Major Prophets · Chapter 25 of 66

Isaiah 25

Isaiah bursts into praise, thanking God for wonderful things done in faithfulness, laying proud cities in ruin while sheltering the poor and needy. On His mountain the Lord will spread a rich feast for all peoples, remove the veil that shrouds the nations, and swallow up death itself in victory, wiping tears from all faces. The people rejoice, saying this is our God for whom we waited, and He will save us.

What happens in Isaiah 25

The chapter shifts from judgment to jubilant thanksgiving. Isaiah exalts God for wonderful works long purposed in faithfulness, works that reduced a fortified city of ruthless strangers to a heap never to be rebuilt, so that even terrible peoples come to fear Him. God has been a strength to the poor and needy, a refuge from the storm and a shadow from the heat when the ruthless beat like rain against a wall. Then comes the mountain vision: on Mount Zion the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food and well-refined wines.

He will destroy the covering cast over all peoples, the veil spread over all nations, and He will swallow up death in victory. The Lord God will wipe away tears from every face. In that day they will say, this is our God, we waited for Him and He will save us. Meanwhile proud Moab is trodden down.

Isaiah 25 in context

Isaiah 25 sits within the Apocalypse of Isaiah, chapters 24 through 27, responding to the global judgment of chapter 24 with a hymn of salvation. The ruined city likely stands for every proud, oppressive power. The feast on the mountain and the swallowing of death lift the vision to God's final triumph.

Moab appears as a representative arrogant neighbor. The passage became a wellspring of biblical hope for resurrection and the banquet of the age to come.

Main themes of Isaiah 25

Refuge for the poor and needyIsaiah praises God as a strength to the poor, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat when ruthless powers beat like a flood. The God who topples proud cities is the same who shelters the vulnerable. His judgment on oppressors is the other side of His protection of the defenseless.

The feast for all peoplesOn His mountain the Lord spreads a banquet of rich food and refined wine for all peoples, not one nation only. Isaiah pictures salvation as generous abundance, an open table where the nations are welcomed. The veil of ignorance and grief spread over all peoples is lifted, and hospitality replaces hostility at God's mountain.

Death swallowed up foreverIsaiah declares that God will swallow up death in victory and wipe away tears from all faces. The deepest enemy, the shroud that lies over every nation, is destroyed. This is hope in its purest form: not merely rescue from an army but the abolition of death itself, every tear dried by God.

This is prophecy, God's word to a people who had wandered, full of warning and astonishing hope. As you read, hear both His grief over sin and His promise to restore.

Isaiah 25 (KJV)

1O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. 2For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built. 3Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee. 4For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. 5Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low. 6And 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. 7And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. 8He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. 9And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. 10For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. 11And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands. 12And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.

Verses to carry from Isaiah 25

“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

“He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.”Isaiah 25:8

“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 the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”Isaiah 25:9

New Testament quotation

How Isaiah 25 points to Jesus

Paul quotes this chapter directly, declaring that when the perishable puts on the imperishable at the resurrection, then the saying is fulfilled, death is swallowed up in victory. Isaiah's promise finds its ground in Christ, who by His own resurrection defeated death, so that Paul can taunt, death, where is your sting. Revelation echoes the same hope, promising God will wipe away every tear and death will be no more.

The feast on the mountain for all peoples anticipates the marriage supper of the Lamb and the open table Jesus proclaimed, where people come from east and west to recline in the kingdom. This is a clear New Testament quotation of Isaiah, showing that the swallowing of death for which Israel waited is accomplished in the risen Christ, the God for whom His people waited and who saves.

Questions about Isaiah 25

What does it mean that God will swallow up death in victory?

Isaiah pictures death as a covering, a veil that shrouds all nations in grief. God does not merely postpone death but consumes it entirely, so it no longer holds power. Paul applies this to the resurrection, when mortality is finally overcome in Christ. The promise reaches past every partial rescue to the total defeat of humanity's last enemy, and the wiping of every tear from every face.

Why is the salvation feast spread for all peoples, not just Israel?

Isaiah says the Lord makes this banquet for all peoples and removes the veil over all nations. God's saving purpose was always meant to reach the whole world through Israel. The universal table reveals that His mercy is not narrow. It anticipates the gospel welcome of the nations, the many who come from east and west to feast in the kingdom of God alongside His covenant people.

Reflection

When grief presses in, hear Isaiah's promise that God will swallow up death and wipe away every tear. This is not wishful thinking but the hope secured in Christ's resurrection. Wait for Him with the confidence of those who say, this is our God, we waited for Him, and He will save us.

A prayer from Isaiah 25

O Lord, You are our God; we waited for You, and You save us. Thank You that in Christ You swallowed up death in victory and will wipe away every tear. Shelter me from the storm, and seat me at Your feast. Amen.

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