seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Isaiah 25:1 Lord, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done wonderful things,
things planned long ago.
2 You have made the city a heap of rubble,
the fortified town a ruin,
the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore strong peoples will honor you;
cities of ruthless nations will revere you.
4 You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
is like a storm driving against a wall
5 and like the heat of the desert.
You silence the uproar of foreigners;
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done wonderful things,
things planned long ago.
2 You have made the city a heap of rubble,
the fortified town a ruin,
the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore strong peoples will honor you;
cities of ruthless nations will revere you.
4 You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
is like a storm driving against a wall
5 and like the heat of the desert.
You silence the uproar of foreigners;
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food 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.
a feast of rich food 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, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
10 The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;
but Moab will be trampled in their land
as straw is trampled down in the manure.
11 They will stretch out their hands in it,
as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.
God will bring down their pride
despite the cleverness[a] of their hands.
12 He will bring down your high fortified walls
and lay them low;
he will bring them down to the ground,
to the very dust.
but Moab will be trampled in their land
as straw is trampled down in the manure.
11 They will stretch out their hands in it,
as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.
God will bring down their pride
despite the cleverness[a] of their hands.
12 He will bring down your high fortified walls
and lay them low;
he will bring them down to the ground,
to the very dust.
a. Isaiah 25:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
After the earthquake...... when the earth stops shaking to it's core..... the humans will have no doubt that God has been working.
This is from bible-studys.org.
Chapter 25 begins with a song of exaltation and praise to God for the triumph of His judgment of the world. The survivors of the Great Tribulation lift their voices in praise to God for His protection. The cities of mankind have fallen into “ruin” and the nations of earth have been “brought low” (i.e. humbled), before the mighty God who alone has been a “refuge from the storm”.
The “veil” does not refer to the veil of the temple but to the covering of death that hangs over all “nations”. Yet God “will swallow up death in victory” (1 Cor. 15:54), and the “Lord God will wipe away tears” (Rev. 7:17). This act of His grace will then bring in the millennial kingdom.
This is from the easy English site.In the Bible some ‘wonderful’ action always means something that God alone has done. It never refers to human activity (see Isaiah 9:6).
These impressive events will make foreign nations realise that the Lord’s power is immense. (Isaiah does not name the nations.)
The Lord has also shown his great power when he provided shelter for poor people. They seemed to be without any defence. But the Lord protected them as a harbour protects boats.
As a cloud reduces heat, so the Lord reduces every fear about the enemy.
Isaiah 2:2-3 painted a picture in words. One day all nations will flow to Jerusalem to praise the Lord. Now Isaiah refers to that event again. This universal party is still in the future (see Matthew 22:2-10). The wonderful meal of the very best food and wine is for everybody in the world. (This is simply a very splendid picture in words. No city in the present world could possibly entertain everybody!)
- The New Testament refers to this event as the wedding supper of the Lamb of God. (Jesus is called the Lamb of God. A lamb is a young sheep. When the Temple existed, people would offer lambs as sacrifices (gifts) to God. In the same manner, Jesus died as a sacrifice because of our evil deeds). This event will be in New Jerusalem (see Revelation 21:2), and not in the present city of that name.
- God’s special people enjoyed a party because of God’s original covenant (see Exodus 24:11). Now Isaiah looks forward to another party. This will be to show the time when God’s covenant is for all nations.
This enormous party is because of the Lord’s gift. He has been very kind to everybody in the world. There will be no more death. That was everybody’s fate, until Jesus overcame death (see 1 Corinthians 15:26). There will be no more pain. And people will not suffer again (see Revelation 21:4).
People have a strong desire for a quiet heart that is free from guilty feelings. Only the Lord can provide such a quiet heart.
The ‘hand of the Lord’ is a picture in words for strong action that the Lord takes.
- Moab was east of the river Jordan, opposite Jericho. Isaiah has not mentioned Moab since chapters 15 to 16. It is a surprise that Isaiah suddenly mentions Moab again. But the reason becomes clear in the next verse.
- To ‘walk heavily upon’ means to ‘punish severely’. This may be either by the Lord’s direct action or, more usually, by his use of an agent.
A swimmer who is using his hands is another picture in words. It cleverly describes the proud action to save oneself by self-effort (see Isaiah 16:6). Such action will completely fail.
Moab’s powerful defences are completely hopeless.
I think it's important for me to remember what I read in the Book of Ruth. The book starts out with Naomi and her husband..... they have two sons.... there are touch times in Israel.... food is nearly impossible to get.... so they moved to Moab. The two sons married Moabite women. Then all three men die in battle. The women were left with no man to give them a home. Women rarely owned land back then. They would have to become prostitutes or beggars. So, Naomi, a native of Israel, decided to go home. If she was going to have to beg.... it might as well be in her homeland where she has a shot at getting a place to live. One of Naomi's daughter-in-laws decided to stay in Moab..... where her family would take her in. The other, Ruth, chose to go with Naomi. Ruth chose to give up everything in her past.... her family, her childhood home, her friends, even the stuff she was taught about the "gods" of Moab. Ruth decided to go with Naomi..... she was in for quite a change..... and when she got to Israel.... she met Boaz..... they were married.... they even took Naomi in. Boaz was of Jewish descent.... directly in the line.... in the same family of King David..... Solomon.... and Jesus. Ruth was a Moabite.... who became the great great great whatever grandmother of Jesus the Messiah.
I've talked about the tornado that touched down in Lothian. It took off the roof of a tobacco barn there. We lived in a prefab home set on blocks in a mobile home community before we got our house in Lusby. My daughter and I were home alone when the storm blew through. It wasn't a big tornado.... but it was a bunch of them.... little ones.... when it was over and we came out of our house.... we could see where the mini tornado had touched down in the lot next to ours and then took off again.... it left a little scar on the ground and clipped of the tops of trees. It was an odd silence after all the wind stopped and the sun re-appeared.
We had survived. We walked outside under trees that had just been shaken down into the roots... without a care.... we made it through the storm and we weren't worried at all..... now we were safe. We looked out around us.... how others had lost their roof or their fence..... but we were safe..... protected.
I think that's what Isaiah is describing..... after the earthquake..... that safe feeling when God let's us stand on solid ground again. I don't know if I would kiss the ground or raise my hands ..... but one thing for sure.... I would be grateful and thankful.
