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 honor 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.
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. 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.
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After announcing the ultimate victory of God over the earth and heavens, its people and powers, God takes His throne in Jerusalem on Mt. Zion and all the people come together in peace under God's unquestioned reign. There are no more rivals. There are none to challenge the Lord or seek to become gods unto themselves. All the world trusts the Lord in loving obedience.
That is the picture drawn for us in Isaiah 24. Now in Isaiah 25, the prophet leads us in praise to the King of the Universe who now rules the earth and all its inhabitants, having their full trust.
The capitol of Assyria is Nineveh. The prophet envisions a day when that city will be crushed into rubble, left a heap of refuse. He praises God for bringing an end to Assyria's tyranny. Because Assyria subdued the known world, from a Middle Easterner's perspective, their sudden defeat at the hands of the God of Israel will be a wondrous liberty. The gentile nations will turn to Jerusalem and worship the God of Israel.
God sheltered the poor during the wars. He is a shelter from the storm. God protected the meek survivors and brought them up to Zion to feast and celebrate! All peoples will gather at the temple and enjoy the victory banquet. Not just Jews, but all peoples will celebrate the Lord and His victory over Assyria and all other foes. The nations have good reason to celebrate the Lord.
But then Isaiah proclaims something remarkable. God is not only going to silence the tyranny of Assyria, He will also destroy death itself!
Isaiah 25:7-8 NIV
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's words point to an everlasting peace, but they took on new clarity after the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave. The church read Isaiah with a new understanding. God was not using metaphor to celebrate victory over Assyria. God was promising an end to death itself with the gift of eternal life.
The shroud that covers all peoples is sin. Sin separates us from God, and therefore diminishes life. Sin leads to death. But now in Christ, God will atone for all sin, setting all peoples free from sin's power that they might live forever.
John the Revelator includes Isaiah's vision in his letter to the seven churches of Asia Minor (Turkey).
Revelation 21:3-4 NIV
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Simply beautiful is this vision promised to the faithful, but it comes at a cost. The enemies of God must be utterly subdued. God conquered sin and death for us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. He exalted Jesus to the Name above all names. Now God is subjecting all powers to the authority of Christ as He reigns from heaven.
The apostle Paul writes,
1 Corinthians 15:24-26 NIV
Then the end will come, when he (Christ) hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Isaiah ends his praise of the Lord's victory with the sobering acknowledgement that enemies of God must fall. Moab will fall just as Assyria will fall. But the survivors of these former enemies will join the celebration of God's final victory over death itself through faith in Jesus Christ.
Maranatha! Our Lord has come!
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