Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 25

Verses 1-5

Isa 25:1-5

Isaiah 25:1-5

A PROLEPTIC SONG OF THE REDEEMED

This chapter is a prolepsis, that is, an anticipation of the rejoicing and praise of God which the redeemed of all ages will sing. However, the song of exultation contains other tremendously significant prophecies which seem to break into the song itself, as in Isaiah 25:6-12. The three paragraphs of the chapter are: praise of God for the great things he has done (Isaiah 25:1-5), the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and the prophecy of the end of death (Isaiah 25:6-8), and the ultimate triumph of God over all his enemies (Isaiah 25:9-12).

Isaiah 25:1-5

THE SONG

"O Jehovah, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, even counsels of old in faithfulness and truth. For thou hast made of a city a heap, of a fortified city a ruin, a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built. Therefore shall a strong people glorify thee; a city of terrible nations shall fear thee. For thou hast been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. As the heat in a dry place wilt thou bring down the noise of strangers; as the heat by the shade of a cloud, the song of the terrible ones shall be brought low."

Peake has a perfect summary of these verses:

"The deliverance still lies in the future; the song is written from the standpoint of the redeemed community, and expresses its exultation over its salvation. God has overthrown the city; its inhabitants shall stand in awe of him. He has been a shelter to his distressed people when the blast of the violent has beaten on them like a winter storm. He has assuaged the oppression of the enemy, as the sun’s scorching heat in a parched land is ameliorated by clouds."

Rawlinson believed that the exultation expressed was made by Isaiah in his own person, and "not in the person of the Church," but we believe Peake’s view is preferable.

"Counsels of old ..." (Isaiah 25:1). "The wonders for which God is praised were decreed in his counsels from all eternity; their accomplishment shows forth God’s `faithfulness and truth.’" Paul stressed this fact repeatedly. God’s counsels were made "before the worlds" (1 Corinthians 2:8); they were "kept in silence through times eternal" (Romans 16:25); the mystery of salvation was hidden "for ages and generations" (Colossians 1:26), etc.

Isaiah 25:2 mentions "a city"; but this is not any particular city. The great cities that existed in Isaiah’s day were Thebes (Egypt), Babylon, and Nineveh all three of which were destroyed within about a century after Isaiah’s times; but no definite city is identified here. For ages, it has been understood that there is a connection here with "Mystery Babylon the Great" (Revelation 18), standing in the scripture as a symbol of the greedy and sinful cities of the world in all ages. A Methodist scholar, E. Stanley Jones, stated that, "A city is where greed is entrenched." Jamieson was sure, however, that "the city" is not Babylon, but "collectively stands for the cities of surrounding nations."

God’s making cities into "heaps" refers to the same event mentioned in Revelation 16:19, where it is related that "The cities of the Gentiles fell." "`Heaps’ is a graphic picture of Babylon and Nineveh as they are this very day." God’s opposition to "the city" is a reference to God’s hatred and ultimate destruction of the great urban cities of the earth, representing, as Leon Morris stated it, "The cities of civilization, the achievement of man’s demon-driven pride; and they will collapse."

"A city of terrible nations shall fear thee ..." (Isaiah 25:3). This shows that people of all nations, not Jews alone, will participate in the festivities of the Messianic banquet and joys of God’s kingdom in Christ.

"The storm and the heat ..." (Isaiah 25:4-5). These are symbols that speak of God’s enemies and of, "Their vain attempts to subdue the poor and the needy. In the end, they themselves will be subdued. In that day, only the Lord’s people will be heard celebrating his mighty deeds."

Peake pointed out that the word rendered "strangers" in Isaiah 25:2; Isaiah 25:5, should be read as "insolent."

