Isaiah 25

Isaiah 25 praises the Lord (Christ) and lists the kinds of blessedness He offers, emphasizing the gift of resurrection and will be followed by Isaiah 26, which is a song of praise.

25:1. This verse can be rendered as

Oh Lord, you are my God;

I will exalt you and praise your name.

For in perfect faithfulness

You have done marvelous things

Planned long ago.

Isaiah’s words about perfect faithfulness are intriguing. What a promise! What a goal for which we could strive! What kind of a world would it be if all were perfectly faithful?

That which was “planned long ago” ultimately resulted in the great plan of happiness, which included the glorious atonement of Jesus Christ.

25:4. Note the metaphors used to explain this perfect plan: “a refuge for the poor,” “a refuge for the needy,” “a shelter from storm,” “a shade from heat.”

25:5. The concept that heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud is such a clear reference to Christ’s gift for each of us.

25:6. “On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples.”

25:7. This verse again begins “on this mountain,” but now is more explicit, describing the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations.

A shroud is a length of cloth or sheet in which a corpse is wrapped. And thus we learn that “he will swallow up death forever, wipe away tears from all faces, and remove the disgrace of His people from all the earth.” When this is understood, they will say,

Surely this is our God;

we trusted in Him, and He saved us.

We trusted in Him; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.

Which of Jerusalem’s mounts did Isaiah have in mind when he said these words? The clue is in verse 7 where he says he will swallow up death forever. Gethsemane is at the foot of the Mount of Olives.^[1]

25:10. Therefore, the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain. But in contrast, “Moab will be trampled under him as straw is trampled down in manure.”

25:11–12. They (the Moabites) will spread out their hands to swim (in the filth), and the high, fortified walls will be brought down to the very dust.