Isaiah 25
OGCEXAMINATION Chapter S TWENTY-FOUR THROUGH TWENTY-SEVEN
DEFINITION
(Define the following words or phrases as they were discussed in the comments.)
lofty people
new wine
isles of the sea
punish the host of the high ones
I will praise thy name
stronghold to the poor
feast of fat things
over all nations
keepeth faith
perfect peace
mind is stayed
Trust ye in Jehovah
everlasting rock
uprightness
thy chastening
indignation
leviathan
gathered one by one
MEMORIZATION
And in this ______ will Jehovah of hosts make unto all ______ a feast of _______ _____, a feast of wine on the ______, of ______ ______ full of marrow, of wines on the ______ well refined. And he will destroy in this ______ the face of the ______ that ______ all peoples, and the ______ that is spread over all _____. He hath _______ up ______ for ever; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away ______ from off all faces; and the reproach of his people he will take away from of all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken it. Isaiah 25:6-8
Thou wilt keep him in ______ _____ whose _____ is ______ on thee; because he ______ in thee. Trust ye in Jehovah for ever; for in Jehovah, even Jehovah, is an ______ _______. Isaiah 26:3-4
EXPLANATION
Explain how the Lord will punish the host of heaven and the moon is confounded and the sun ashamed when He manifests His glory before his elders. Isaiah 24:21-23
Explain how God keeps men in perfect peace. Isaiah 26:3-4
Explain how Jacob’s sin was expiated in the captivity. Isaiah 27:7-9
APPLICATION
(In its context every scripture has one meaningthe author’s intended meaning. How may the following be applied in the believer’s life?)
How does transgression of God’s laws and breaking His covenant relate to pollution of the earth? Isaiah 24:4-6
How does Isaiah’s prediction that God will make a feast on Mt. Zion apply to the Christian’s experience? Isaiah 25:6-9
How does the yearning of the prophet in Isaiah 26:7-12 for God’s just judgment apply to the Christian character?
Isaiah 25:1-5
B. JUBILEE BY JUDAH, CHAPTER 25
- JUBILATION FOR JEHOVAH’S POWER
TEXT: Isaiah 25:1-5
1
O Jehovah, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, even counsels of old, in faithfulness and truth.
2
For thou hast made of a city a heap, of a fortified city a ruin, a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.
3
Therefore shall a strong people glorify thee; a city of terrible nations shall fear thee.
4
For thou has been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
5
As the heat in a dry place wilt thou bring down the noise of strangers; as the heat by the shade of a cloud, the song of the terrible shall be brought low.
QUERIES
a.
What counsels of old has God done?
b.
Who are the strong people to glorify Jehovah?
c.
Why the figure of storm and shade?
PARAPHRASE
O Covenant-God, Thou art my Lord. I will extol and celebrate with thanksgiving Your Name. You have done wonderful things; Your plans formed long ago have been faithfully and absolutely fulfilled. You turn a mighty city into a heap of rubble. Strong fortresses You make into ruins. The castle of aliens You make to disappear never to be built again. Therefore a people of strength will glorify You; ruthless nations and their cities will fear You. To the weak and powerless You have been a refuge; You have been a refuge to the needy in their distress. You have been a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat when the ruthless nations storm and burn down upon us. As heat in a dry and torrid land is cooled by the shadow of a cloud, so You subdue the shouts of the aliens and put to silence the boasting chants of the ruthless nations.
COMMENTS
Isaiah 25:1-3 SOVEREIGN LORD: Two Hebrew names of God are used in Isaiah 25:1Yaweh and Elohim. According to the best lexicographers Yaweh (Jehovah) denotes God’s covenant-keeping nature (faithfulness) while Elohim (Lord) denotes God’s Lordship or Almightiness. Chapter 25 is the prophet’s song of praise following Chapter 24’S pronouncement of the doom of world power. The Covenant God has promised He will triumph over His enemies and that He shall reign eternally. Based upon the past faithfulness of God, Isaiah begins his song of praise thanking Him for the promises of future covenant fulfillment. The prophet seems to thank Jehovah for future triumph as if it had already been completed. God’s sovereign deeds are performed supernaturally in history as He carries out His covenanted plan of redemption. Such supernatural sovereignty and faithfulness causes men to marvel (cf. Psalms 40:5; Psalms 98:1; Ephesians 1:11, etc.). The Hebrew word yodoh is translated praise in Isaiah 25:1, and means literally, celebrate. Isaiah calls all who will to a celebration of praise for the faithfulness of Jehovah to keep His word.