Isaiah 25:1-3 SOVEREIGN LORD: Two Hebrew names of God are used in Isaiah 25:1—Yaweh and Elohim. According to the best lexicographers Yaweh (Jehovah) denotes God’s covenant-keeping nature (faithfulness) while Elohim (Lord) denotes God’s Lordship or Almightiness. Chapter 25 is the prophet’s song of praise following Chapter 24’s pronouncement of the doom of world power. The Covenant God has promised He will triumph over His enemies and that He shall reign eternally. Based upon the past faithfulness of God, Isaiah begins his song of praise thanking Him for the promises of future covenant fulfillment. The prophet seems to thank Jehovah for future triumph as if it had already been completed. God’s sovereign deeds are performed supernaturally in history as He carries out His covenanted plan of redemption. Such supernatural sovereignty and faithfulness causes men to marvel (cf. Psalms 40:5; Psalms 98:1; Ephesians 1:11, etc.). The Hebrew word yodoh is translated praise in Isaiah 25:1, and means literally, celebrate. Isaiah calls all who will to a celebration of praise for the faithfulness of Jehovah to keep His word.

Damascus (Syria), Samaria (Israel), Nineveh (Assyria), Memphis (Egypt) and Ethiopia threatened God’s people. But always God warned and promised their doom. Where are they now? They have all been brought low. Now Babylon threatens. What are God’s people to do? Trust in His faithfulness to keep His promise of Babylon’s doom also. Isaiah 25:2 promises that no “city” of man shall be strong enough to resist the Faithful and Almighty God. No material device, no political ideology, no philosophical system will ever thwart the Absolute certainty of Jehovah’s covenant. World systems may deceive some (even with lying signs and wonders) that they are going to eradicate God’s kingdom and His covenant. But they shall never accomplish it. World systems have already been defeated (Colossians 2:15, etc.)—their obliteration awaits only the Consummation.

In the meantime (while we await the Consummation), some “strong people” (Gentiles) will turn to Jehovah glorifying and fearing Him. Isaiah is predicting the conversion of Gentiles as they see the “wonderful” faithfulness of the God of Israel (cf. our comments Isaiah 19:16 ff).

Isaiah 25:4-5 SHELTERING GOD: The Hebrew word dol is literally exhausted but translated poor in Isaiah 25:4. Another reason for Isaiah’s celebration of praise to Jehovah is His being a refuge for the weak and helpless. The Hebrew people had plenty of evidence for this aspect of God’s nature. He had taken them as a helpless, infantile people (cf. Ezekiel 16:1 ff) and rescued them, nurtured them, protected them and blessed them. He sheltered them from their enemies century after century as long as they depended upon Him. The metaphors of “storm,” “refuge,” “heat,” and “shade” should register vividly on the Hebrew mind. Palestine is subject to some violent natural storms and is a land of torrid heat and arid dryness. The prophets used such metaphors of the land frequently to communicate God’s nature and His will to their people. Jehovah is “The Shadow of a Mighty Rock, within a weary land.” The storms of world power (cf. Revelation, the Seals, Trumpets, etc.) rage against God’s elect covenant people (cf. Psalms 2:1-11) and, looked at from a human perspective, it appears the city of God will fall. But the Divine Perspective shows refuge and salvation and victory for the city of God.

Just as a cloud can obscure the heat of the sun and give refuge to a dry, dusty traveler, so easily will the Lord bring to nothing the torrid rage of His enemies and save His faithful ones. The supernatural deeds of God done in history and recorded by eyewitnesses testify abundantly that He will do what He has promised. Let all who believe Him celebrate in jubilant praise.

Verses 6-8

Isa 25:6-8

Isaiah 25:6-8

"And in this mountain will Jehovah of hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering that covereth all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He hath swallowed up death forever; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken it."

"In this mountain ..." (Isaiah 25:6). This refers back to Isaiah 24:23 and means mount Zion, that is, Jerusalem. Part of these verses refer to the literal, earthly Jerusalem, because there is where Jesus was crucified, and that was the occasion when he destroyed death by giving his life on the Cross. On the other hand, the feast of good things for the "peoples (not people) of "all" nations is prophesied as a blessing of the Messianic kingdom, the spiritual mount Zion, the heavenly New Jerusalem.

This is one of the grandest and most wonderful passages in all the Word of God, and except for one other reference (Hosea 13:14), the very first reference to the abolition of death in all the Bible.

