The Great Banquet-Isaiah 24-25

Isaiah, Old Testament, Sermons

“On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food (fatness) for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines. 7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8 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. 9 In that day they will say, ‘Surely this is our God; we trusted in him (waited for him), and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him (waited for him); let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation’” (Isa 25:6-9, NIV).

Theme: Isaiah 25:6-9 is one of the Bible’s high spots: Ultimate, eternal reality is a banquet, with no expense spared, every provision made, and every tear dried (Rev 7:17; 21:4).

Recap: Your Money is a Gift and Will Return To God (Isaiah 23). Questions for reflection:

  • Does your tithe (10%) belong to God?
  • Does 100% of your wealth belong to God? Is your money “holy to the Lord” (Isa 23:18)?
  • How might having wealth and money affect you and the way you live, feel and think?

The nations do not dictate what God does. Isaiah 13-23 addresses separate nations, while Isaiah 24-27 views the world as a whole. The focus and overriding theme of Isaiah 24-27 is the worldwide triumph of God, not onlyover his enemies but also for his people. Isaiah moves from the particular statements of ch.13-23 to a broader, more generalized statement of God’s lordship of the earth. But in Isaiah 13-23 the nations could be thought of as the main actors with the Lord reacting to them. One could get the idea that the nations are somehow originators of the events of history. Isaiah 24-27 corrects that impression. It is not God who reacts to the nations, but the nations who respond to him.

 

God is the sovereign actor on the stage of history. All things come from God, and all things must eventually return to him. He created time, and he will bring it to an end. Israel’s hope is not to be in the nations of the world. They will wither away in a moment under God’s blast. Rather her hope should be in the Lord, who is the master of the nations.

Overwhelming judgment with a dominant note of joy. Isaiah 24-27 is about the downfall of earthly and supernatural enemies (Isa 24:21-22; Eph 6:12; Isa 27:1). They contain one of only a few clear promises of bodily resurrection in the OT (Isa 26:19; 25:8; Dan 12:2; Job 19:25-26). This wider scene is viewed from Isaiah’s own vantage-point of Jerusalem, with Judah, Moab (Isa 25:10-12) and the great powers of Egypt and Assyria (Isa 27:12-13) in the near and middle distance. Overwhelming as the judgments are, the dominant note is of joy, welling up in the songs which frequently break into the prophecy.

Outline of Isaiah 1-39:

  • 1-5: The problem: A lack of servanthood.
  • 6: The solution: The call to servanthood.
  • 7-39: Lessons in trust, the basis of servanthood.
  • 7-12 (739 BC): God or Assyria. No Trust (Ahaz). Thus the need to learn lessons in trust.
  • 13-23: God’s judgment on the nations–Don’t trust the nations.
  • 24-27: God’s triumph over the nations–God is the sovereign actor on the stage of history.
  • 28-33: Woe to those who trust the nations, who do not trust and wait on God.
  • 34-35: Trusting God or the nations–Results.
  • 36-39 (701 BC): God or Assyria. Trust (Hezekiah).

Isaiah 24-27: A contrast of cities and songs. This theme is developed by means of a recurrence of contrast: between the City of Man and the City of God. The former is cast down, forsaken, destroyed. The latter is a lace of security, abundance and life. There is also a contrast in song. In the former city of chaos, the drunken revelry which was there is now silent. In its place there comes from the ends of the earth the song of Judah, a song about a God who is strong enough to save the helpless and compassionate enough to redeem the sinful.

  1. Judgment (24): Cheating one’s conscience (24:5).
  2. Response (25): Surely, this is our God (25:9).
  3. Thanksgiving (26): Trust God the Rock forever (26:4)
  4. Confirmation (27): God makes his vineyard fruitful through adversity and cleansing (27:1, 7-9).

I. The Strong City of the World is Crushed (24:1-23): Earth and Heaven Judged; God’s Final Curse on the Evil World

“See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its faceand scatter its inhabitants — 3 The earth will be completely laid wasteand totally plundered.The Lord has spoken this word” (Isa 24:1, 3).

