Reflections on Isaiah 25

Isaiah 25 (Contemporary English Version)
1. You, LORD, are my God! I will praise you for doing the wonderful things you had planned and promised since ancient times.
   
2. You have destroyed the fortress of our enemies, leaving their city in ruins. Nothing in that foreign city will ever be rebuilt.
   
3. Now strong and cruel nations will fear and honor you.
   
4. You have been a place of safety for the poor and needy in times of trouble. Brutal enemies pounded us like a heavy rain or the heat of the sun at noon, but you were our shelter.
   
5. Those wild foreigners struck like scorching desert heat. But you were like a cloud, protecting us from the sun. You kept our enemies from singing songs of victory.
   
6. On this mountain the LORD All-Powerful will prepare for all nations a feast of the finest foods. Choice wines and the best meats will be served.
   
7. Here the LORD will strip away the burial clothes that cover the nations.
   
8. The LORD All-Powerful will destroy the power of death and wipe away all tears. No longer will his people be insulted everywhere. The LORD has spoken!
   
9. At that time, people will say, "The LORD has saved us! Let's celebrate. We waited and hoped-- now our God is here."
   
10. The powerful arm of the LORD will protect this mountain. The Moabites will be put down and trampled on like straw in a pit of manure.
    
11. They will struggle to get out, but God will humiliate them no matter how hard they try.
    
12. The walls of their fortresses will be knocked down and scattered in the dirt.

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This chapter is in the section of Isaiah (chapters 24-27) known as Isaiah's apocalypse because it foreshadows a period toward the end of time when God will judge the whole earth and Christ will reign over the earth for 1,000 years. The previous chapter foreshadowed God's judgment during this future period and chapter 25 foreshadows Christ's reign. God's people are praising Him for His judgment of the wicked and for their deliverance. This is not a deliverance that is only for Israel, but for people from all nations who bow the knee to Christ and His reign.

During this period in time, there will be a reversal of fortunes. Those who depend on God will be helped and those who do not will be judged. The poor among God's people will no longer be destitute but will be provided what they need. As verse 4  describes, "You (God) have been a stronghold for the poor, a stronghold for the humble person in his distress, a refuge from the rain, a shade from the heat. When the breath of the violent is like rain against a wall, like heat in a dry land, You subdue the uproar of barbarians. "

The Lord's deliverance is pictured as a celebration feast of God's people, celebrating not only their deliverance but also the removal of the burial shroud or in other words, the removal of death, for God "will destroy death forever." (25:8) This removal of death not only removes the shadow that death places on life but will remove the sorrow of separation that death causes between the living and the dead.

So God's people rejoice saying, "Look, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the LORD; we have waited for Him. Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation." (25:9) In contrast there will be the trampling of the wicked, such as Moab, and their pride will be brought low will also their trickery.