Damascus (Syria), Samaria (Israel), Nineveh (Assyria), Memphis (Egypt) and Ethiopia threatened God’s people. But always God warned and promised their doom. Where are they now? They have all been brought low. Now Babylon threatens. What are God’s people to do? Trust in His faithfulness to keep His promise of Babylon’s doom also. Isaiah 25:2 promises that no city of man shall be strong enough to resist the Faithful and Almighty God. No material device, no political ideology, no philosophical system will ever thwart the Absolute certainty of Jehovah’s covenant. World systems may deceive some (even with lying signs and wonders) that they are going to eradicate God’s kingdom and His covenant. But they shall never accomplish it. World systems have already been defeated (Colossians 2:15, etc.)their obliteration awaits only the Consummation.
In the meantime (while we await the Consummation), some strong people (Gentiles) will turn to Jehovah glorifying and fearing Him. Isaiah is predicting the conversion of Gentiles as they see the wonderful faithfulness of the God of Israel (cf. our comments Isaiah 19:16 ff).
Isaiah 25:4-5 SHELTERING GOD: The Hebrew word dol is literally exhausted but translated poor in Isaiah 25:4. Another reason for Isaiah’s celebration of praise to Jehovah is His being a refuge for the weak and helpless. The Hebrew people had plenty of evidence for this aspect of God’s nature. He had taken them as a helpless, infantile people (cf. Ezekiel 16:1 ff) and rescued them, nurtured them, protected them and blessed them. He sheltered them from their enemies century after century as long as they depended upon Him. The metaphors of storm, refuge, heat, and shade should register vividly on the Hebrew mind. Palestine is subject to some violent natural storms and is a land of torrid heat and arid dryness. The prophets used such metaphors of the land frequently to communicate God’s nature and His will to their people. Jehovah is The Shadow of a Mighty Rock, within a weary land. The storms of world power (cf. Revelation, the Seals, Trumpets, etc.) rage against God’s elect covenant people (cf. Psalms 2:1-11) and, looked at from a human perspective, it appears the city of God will fall. But the Divine Perspective shows refuge and salvation and victory for the city of God.
Just as a cloud can obscure the heat of the sun and give refuge to a dry, dusty traveler, so easily will the Lord bring to nothing the torrid rage of His enemies and save His faithful ones. The supernatural deeds of God done in history and recorded by eyewitnesses testify abundantly that He will do what He has promised. Let all who believe Him celebrate in jubilant praise.
QUIZ
What two names for God are used in this text and what do they signify?
How has God demonstrated in the past that He keeps His word?
Why does Isaiah’s audience need to be reminded He keeps His word?
Have world systems already been defeated?
Is God a refuge for people because they are materially poor?
What storms rage against God’s elect?
Isaiah 25:6-9
- JUBILATION FOR JEHOVAH’S POSTERITY
TEXT: Isaiah 25:6-9
6
And in this mountain will Jehovah of hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
7
And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering that covereth all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations.
8
He hath swallowed up death for ever; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken it.
9
And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is Jehovah; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
QUERIES
a.
Which mountain? Isaiah 25:6
b.
Why feast on fat things?
c.
When will the Lord swallow up death forever?
PARAPHRASE
And at the same time the Almighty Covenant God defeats the enemies of His people and provides for them a refuge and shelter, He will make in His Zion a feast of choicest food and most refined drink. He will destroy all that obscures and hinders all men from coming to this feast. He will swallow up death forever and remove the fear and hurt that death has brought upon His faithful ones. He will wipe away all tears from the faces of those who trust Him. He will take away forever all the reproach of their sin. It is as certain as the person of Jehovah Himself. In that day, people from all nations will proclaim, This now is our God, in whom we trust, for whom we waited. At long last the One for whom we waited is here! He will save us! We gladly rejoice in His salvation!