  • Worldwide destruction (24:1-6). Desolation of the earth. The earth is destroyed. All of humanity is in chaos.
  • Joy is gone (24:7-13). The end of revelry. The world is a city of emptiness and meaninglessness (Isa 24:10).
  • Joy from the oppressed (24:14-16). Joy over God, grief over earth. Ultimate praise but present devastation (Isa 24:16b).
  • Cosmic judgment and destruction (24:17-22). Hopeless flight with no escape (24:17-20).
  • The Lord’s reign in sheer glory (Isa 24:23). When God’s glory is seen, the brightest things the world knows–the sun and moon–will hand their heads in shame.

Universal judgment. The focus of Isaiah 24 is the destruction of the earth (“earth” occurs 16 times in 23 verses). The one who brings destruction is the Lord (Isa 24:1, 3, 21). The judgment is universal (Isa 24:1-3); everyone will be subject to it and no one will be exempt (Isa 24:2). Neither gender, nor rank, nor function will permit any to escape what God is bringing on the earth.

Judgment is the result of choices made.”The earth dries up and withers” (Isa 24:4) like a vine (Isa 24:7). All the merry making and gaiety associated with wine is stilled (Isa 24:8). The forced and artificial gaiety induced by alcohol (Isa 24:7, 9, 11) vanishes like a vapor before the awful realities of judgment and destruction. Why is such destruction and judgment coming?”They have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant” (Isa 24:5). Implicit here is the understanding that humans know enough to behave better than they do. Destruction is coming because humans have violated the terms of their creation. They cheat their own conscience. As a result, they are accountable to God and him alone, he who is the Creator of all the nations.

The earth as a whole is regarded under the image of a city (Isa 24:10). Why? The city offers wealth, glamour, excitement, pleasure, intrigue, and power–all the things humans are prone to sell their souls for. But as mighty and alluring as the city of earth is, a day of harvest is coming when all the fruit will be stripped off and nothing will be left of all the riches that earthlings thought were their own (Isa 24:13).

What should your attitude be toward the world that is under judgment?

“You are surprised that the world is losing its grip, that the world is grown old? Think of a man. He is born, he grows up, he becomes old. Old age has many complaints: coughing, shaking, failing eyesight, anxious, terribly tired. A man grows old; he is full of complaints. The world is old; it is full of pressing tribulations…. Do not hold on to the old man, the world. Do not refuse to regain your youth in Christ, who says to you: ‘The world is passing away, the world is losing its grip, the world is short of breath. Do not fear. “Your youth shall be renewed as an eagle.”’” St. Augustine.

How do you trust God, not the world?

  • “Don’t put your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath.  What good are they?” (Isa 2:22, NLT)
  • “I, yes I, am the one who comforts you. So why are you afraid of mere humans,  who wither like the grass and disappear? 13 Yet you have forgotten the Lord, your Creator,  the one who stretched out the sky like a canopy and laid the foundations of the earth. Will you remain in constant dread of human oppressors?” (Isa 51:12-13, NLT)
  • “This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord’” (Jer 17:5, NLT).
  • “… many began to trust in him. 24 But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. 25 No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart” (Jn 2:23b-25, NLT).

 

II. The Great Banquet in the City of God (25:1-12): The Great Liberation; Salvation and Provision

From shattered silence to joy is the sharp contrast of Isaiah 24 and 25. Isaiah 25 forms the response to the announcement of the destruction of the earth city (Isa 24:10). In Isaiah judgment and destruction (Isa 24:1, 3) are never God’s intended last words. Rather, it paves the way for hope and redemption (Isa 25:9). From the silence of the shattered city (Isa 24:8) comes the joy of a feast where the host is the Lord (Isa 25:6).

  1. The song (1-5). Song of thanksgiving and joy for God’s faithfulness in his wonderful acts according to his eternal plan and counsel (Isa 25:1; 9:6; 14:14-27). Individual praise: his supernatural acts.
  2. The banquet (6-8). Announcement of a great feast. God’s purpose in the destruction of the earth is her redemption from death (Isa 25:8).
  3. The festivities (9-12). The joy of God’s people comes from being delivered from their enemies, typified by Moab (Isa 25:10). Communal praise: his saving acts.

1. The Song (25:1-5): The end of tyranny

Redemption and deliverance is for all people. The note of praise (Isa 25:1-2, 4-5) is not only from the redeemed people of God, but also from “strong peoples” and “ruthless nations” honoring and revering the Lord (Isa 25:3).

