Isaiah 25

Isaiah breaks into praise because God keeps His ancient plans and brings down proud, cruel powers. He then looks ahead to a feast on God’s mountain for all peoples, where death is swallowed up and tears are wiped away. The chapter ends with Moab, a picture of human pride, brought down to the dust.

Isaiah 25:1

Isaiah sings a personal song of praise: “You are my God.” He praises God for wonders that were planned long ago and are now carried out. What God purposed in eternity, He accomplishes, and He does not fail.

BSA: faithfulness (“loyalty, trustworthiness”): God’s plans can be trusted because He is loyal to His word and never drops what He has begun. plans (“counsels, purposes”): These are not sudden reactions but settled purposes of God.

Hebrew: אֱמוּנָה (ʾemunah, H530) — “firmness, steadiness, faithfulness.” The word carries the idea of something firm that will bear weight. God’s faithfulness is solid enough to rest your life on.

Isaiah 25:2

God has turned a proud, fortified city into a pile of rubble. The city is not named, which lets it stand for every power that sets itself up against God. Its fall is final: it will never be rebuilt.

BSA: fortress (“high palace, citadel”): Even the highest, strongest place of human security cannot stand against God.

Isaiah 25:3

The fall of the proud leads to worship. Strong peoples and cities once known for cruelty will come to honor and fear the LORD. God’s judgment humbles the nations, and the result reaches beyond Israel.

BSA: revere (“have a deep respect for”): The fear meant here is awe before God, not only terror.

Isaiah 25:4

God is a safe place for the poor and needy. He is shelter in a storm and shade in burning heat. The ruthless blast like a rainstorm beating on a wall, but God shelters His people from it.

BSA: refuge (“shelter, haven”): God is a safe place to run to when trouble comes, not just a distant helper. shade (“shadow”): Like a shadow in desert sun, God’s nearness gives relief and protection.

See also: Psalm 91:1-2; Psalm 46:1.

Isaiah 25:5

Like a cloud passing over a scorched land, God cools the fierce heat of the oppressors. Their noisy uproar is hushed and their boastful song is silenced. The threat that seemed overwhelming ends at God’s word.

BSA: silenced (“stilled, brought to an end”): The triumph song of the cruel is not merely quieted but ended.

Isaiah 25:6

Now the scene changes to a great feast. On God’s mountain, Zion, the LORD of Hosts prepares a banquet for all peoples, not only Israel. It is full of the best food and wine. It pictures joy, abundance and welcome at God’s own table.

BSA: banquet (“feast”): God is pictured as a generous host who invites the nations to celebrate with Him. peoples (“nations”): The invitation reaches every nation, not just one.

Hebrew: שְׁמָרִים (shemarim, H8105) — “wine left on its dregs to age.” This is wine allowed to settle and mature, so it is rich and strong. The picture is of the very best that has been long prepared.

See also: Revelation 19:9; Matthew 8:11.

Isaiah 25:7

On the same mountain, God removes the covering that lies over all nations. It is like a shroud or veil of grief, blindness and death that hangs over humanity. God will swallow it up, and people will see clearly.

BSA: shroud (“covering, veil”): A cloth thrown over a mourner or a corpse suggests a world living under death’s shadow. swallow up (“completely destroy, devour”): God does not merely push the veil aside but makes it vanish completely.

See also: 2 Corinthians 3:14-16.

Isaiah 25:8

This is one of the Bible’s greatest promises. God will swallow up death forever and wipe tears from every face. His people’s long shame will be removed. Because the LORD has spoken, it is certain. The New Testament takes up these words about the final hope.

BSA: death (“the end of life, eternal separation”): Death is pictured as an enemy that God will finally consume. disgrace (“reproach, shame”): God will take away the scorn that His people have borne.

Hebrew: בִּלַּע (billa, H1104) — “swallowed up.” Death swallows everyone, but here God swallows death. The great devourer is itself devoured.

See also: 1 Corinthians 15:54; Revelation 21:4.

Isaiah 25:9

On that day God’s people will praise Him with one voice. They will say that He is the God they waited for, and that He saved them. Waiting was not wasted. Their long trust ends in rejoicing in His salvation.

BSA: waited (“patiently expected, trusted in”): This waiting is hopeful trust, not idle delay. salvation (“deliverance, victory”): It is a rescue that God Himself wins.

See also: Psalm 40:1; Titus 2:13.

Isaiah 25:10

God’s hand rests on His mountain in protection and blessing. Moab, a neighboring nation known for pride, is the opposite. It will be trampled like straw in a manure pit. Here Moab stands for all who exalt themselves against God.

BSA: hand (“an open hand; strength, a side or share”): God’s hand is His active power, settled over His people as a covering. trampled (“overpowered, dominated”): The proud are not just defeated but crushed under foot.

Isaiah 25:11

Moab will stretch out its hands like a swimmer trying to stay afloat, but God will bring its pride low. Its cleverness and skill cannot save it. Human ability, however impressive, does not hold up when God opposes pride.

BSA: pride (“arrogance, self-importance”): Pride is the root of the fall: trusting self in place of God. skill (“cunning, cleverness”): Even the best human skill is no defense against God.

See also: Proverbs 16:18.

Isaiah 25:12

The chapter closes with high walls laid in the dust. Whatever people build to feel safe and great, God can bring down to the ground. Only the refuge He provides stands for ever.

BSA: dust (“dry earth, clay”): The high place is reduced to the lowest, humblest ground.