The feast of good things for God’s people is treated first. The mention of wine "on the lees, well refined" is of interest. "Leaving , wine on the lees heightened its flavor and made it stronger." However, this also tended to cloud the wine with sediment; but the expression "well refined" showed that the Prophet was here promising the very best wine possible. We should not consider the heavenly feast in a literal, sensuous way at all. These delicious things are symbols of a whole family of enjoyments and delights which men cannot know until they get to heaven. There are echoes of Isaiah 2:2-4 here.

"The veil that is spread over all nations ..." (Isaiah 25:7) This is a Hebraism explaining what is meant by the "face of the covering that covereth all peoples," and explained even further by the following verse, "He hath swallowed up death forever." Scholars do not agree on what is meant by the destruction of the "veil," Hailey thinks that it was the veil mentioned by Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:14-16. Dummelow stated that, "The face of the covering, etc. is put symbolically for the destruction of death," thus making `the face of the covering that covereth all peoples’ and the `veil that is spread over all nations’ parallel to each other and both of them meaning death itself. We believe that both of these scholars are correct. One cannot read this without being aware of the veil of the temple and the rending of it from the top to the bottom upon the occasion of Jesus’ crucifixion.

THE VEIL

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 between the High Priest and the lesser priests; (4) of the veil of darkness that prevents unbelievers from understanding the Old Testament; and (5) of the law of Moses, being actually the pivotal instrument in that whole system. These are some of the symbolical 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."

Dummelow noted that Isaiah 25:8 reads, "He hath swallowed up death in victory." He further stated that this rendition is supported by a number of early Greek versions and by the apostle Paul’s quotation of this place in 1 Corinthians 15:54.” Also, it is of great significance that in that very passage Paul also quoted Hosea 13:14, "O death where is thy victory; O death where is thy sting," that marvelous passage which precedes this one chronologically has been butchered and perverted by the translators of the so-called Good News Bible, to read as follows:

"Bring on your plagues, death!

Bring on your destruction, world of the dead!

I will no longer have pity on this people." (Hosea 13:14)

This is one of the most diabolical mistranslations of God’s Word! It is no translation, but a contradictory change of the meaning, entitling this so-called Good News Bible to be entitled a corrupt Bible, no Bible at all, but a book that gives what scholars think God should have said, instead of what he actually said. Add to this the fact that the inspired apostle Paul’s proper rendition of the passage in his quotation is also denied and contradicted at the same time!

Why? it may be asked did translators take such liberties with God’s Word. The answer is that they did so upon the same premise that Satan used when he contradicted God’s Word to Eve. Oh yes, they have a silly dictum, one of the crooked rules enforced in infidel seminaries, that the same prophet could not possibly have pronounced cursing and blessings in the same prophecy, and certainly not in the same paragraph. Thus, they affirmed that what the critics wrote is "more likely" to have been what Hosea thought than what is found in the sacred text!. Now, of course, that crooked rule would destroy the words of Christ himself who mentioned heaven and hell in the same line, and also the wide gate and broad way to destruction, along with the strait gate and the narrow way to life eternal in the very same verse. Christian people should be diligently aware of what evil men are trying to do to the word of God.