COMMENTS
Isaiah 25:6 FEASTED: The prophets spoke glowingly of the coming Messianic age as an age of feasting and rejoicing for the covenant people of God (cf. Isaiah 55:2; Isaiah 61:1-7; Jeremiah 3:15-18; Ezekiel 34:20-24; Zechariah 8:14-23). It is apparent that all the feasts of the Mosaic dispensation were shadows of the good things to come (Hebrews 10:1 ff) and were to be fulfilled in the Messiah and His kingdom. Jesus likened the kingdom of God (the church) unto a time of great feasting (cf. Luke 14:1 ff, and Matthew 22:1-14; Matthew 25:1-13). Jesus spoke of men eating His flesh and drinking His blood as the Manna that came down out of heaven (cf. John 6:63). The epistles liken the whole Christian life unto a feast (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; 1 Corinthians 10:1-5). The present Christian experience to be consummated in the next life in heaven is symbolized as the marriage supper of the Lamb to which all who will accept are invited (Revelation 19:6-10). This passage is definitely Messianic and fulfilled in the establishment of the churchto be consummated at Christ’s second coming. The Hebrew word for fat things here is shemoneem. It is used in Genesis 27:28 to speak of the fatness of the land. It is a word meaning richness, delicacy, superabundance, etc. The Hebrew word for lees is shemoreem which means settled, preserved, etc. In other words, God is going to provide the richest and choicest in abundance. The Hebrew language in this sentence uses the prefix lecol to the word haameem to emphasize that this feast is to be for all the peoples. In other words, the feast is to be for the Gentiles as well as the Jewsjust as Jesus taught in His parables (Matthew 22:1-14; Luke 14:1-24). The mountain is, of course, Zion, but as we have already seen symbolizes the N.T. church (cf. our comments on Isaiah 2:1-4, etc.).
Isaiah 25:7-8 FREED: Two different Hebrew words are used here to denote the coverings. One word, loat, means concealment; the other word, mosokh, translated veil, means curtain and is used to denote the curtain in the tabernacle. Two Hebrew words are used to denote peopleshaameem and, the more specific, goyeem, which specifies Gentiles. The covering and veil that is to be removed probably has reference to full and final revelation of God’s redemptive program in Christ and the church (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:12-18; Ephesians 1:3-10; Ephesians 2:11-22; Colossians 1:24-29, etc.). Those who wish and who come to Zion (the church) and acknowledge and worship the true God will have the curtain removed that stands between them and knowing, serving and fellowshipping the Holy God. The curtain that kept man from the Holy presence of Jehovah was man’s guilt for his sin, his fear of death (cf. Hebrews 2:14-18) and the incomprehension of his tribulations. Christ accomplished the removing of that curtain by His death and resurrection, and now all men have access to the presence of God through a new and living way which He opened for us through His flesh (cf. Hebrews 10:19-20). There must be some symbolic significance to the rending of the veil in the temple from top to bottom at the crucifixion of Christ (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45) in connection with this Messianic prophecy in Isaiah.
The Old Testament definitely teaches a future life after death. There are actual cases of resurrections from death in the O.T. (cf. 1 Kings 17:22; 2 Kings 4:35; 2 Kings 13:21). There are cases of translation where the individual did not die but was translated by God (Genesis 5:22-24; 2 Kings 2:11). Samuel reappeared after his death and talked with King Saul (1 Samuel 28:12-19). David expressed faith in a future life at the death of his infant son (2 Samuel 12:15-23). There are other passages too (Isaiah 14:9; Isaiah 26:19; Isaiah 53:10-12; Isaiah 65:20; Isaiah 66:24; Hosea 13:14; Daniel 12:2). But this passage in Isaiah 25:8 is perhaps the most concise and significant statement in all the O.T. concerning life after death.
