Isaiah 25:6 - Meaning and Application

If we take this, as many do, to speak of the great joy in Zion and Jerusalem when the Assyrian army was defeated by an angel, or when the Jews were freed from Babylonian captivity, or some other amazing rescue, we still have to look farther. It points ahead to the grace of the gospel and to the glory that is the crown and completion of that grace. The full meaning will come at our resurrection through Christ, when, as Paul says, “Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54). That helps explain the rest of the promises joined here. So this is a prophecy of the salvation and grace brought to us by Jesus Christ, which the prophets searched for carefully (1 Peter 1:10).

The grace of the gospel is described as a royal feast for all people. It is not like Ahasuerus’s banquet, the Persian king’s feast, which was meant to show off the king’s greatness (Esther 1:4). This feast is meant to bless the guests, so everything here is for real good, not display. In the New Testament, God often describes the welcome given to repentant sinners as a feast, as in Matthew 22:1 and following, and that image seems to come from this prophecy.

God himself is the Master of the feast, and we can be sure he prepares in a way that fits his greatness. The Lord of hosts, the Lord who commands armies, makes this feast. The guests invited are all people, Gentiles as well as Jews, for the gospel is to be preached to every creature. There is enough for everyone, and whoever wants may come and share freely, even those gathered from the highways and hedges.

The place is Mount Zion. The gospel begins there, and the preachers must start at Jerusalem. The gospel church is the Jerusalem above, and there this feast is made. All who are invited must come to it. The provision is rich, and everything is the best. It is a feast, which means there is abundance and variety. It is a lasting feast for believers, if only they make use of it.

It is a feast of fat things and marrow, meaning the comforts of the gospel are rich, satisfying, and strengthening to those who take them in. The returning prodigal son was welcomed with the fatted calf, and David found in communion with God a satisfaction like marrow and fatness. It is also a feast of wines on the lees, the best wine kept long and then refined. The gospel has in it what, like wine used rightly, makes the heart glad and lifts the spirit.

That is especially fitting for those who are heavy-hearted, convicted of sin, and mourning over it. They may drink and forget their misery, in the sense that wine can refresh one in need of it. Proverbs says wine is for those who are dying and for those who are of heavy heart (Proverbs 31:5, 6). In the gospel they may take courage, know that their sins are forgiven, and grow strong for spiritual work and warfare, like a man refreshed with wine.

The world would also be freed from the darkness of ignorance and error in which it had long been lost and buried (Isaiah 25:7). He will destroy on this mountain the covering spread over all people, the veil that keeps them from seeing their way and doing their work. Because of it they wander in confusion. Their faces are covered like condemned men or dead men. A veil lies over all nations, for they all sit in darkness. It is no surprise that this was true, since even the Jews, among whom God was known, had a veil over their hearts (2 Corinthians 3:15).

But the Lord will destroy that veil by the light of his gospel shining in the world, and by the power of his Spirit opening people’s eyes to receive it. He will bring to spiritual life those who have long been dead in sins and trespasses. Death itself will be conquered, its power broken, and its hold changed: “He will swallow up death in victory” (Isaiah 25:8).

Christ will first triumph over death in his own resurrection. He will break its bands and bars and throw off all its cords. The grave seemed to swallow him up, but in truth he swallowed up the grave. The happiness of the saints will then be beyond the reach of death, which puts an end to all earthly enjoyments and spoils them. Believers may already triumph over death and see it as a defeated enemy: “O death, where is your sting?”

When the saints’ bodies are raised on the great day, and what is mortal is swallowed up by life, then death will be swallowed up forever in victory. It is the last enemy. Grief will also be driven away, and there will be perfect, endless joy. “The Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces.” Those who mourn for sin will be comforted, and their consciences will be quieted.

In the covenant of grace, God has provided enough to balance all the sorrows of this present life, to wipe away our tears, and to refresh us. Those who suffer for Christ will especially find comfort growing as their sufferings grow. Yet this promise is fully kept only in heaven, and nowhere short of heaven. There God will wipe away every tear (Revelation 7:17; Revelation 21:4). There will be no more sorrow, because there will be no more death. The hope of that should now wipe away our excessive tears, even the kind of weeping that keeps us from sowing.

Finally, all the shame thrown on religion and on serious believers will be removed forever. The reproach of his people, the insults they have long carried, the lies and false reports used to darken them, and the pride and cruelty of their persecutors who trampled them down, will all be taken away. Their righteousness will shine out like light before the whole world, and everyone will be forced to see that they were not what their enemies had claimed. In that way, their salvation from such injuries will be fully worked out.

Sometimes God does this in this life, taking away his people’s shame among men. Even so, it will be done completely on the last day, for the Lord has said it, and he can and will make it happen. So let us patiently bear sorrow and shame now and use both well, because soon both will pass away.