Isaiah 25:6 FEASTED: The prophets spoke glowingly of the coming Messianic age as an age of feasting and rejoicing for the covenant people of God (cf. Isaiah 55:2; Isaiah 61:1-7; Jeremiah 3:15-18; Ezekiel 34:20-24; Zechariah 8:14-23). It is apparent that all the feasts of the Mosaic dispensation were “shadows” of the good things to come (Hebrews 10:1 ff) and were to be fulfilled in the Messiah and His kingdom. Jesus likened the kingdom of God (the church) unto a time of great feasting (cf. Luke 14:1 ff, and Matthew 22:1-14; Matthew 25:1-13). Jesus spoke of men eating His flesh and drinking His blood as the Manna that came down out of heaven (cf. John 6:63). The epistles liken the whole Christian life unto a feast (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; 1 Corinthians 10:1-5). The present Christian experience to be consummated in the next life in heaven is symbolized as the “marriage supper of the Lamb” to which all who will accept are invited (Revelation 19:6-10). This passage is definitely Messianic and fulfilled in the establishment of the church—to be consummated at Christ’s second coming. The Hebrew word for fat things here is shemoneem. It is used in Genesis 27:28 to speak of the “fatness” of the land. It is a word meaning “richness, delicacy, superabundance, etc.” The Hebrew word for lees is shemoreem which means “settled, preserved, etc.” In other words, God is going to provide the richest and choicest in abundance. The Hebrew language in this sentence uses the prefix lecol to the word haameem to emphasize that this feast is to be for all the peoples. In other words, the feast is to be for the Gentiles as well as the Jews—just as Jesus taught in His parables (Matthew 22:1-14; Luke 14:1-24). The “mountain” is, of course, Zion, but as we have already seen symbolizes the N.T. church (cf. our comments on Isaiah 2:1-4, etc.).

Isaiah 25:7-8 FREED: Two different Hebrew words are used here to denote the coverings. One word, loat, means concealment; the other word, mosokh, translated veil, means curtain and is used to denote the curtain in the tabernacle. Two Hebrew words are used to denote peoples—haameem and, the more specific, goyeem, which specifies Gentiles. The covering and veil that is to be removed probably has reference to full and final revelation of God’s redemptive program in Christ and the church (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:12-18; Ephesians 1:3-10; Ephesians 2:11-22; Colossians 1:24-29, etc.). Those who wish and who “come to Zion” (the church) and acknowledge and worship the true God will have the “curtain” removed that stands between them and knowing, serving and fellowshipping the Holy God. The “curtain” that kept man from the Holy presence of Jehovah was man’s guilt for his sin, his fear of death (cf. Hebrews 2:14-18) and the incomprehension of his tribulations. Christ accomplished the removing of that “curtain” by His death and resurrection, and now all men have access to the presence of God “through a new and living way which He opened for us through His flesh” (cf. Hebrews 10:19-20). There must be some symbolic significance to the rending of the veil in the temple from top to bottom at the crucifixion of Christ (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45) in connection with this Messianic prophecy in Isaiah.

The Old Testament definitely teaches a future life after death. There are actual cases of resurrections from death in the O.T. (cf. 1 Kings 17:22; 2 Kings 4:35; 2 Kings 13:21). There are cases of translation where the individual did not die but was translated by God (Genesis 5:22-24; 2 Kings 2:11). Samuel reappeared after his death and talked with King Saul (1 Samuel 28:12-19). David expressed faith in a future life at the death of his infant son (2 Samuel 12:15-23). There are other passages too (Isaiah 14:9; Isaiah 26:19; Isaiah 53:10-12; Isaiah 65:20; Isaiah 66:24; Hosea 13:14; Daniel 12:2). But this passage in Isaiah 25:8 is perhaps the most concise and significant statement in all the O.T. concerning life after death.

All cause for sorrow and frustration will have been removed; therefore, the tender Father will wipe away all tears from the eyes of His children. A parallel promise in the New Testament is found in Revelation 21:1-4. While we are in this world we shall have tribulation, but we may be of good cheer for the Lord has overcome the world. We too, may overcome the world by our faith in Him. We are persuaded that “this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison . . .” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

Verses 9-12

Isa 25:9-12

Isaiah 25:9-12

"And it shall come to pass in that day, Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. For in this mountain will the hand of Jehovah rest; and Moab shall be trodden down in his place, even as straw is trodden down in the water of a dunghill. And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst thereof, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim; but Jehovah will lay low his pride together with the craft of his hands. And the high fortress of thy walls hath he brought down, laid low, and brought to the ground, even to the dust."