All cause for sorrow and frustration will have been removed; therefore, the tender Father will wipe away all tears from the eyes of His children. A parallel promise in the New Testament is found in Revelation 21:1-4. While we are in this world we shall have tribulation, but we may be of good cheer for the Lord has overcome the world. We too, may overcome the world by our faith in Him. We are persuaded that this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Isaiah 25:9 FELLOWSHIPING: In the day when Jehovah makes His feast for all peoples, in the day when He removes the curtain from between Himself and all nations and in the day when He swallows up death forever, those who have waited in eager faith will enter into a participation of the salvation He has provided. This passage reminds us of the prophecy of John the Baptist’s father of the coming Messiah (Luke 1:67-79) and of Simeon’s prophetic prayer (Luke 2:29-35). Much of the sin-stricken world was searching for fellowship with The Divine Being. They had even built altars to the Unknown God (Acts 17:23). When the Unknown God became Known, when the Word became flesh and dwelt among men and accomplished His redemptive work and was proclaimed throughout the known world by the apostles, thousands and thousands of men of every tribe and tongue said, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him.. Men are still waiting for Him in places far away and near. He has made Himself knowable and available. But He has sovereignly chosen (Romans 9:10-11) to become knowable and available through a response of faith to the preached Word (cf. Romans 10:14-17). If every man is to have the opportunity to be glad and rejoice in his salvation, then those who know the Word must preach it to every man.
QUIZ
What does the N.T. tell us about interpreting God’s feast of fat things?
What is the covering or veil that is spread over all nations?
How is that covering removed?
What does the O.T. say about the future life after death?
How do we know the world was waiting for God?
How are men who wait for God to be brought into fellowship with Him?
Isaiah 25:10-12
- JUBILATION FOR JEHOVAH’S PREDOMINANCE
TEXT: Isaiah 25:10-12
10
For in this mountain will the hand of Jehovah rest; and Moab shall be trodden down in his place, even as straw is trodden down in the water of the dunghill.
11
And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst thereof, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim; but Jehovah will lay low his pride together with the craft of his hands.
12
And the high fortress of thy walls hath he brought down, laid low, and brought to the ground, even to the dust.
QUERIES
a.
Why single out Moab for judgment by Jehovah?
b.
Why is Moab depicted as swimming?
PARAPHRASE
Yes, in Mount Zion the victorious, festive presence of God will be residing. But all His enemies, like Moab, will be crushed and cast down in their own filth like straw is cast out and kicked into the miry dungpit. Jehovah’s enemy, Moab, will make great effort to save herself; like a swimmer to keep from drowning spreads her arms and makes frantic effort to save herself. However, Jehovah will make a mockery of Moab’s pride by humiliating her and foiling all her crafty plots to save herself. Yes, Moab, your walls, high and fortified, will be thrown down, completely laid low, scattered over the earth and ground into dust.
COMMENTS
Isaiah 25:10 STAGGERED: This mountain has as its antecedent Zion. The tender hand of God will rest in mercy upon Zion, wiping away every tear. But, and the contrast is the point, the hand of God’s judgment will rest upon Mount Moab. Those in covenant relationship with Jehovah will be protected, sustained and feted. Those not in covenant with Him will be defeated. Moab had a long history of opposition to Jehovah’s sovereignty (cf. our comments on Isaiah Chapter s 15 & 16, Vol. I). Moab probably represents all the enemies of Jehovah’s covenant people. God will use secondary agents to bring about Moab’s downfallBabylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans will successively conquer and ravage the mountains and valleys east of the Jordan river. It will become a desolate, deprived and despised areaa haunt of jackals and other wild animals. It will be crushed and cast off like barnyard straw pitched into the dung pit. There it will be trodden under foot.
Isaiah 25:11 STRUGGLING: Moab, in the midst of its own desolation and despicability, will make frantic effort to save itself. Like a swimmer in danger of drowning, Moab will call upon every device and crafty plot it knows to save itself. But none of it will avail, for Jehovah is omnipotent. This is the pointthe contrast between the high and exalted joy of Zion in its festive victory and the utter degradation and defeat of Moab.
Isaiah 25:12 STRUCK DOWN: Moab was as proud as Edom of her fortifications. There, east of the Jordan, in the high cliffs and mountains of that region they built their walled cities. Military strategy has always been and always will be in troop-warfare, to occupy the high ground. Ancient cities and villages invariably sought hills and rises in the terrain upon which to build. But Moab’s arrogance and threatening need not be feared by God’s elect for He will bring their enemies down to the dust of the earth. And so it has been through the ages. The faithful Covenant-God has protected and sustained and fed His kingdom upon the earth and it is alive and flourishing today. In contrast, those enemies who have threatened and warred against God’s kingdom have come and gone and dissolved into dust, one after another. So shall it ever be.
QUIZ
Which mountain is referred to in Isaiah 25:10?
What is the point of this passage in connection with the rest of ch. 25?