2. The Banquet (25:6-8): The end of darkness and death.

Everyone’s invited. There is no sense in which God glories in the destruction of the wicked (Eze 18:23; 33:11). Rather, God wants to invite “all peoples” to his feast (Isa 25:6, 7a) from “all nations” (Isa 25:7b) and wipe tears away from “all faces” and remove their disgrace (Isa 25:8). Everyone on earth is invited to this celebration and to this great banquet prepared by the Lord.

One of the clearest teachings on resurrection in the OT. “Death” that has shrouded all peoples, covered all nations and ruled the world since Adam and Eve, drenching it with tears, is going to be swallowed up and removed. Whether we wish to acknowledge it or not, or just pass it off as something normal that happens to all people, the issue of death is the greatest issue in the world. In a very real sense, death makes a mockery of life. All our achievements and accomplishments, all our struggles and pain, are meaningless because, as the Preacher says, we all die, the saint and the sinner, the winner and the loser, the Bill Gates of the world and the homeless bums, together (Eccl 9:3-4). Death takes away the possibility of individual human significance. But Isa 25:8a, quoted by Paul in 1 Cor 15:54, tells us that we were not created for death but for life. Death has lost its sting, and the grave has been robbed of its victory (1 Cor 15:55).

The wedding supper of the Lamb. The feast of the King portrayed in Isa 25:6 will be the wedding supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:7-9). It is the feast of the Lamb because it is through his death and resurrection that death is conquered. This imagery extends back to Exodus, when a lamb’s death made it possible for the firstborn of Israel to escape death (Exo 12:12-13). It is not accidental that Jesus instructs those who follow him to eat his flesh and drink his blood (Jn 6:53-56). Jesus was consciously associating himself with the Passover Lamb. After this glorious feast, “death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:14) and that “there will be no more dewath or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things as passed away” (Rev 21:4).

3. The Festivities (25:9-12): The end of pride.

The trustworthiness of God. Isa 25:9 emphasizes again the overarching theme of Isaiah 7-39: the trustworthiness of God. God can be trusted when nothing and no one else on earth can. If we trust the nations of humanity instead of God, they will turn on us and destroy us. They are all subject to God and will be judged. They cannot save us even if they wanted. The hope of every person is the trustworthiness of God.

Trust forsakes our manipulation according to our expectation and timetable. Trusting in/waiting for God is the kind of confident expectation that is willing to put the times and our unknown future in God’s hands. It is to truly trust and wait and believe in spite of a long time interval. This kind of trust forsakes the manipulation which seeks our desire and gratification according to our own time schedule. It demonstrates the reality of its commitment to God by refusing to make God prove himself according to our human timetable. When such confident expectation is satisfied, the result is, as here, jubilation. One who waits, hopes, trusts and believes with confidence has proven the sovereignty of God. Such jubilation springs from the certainty that God can save. What a relief and a delight that is, because without a sovereign deliverer, we are merely pawns of a cruel chance.

The evidence of trust is… What does it mean to trust God? Many think that it is an attitude and a mental process. It surely is, Thus, many find it difficult to trust God because our thoughts and imaginations and mental images have been  filled with anything but God. We allow the culture around us, through media domination and our own insatiable desires, to saturate our minds and hearts. The result is that many who claim to trust God know little to nothing of inner security or serenity (Isa 26:3). Paul says, “Do not be anxious about anything” (Phil 4:6). This becomes almost laughable because we are anxious about everything, most of it beyond our control.

We trust what fills our minds. What can we do? We must guard much more closely what we let into our minds. Paul continues,”Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things”(Phil 4:8). How do we think about such excellent and praiseworthy things? Do everything in our power to keep those opposite things from filling our heads, our hearts and our homes.

Either run with God or run into him. God does wish to deliver all the peoples of the world. But this does not mean that all will respond to his invitation. For those who refuse to do so, the grim final word is judgment. Any nation or person must either run with God or fun into him. There is no other way. Those who are tempted to ignore Isa 25:6-8 because of God’s soft heart will learn to regret that decision. [Note that 2:6-4:1 follows 2:1-5. Ch. 5 follows ch. 4. Ch. 39 follows ch.36-38.]

Where is my true home? Is it in the city of man (the world) or the city of God? How can you tell where your true home is?

“Two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self. The former, in a word, glories in itself, the latter in the Lord. For the one seeks glory from men; but the greater glory of the other is God, the witness of conscience. The one lifts up its head in its own glory; the other says to its God, ‘You are my glory, and the lifter up of my head.’” St. Augustine.