As Payne noted, this passage is offensive to modern ears, as the very idea of a condemned man having been thrown into a pit dunghill filled with water and fighting to swim out of it is by no means something pleasant to think about; but, on the other hand, God reveals to us in passages of this type just how utterly undesirable the status of wicked people is sure to be when God’s judgment comes upon them. Moab, in this passage, seems to have been singled out, not as a single nation awaiting God’s punishment, but as "A representative of all the obdurately hostile and unbelieving world whose God-resisting peoples shall be mowed down in the final destruction.”

All of the figures that God uses in the Bible to describe the final punishment of the wicked are all repulsive: (1) the lake of fire; (2) the perpetual silence; (3) the outer darkness;, (4) where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth; (5) where the fire is not quenched and the worm dieth not; (6) a pool of blood up to the horses bridles for 200 miles! etc. This description is the seventh;, (7) a man trying to swim out of a watered dung hole! Rather than being offended by such descriptions, men should strive to avoid the place or condition described.

"Where is death’s sting? where grave thy victory?

Where all the pain?

Now that thy King the veil that hung o’er thee

Hath rent in twain?”

These precious lines from a hymn are an appropriate way to close our study of this tremendous chapter.

Isaiah 25:9 FELLOWSHIPING: In the day when Jehovah makes His “feast” for all peoples, in the day when He removes the “curtain” from between Himself and all nations and in the day when He swallows up death forever, those who have waited in eager faith will enter into a participation of the salvation He has provided. This passage reminds us of the prophecy of John the Baptist’s father of the coming Messiah (Luke 1:67-79) and of Simeon’s prophetic prayer (Luke 2:29-35). Much of the sin-stricken world was searching for fellowship with The Divine Being. They had even built altars to the “Unknown God” (Acts 17:23). When the Unknown God became Known, when the Word became flesh and dwelt among men and accomplished His redemptive work and was proclaimed throughout the known world by the apostles, thousands and thousands of men of every tribe and tongue said, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him. . . .” Men are still waiting for Him in places far away and near. He has made Himself knowable and available. But He has sovereignly chosen (Romans 9:10-11) to become knowable and available through a response of faith to the preached Word (cf. Romans 10:14-17). If every man is to have the opportunity to “be glad and rejoice in his salvation,” then those who know the Word must preach it to every man.

Isaiah 25:10 STAGGERED: “This mountain” has as its antecedent Zion. The tender hand of God will rest in mercy upon Zion, wiping away every tear. But, and the contrast is the point, the hand of God’s judgment will rest upon Mount Moab. Those in covenant relationship with Jehovah will be protected, sustained and feted. Those not in covenant with Him will be defeated. Moab had a long history of opposition to Jehovah’s sovereignty (cf. our comments on Isaiah chapters 15 & 16, Vol. I). Moab probably represents all the enemies of Jehovah’s covenant people. God will use secondary agents to bring about Moab’s downfall—Babylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans will successively conquer and ravage the mountains and valleys east of the Jordan river. It will become a desolate, deprived and despised area—a haunt of jackals and other wild animals. It will be crushed and cast off like barnyard straw pitched into the dung pit. There it will be trodden under foot.

Isaiah 25:11 STRUGGLING: Moab, in the midst of its own desolation and despicability, will make frantic effort to save itself. Like a swimmer in danger of drowning, Moab will call upon every device and crafty plot it knows to save itself. But none of it will avail, for Jehovah is omnipotent. This is the point—the contrast between the high and exalted joy of Zion in its festive victory and the utter degradation and defeat of Moab.

Isaiah 25:12 STRUCK DOWN: Moab was as proud as Edom of her fortifications. There, east of the Jordan, in the high cliffs and mountains of that region they built their walled cities. Military strategy has always been and always will be in troop-warfare, to occupy the “high ground.” Ancient cities and villages invariably sought hills and rises in the terrain upon which to build. But Moab’s arrogance and threatening need not be feared by God’s elect for He will bring their enemies down to the dust of the earth. And so it has been through the ages. The faithful Covenant-God has protected and sustained and fed His kingdom upon the earth and it is alive and flourishing today. In contrast, those enemies who have threatened and warred against God’s kingdom have come and gone and dissolved into dust, one after another. So shall it ever be.