How will Jehovah accomplish the demise of Moab?
SPECIAL STUDY
COME TO THE FEAST. R.S.V.P. Enjoyment of God’s provision is limited only to the invited guest’s response by Paul T. Butler
You are cordially invited. or, The honor of your presence is requested.. This is the way an invitation to a special festal occasion usually starts. It may conclude with R.S.V.P. Repondez, s-‘il vous plait (French for Please reply).
Come to the feast! has been the invitation of man to man since time began. There is no better opportunity for men to integrate their personalities, show their regard for one another, and help one another than at the festal table. Man has also learned to use the word feast in a figurative way to express the joyful experience he knows when he has nurtured his soul on something aesthetic or spiritual. God, the omniscient Father, fully aware of man’s frame of experience, sent His messengers in times past inviting men, Come to my feast! The amazing fact is, millions have rejected His invitation and most of those few who accept the invitation somehow miss the festivities.
The Christian life a feast
God ordained the physical feasts of the Jews for a purpose deeper than mere satisfaction of the flesh or of national pride. Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, and all the lesser festivities provided by the law pointed to a time of profound spiritual feasting when the Messiah was to come with His kingdom. The prophets spoke figuratively and glowingly of the festal nature of the coming kingdom (Christian dispensation).
And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined (Isaiah 25:6).
Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness (Isaiah 55:2).
The Jewish nation, with the exception of a small remnant, misunderstood their own prophets and the typical nature of their own law. They were looking for a literal fulfillment of the types and prophecies. It was their desire that God should give them literal feasts, literal peace, literal prosperity, and a literal king. Then Jesus came! He took up the figurative way of the prophets in speaking of the coming kingdom. He taught in parables that the kingdom-time would be a time of feasting. He intended that the people should anticipate a spiritual feast, but again most would not receive His words, for they looked for a literal fulfillment as their fathers had before them.
In Luke 14:1 ff Jesus gives one of His longest dissertations on this subject. He had been invited to a Pharisee’s home to dine. While there He healed a man of dropsy. And as He observed men wrangling and striving over seats of honor at the Pharisee’s table, He taught that humility marked the proper decorum for dining. He also attacked the social injustices against the poor.
The miraculous healing; the talk of honored seats; the attack upon social injustices; all caused one of the Pharisee’s guests to jump up excitedly and cry, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. This guest was sure the Prophet of Nazareth was giving instructions in protocol for the soon-to-be-established kingdom of the Messiah in Jerusalem, and he was overcome with the anticipation of it all. So Jesus took this occasion to teach that the call to the kingdom of God was a call to a great feast, but those who were first bidden refused to come. Others, out in the highways and hedges, were constrained to come. Those who were first bidden and refused shall not taste of His supper.
On several other occasions Jesus spoke of the kingdom in the figure of a feast (compare Matthew 22:1-14; Matthew 25:1-13).
Jesus spoke also of men eating His flesh and drinking His blood, and said that He was the manna come down out of heaven. In this He referred, of course, to men assimilating His word into their hearts and minds (compare John 6:63). He spoke of men drinking from the effervescent water of life, meaning the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (compare John 7:37-39).
The epistles testify to the festal nature of the Christian life. In 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 we are exhorted to keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Paul did not mean to limit the feast to the Lord’s Supper. In 1 Corinthians 10:1-5 Christians are told that they eat and drink the same spiritual food the Israelites shared in the wilderness.
Our spiritual feast
Now feasts are to be joyfully festive. Yet some Christians live the Christian life as if they were being force-fed some bitter medicinal compound. Christianity for them is a diet of unpalatable rules and regulationsof dos and don-’ts. This is because some Christians, like the Jews of Jesus-’ day, still have a materialistic concept of Christianity. That is, unless their Christianity affords some worldly joy, worldly fame, or worldly satisfaction, they all with one consent begin to make excuse. But, as Paul says, the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and joy and peace in the Holy Spirit (compare Romans 14:17). Or, as Jesus put it, man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from God (compare Matthew 4:4).
