were taunted, disgraced and shamed. God says here that the reproach of his people he will take away, by his word. He will raise them up, and glorify them. This redemption plan moves further out beyond personal salvation to the uplifting of his people — no longer will his people suffer in shame.
Lastly, Isaiah 25:10-12 shows us how “the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain, and Moab will be trampled down in his place the LORD will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill of his hands, and the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down, lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust”. He will bring low the nations that shamed His people. Standing against God is futile and God’s ultimately triumphs over even the high fortifications of his walls.
Contrast this with Isaiah 25:8b, where He raises His people. As He raises His people, God will totally, fully, completely destroy his enemies and humble the proud.
In sum - he will remove the veil that is over the world, He will defeat death and comfort us, He will raise and glorify His people, and He will utterly defeat the proud enemies.
Do we think about everything that we’ve read as we live our lives today? This is a reality that is promised and sealed by God’s word. He has given it to us as our hope, for us to long for and praise Him for. How are we to respond and apply this? Isaiah 25:9 shows us how we can respond.
A clear and obvious way to respond to such a God is to simply behold Him, to take it all in and see God in His entirety and in all His glory. What would it look like for you to pause and behold our God? What would come to mind as you consider such a glorious and magnificent God? Is it what we bring to the table, or is it what God has done for us? The clearest and best way for us to behold our God, is to look to him in how He has chosen to reveal Himself — in His word and through His son Jesus Christ. To behold God is to behold His son, our Saviour.
Next, we are called to wait for Him, with clear and living hope. His people have been waiting for God from the beginning -- from Jacob in Genesis (Gen 49:18) to David in Psalms (Ps 27:14) to Isaiah, and all the way to us today. We are still waiting for this day that we just read of. We are still waiting for the richest feast, the best wine, the best meat full of marrow. Friends, do we realize that this is God’s word, promised to us, and sure to come to fruition?
We are also called to be glad and rejoice — praise God! Do we see we have an unchanging, unshakeable joy that comes not from within ourselves? Do we see that with this knowledge of how all things will end, with this promise of salvation and restoration from YHWH Himself, we can be glad and rejoice? Everywhere we are told that we should be sad, that we are depressed, that our generation has nothing to be thankful for or even glad about. Everywhere we look is a mess - political systems are failing, relationships are broken, and everything is a mess. We can cling to the promises in this oracle of Isaiah 25, and know that we have the best thing to be glad and rejoice over — that we are God’s and He is ours.
Isaiah 25:9 also calls us to wait with hope, “that He might save us”. We are called to endure, and run well. It gives us such a clear picture of Isaiah waiting in anticipation, holding out for salvation. Do we see it? In much the same way, we are called to wait, to hold out for salvation, to run well, to endure. All over in Paul’s writings in the Epistles we see language like that -- keep in step with the gospel, do not make a shipwreck of your faith. Knowing how it all ends helps us to endure. Knowing that God is coming again to make all things new, we can hope in Him.
As we wrap up this chapter and read of all the wonderful things that God has done and promises to do, it also encourages us to tell of this good news, and also with urgency. If as believers our final destination is salvation, and as condemnation and death and destruction is where our non-believing friends are headed with absolute certainty, then friends, the most loving thing we can do is to tell of this good news of salvation, even to a world that hates it.
What is God saying to you? How can you respond in obedience and faith today?