Skip to content

Isaiah 25

Chapter Text

Praise to the LORD

Summary

Isaiah breaks into praise, declaring that the Lord has done wonderful things and been a strength to the poor and needy. The fortress of the terrible ones is brought low. God shall prepare a feast of rich food and aged wine on His holy mountain for all peoples. He shall swallow up death in victory and wipe away tears from all faces. The rebuke of His people shall be removed from all the earth. In that day, the people shall say, 'This is our God; we have waited for Him.'

Meaning

The feast on the mountain is one of Scripture's grandest images of messianic hope, fulfilled in the marriage supper of the Lamb described in Revelation. The promise that God will swallow up death in victory is quoted directly by Paul in First Corinthians 15 as proof of the resurrection.

The wiping away of tears from all faces reveals the tender compassion at the heart of divine sovereignty. The same God who judges in righteousness also comforts with infinite gentleness. Waiting upon the Lord is vindicated with unspeakable joy.

Background

The imagery of a banquet on the holy mountain draws upon ancient Near Eastern coronation and covenant feast traditions. Such feasts symbolized the establishment of peace and the ratification of sacred bonds.

This passage is often read alongside Revelation 21, where the same promises of no more death and no more tears find their ultimate eschatological fulfillment.

Chapter Outline

  1. vv. 1Opening hymn of praise
  2. vv. 2-3The proud city brought low
  3. vv. 4-5Refuge for the poor and needy
  4. vv. 6-8The feast on the mountain
  5. vv. 9The song of the redeemed
  6. vv. 10-12Judgment upon Moab's pride

Key Verses

“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.”— 25:6

A foundational image of the eschatological banquet on Mount Zion, echoed by Jesus in the parables of the kingdom feast and ultimately fulfilled in the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9).

“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.”— 25:8

Quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:54 as fulfilled in Christ's resurrection, and echoed in Revelation 21:4. One of the Old Testament's clearest promises of the abolition of death itself.

“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.”— 25:9

A confession of patient faith rewarded, capturing the posture of God's people across the ages who watch and wait for their promised Deliverer.

People & Places

Places

  • Moab — Israel's ancient neighbor east of the Dead Sea, here representing proud nations brought low under God's judgment.
  • This mountain (Zion) — Mount Zion in Jerusalem, the appointed site of God's eschatological feast and the dwelling of His glory.

Prophecy & Fulfillment

Verse 8's promise that God will 'swallow up death in victory' is explicitly cited by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:54 as fulfilled in Christ's resurrection, with its consummation awaiting the final resurrection. Verse 6's feast on the mountain anticipates the messianic banquet Jesus describes in Matthew 8:11 and Luke 14:15-24, and finds ultimate fulfillment in the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9). The wiping away of tears in verse 8 is echoed almost verbatim in Revelation 7:17 and 21:4, marking this chapter as one of Isaiah's clearest windows into the new creation.

Devotional

Isaiah lifts our eyes from present sorrow to a feast already prepared. The same God who levels proud cities also shelters the poor as a refuge from the storm and a shadow from the heat — strength precisely where life feels most exposed.

Notice the posture of verse 9: 'we have waited for him.' Faith is often less about doing and more about waiting well, trusting that the One who promised to wipe away every tear will keep His word. When grief presses in, this chapter invites you to set a place at the table in your heart and live as someone whose tears have an expiration date.

Literary Style

Hebrew prophetic poetry interwoven with a hymn of thanksgiving. Features vivid metaphor (storm, shadow, feast, swimmer), synonymous parallelism, and dramatic contrast between the ruined city of the proud and the exalted mountain of the LORD.