When we become Christians we have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come (Hebrews 6:1 ff). We join with angels in festal array when we come to Zion (the church) (Hebrews 12:22-23). Paul said he fed the Corinthians on the milk of the word (1 Corinthians 3:2) and the book of Hebrews speaks of the word in the same way (Hebrews 5:12-14). Peter writes, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious (1 Peter 2:2-3). Paul wrote, men should not become drunk with wine, but they should be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Jesus is the living water, and none shall ever hunger or thirst if they come to Him (John 4:13-14). For, blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled (Matthew 5:6).
Studying and receiving the word is not all there is to the feast. Jesus tells us, My meat (food) is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work (John 4:34). We must not only contemplate the festive table of Christianity, we must become participants. We shall never taste nor be filled until we partake.
R.S.V.P.
There are at least three reactions to Christ’s invitation to the sumptuous Christian feast.
Some refuse to come at all. Most of these seem to feel they have more satisfying things to do. Some think to satisfy their souls with power and the temporal security. Others think they may satisfy their souls with pleasures of the flesh. Still others seek to satisfy their souls with the vain glory of fame and pride. Little do they know that they are starving to death spiritually while feeding on husks. Isaiah in a Messianic context said, Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed (Isaiah 65:13).
Why do people spend their money (life’s energies and soul’s desires) for that which does not satisfy? Some discoverand most of them too latethat the bread of rebellion and worldliness does not satisfy the soul. Christ said that everyone who drinks of the water that is temporal will thirst again. Sooner or later the worldling finds that surfeiting himself on worldliness and sin has left only the taste of wormwood and bitterness in his heart. Jeremiah wrote, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall.
A second kind of response to the invitation is made by those who come to the feast but partake only of the rudimentary things. These are the Christians who stay on the same diet week after week. Rich fare is spread before their hearts and minds but they are so lazy they wish only to partake of that which is spoon-fed to them. They never know the thrill in going on to new heights of spiritual knowledge and experience. They never grow. They are satisfied to remain on their milk diet, never to partake of the meat of the word. For this reason many become spiritually weak and sickly, and some actually die a spiritual death (compare 1 Corinthians 11:27-32). They will never mature into full-grown men in Christ (compare Ephesians 4:11-16). It is not a lack of available food that causes so much sickness and trouble in the Christian body (the church). It is rather the laziness of the body to partake. Finally, there are those who come and are eager to partake of every rich dish set before them in this heavenly feast. Here is one place where a person can never eat too much! Before him are such tasty dishes as the joy of salvation; the peace and security found in Christ; the thrill of soul winning; the challenge of having a wisdom and knowledge which transcends the vastness of the universe or even our own thoughts; the satisfaction of having an eternal purpose; the eagerness of hope in sharing a future glory with Christ; the boldness we have in Christ our high priest; the anticipation of a heavenly inheritance; being in partnership with Goda colaborer in His eternal scheme of redemption; and comradeship with the redeemed both in heaven and on earth. These are just a few of the satisfying, rich dishes in the Christian feast. The table is prepared before you, there is heavenly bread and living water; there is fruit from the tree of life and the fruit of the Spirit. All things are ready, come to the feast!
If your Christian life is lacking in joy and festive spirit, it is not God’s fault. His table is bountiful and you are an invited, honored guest. Perhaps in the past you have been pushing away His bountiful provision and have been eating at the devil’s table. Have you found that the devil’s table is filled with ashes and bread of mourningwith husks and pigs-’ food? If you are a prodigal son, you need to return to the Father’s table. You need to come home rededicated, reconsecrated, ready to hear the Father as He commands to bring forth the robe, the ring, and the shoes, and to kill the fatted calf so that we may feast together. Perhaps you have been sitting too lazily at the table and need to rouse yourself from your milk diet and partake of the rich satisfying, strengthening food that is there. It may be that you have never accepted the King’s invitation to come to His feast at all. Would you refuse an invitation to dine with the President at the White House? I tell you a greater than the President has sent you a special invitation. The invitation of King Jesus is not to a select few. The invitation is printed, Whosoever will, let him come and take of the water of life freely.
The only requirement is that you put on the festive garment. In the parable Jesus told (Matthew 22) one was found at the king’s feast without the proper garment and he was banished from the feast. But thanks be to God, our King has provided not only the feast but also the white robe to wear. You may put on this garment by faith and obedience to Christ, for it is through faith and obedience that we are united with His death, and there have our robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb.
All things are ready, come to the feast! R.S.V.P.!