Questions (Isaiah 24-25):

  1. In Isaiah 13-23, the nations might be seen as the primary subjects, with Yahweh merely the one who reacts. In 24:1, 3, who is the main actor? What is the point of the repeated comparisons (24:2)?
  2. What is the structure of thought in 24:4–6 (notice “for” in 24:5 and two “therefores” in 24:6.)? Why is judgment coming? What is being referred to in 24:6? Does this apply to us? How? [24:1–6]
  3. What is the contrast depicted in 24:7–13? What had been the cause of joy in this city? What are your reflections on this fact? What is joy and where does it come from? [24:7–13]
  4. How does 24:14–16 relate to what has just been said? Why is the destruction of “earth city” a cause for rejoicing (25:2–3; 26:5–6)? How is “the majesty of Yahweh” a cause for joy? An atheist would call this “hokum.” Why isn’t it? Compare this song with the one in 24:7–13. Which has more substance? [24:14–16 use synonyms to talk about the whole earth: west (14), east (15), coastlands (15), and ends of the earth (16).]
  5. Assuming that Isaiah is the “I” of 24:16c, why is he not sharing the joy that he predicts people will be enjoying in the future? Who might the “traitors” of 24:16d be referring to? (For one possibility, see 21:2 and 33:1.) [24:14–16]
  6. How would you describe the language in this stanza (24:17–23)? What level of judgment is it connoting? What are the implications of this for Yahweh’s identity?
  7. Notice Yahweh’s title in 24:23 as compared to what is said in 24:21. What is the point? Compare Isaiah 24:23 with Exodus 24:9–11 and Revelation 4:4. What is being said? [24:17–23] [“The host of heaven” (24:21) refers to both the stars and to the gods. It is not either/or, but both/and. The same is true for the Moon and the Sun (24:23). There is no distinction between physical and spiritual.]
  8. Where else have we seen reference to God’s plans (25:1; 14:24-27)? How does this relate to pagan thought?
  9. Compare 25:3 with 24:15–16. Who is being contrasted with whom in 25:3–5? How does this relate to the theme of trust (and also of self–exaltation)? [25:1–5]
  10. Where will the banquet be and who will be the guests (25:6; 24:23)? But didn’t God destroy everybody but Israel?
  11. What will be the central event of the banquet according to 25:7? Where will it take place and for whom will it be?
  12. What is “the reproach of his people” (25:8; Dt 28:37; 1 Kgs 9:7; Ps 44:14)?
  13. Remember that “wait” is a synonym of “trust” (25:9-10). Compare the response here with 12:1–3. What conclusions do you draw? [25:6–9]
  14. What is the sin, and what is the result? Reflect on what we have seen of this issue so far. [25:10–13]

Outline and titles:

Isaiah 24-27 may be divided into two segments, 24-25 and 26-27:

  1. The city of the world (24-25): A strong city laid waste.
  2. Its overthrow (24): The earth is crushed.
  3. The destruction of the earth (24:1-13).
  4. A dramatic contrast (24:14-18a).
  5. The entire creation subject to God (2418b-23).
  6. The response to its overthrow (25): God’s feast.
  7. God’s effort on behalf of his people (26-27): The Lord’s day.
  8. Judah’s song (26).
  9. Thanks for God’s deliverance (26:1-6).
  10. Dependence on God (26:7-19).
  11. Promises to the faithful (26:20-27:1).
  12. The Lord delivers Judah (27).

Isaiah 13-23 has been titled:

  • God’s Judgment of the Nations.
  • Don’t Trust the Nations.
  • Messages for the Nations.
  • The Oracles of Judgment.
  • Lord of the Nations (ch.13-27).
  • The Kingdom Panorama: The Whole World in His Hands (ch.13-27).
  • The Supremacy of God Over the Nations (ch.13-27).

Isaiah 24-27 has been titled by various commentators as:

  • God’s Final Victory.
  • God’s Triumph Over the Nations.
  • God is the Sovereign Actor on the Stage of History.
  • Trusting Now in God, Who Will Reign Over All.
  • Two Cities in Contrast: Endurance Through to Glory.
  • The Little Apocalypse (or The Isaiah Apocalypse).

 

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