The Feast of the Lord

Isaiah’s Vision of Salvation and Judgment

Amen. Please turn to Isaiah 25 in your Bibles. Here in Isaiah 25, we've been talking about God's wondrous works and then demonstrating his strength through salvation and through judgment. And here we will talk about the—here Isaiah goes on to talk about the result of God's salvation.

I always love coming across verses that I have memorized. And I mention that not to just show off that I have Isaiah 5, 6 memorized—or 25, 6 memorized, but maybe it will give you the impression that there's something special about this verse here and what it's promising that it's worth keeping in mind.

So beginning in verse 6, On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well-refined. Excuse me, please stand for the reading of God's Word.

We'll continue in verse 7. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever. And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.

It will be said on that day, Behold, this is our God. We have waited for him that he might save us. This is the Lord. We have waited for him. Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain, and Moab shall be trampled down in his place, as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.

And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it, as a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim. But the Lord will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill of his hands, and the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down, lay low, and cast to the ground to the dust.

Amen. You may be seated. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word. We thank you for the great promises that are contained therein. I pray that you would bless the proclamation of your Word. You have sent it to accomplish great things, and I pray that you would accomplish great things through the preaching of your Word.

The Mountain of the Lord and the Heavenly Zion

This afternoon, in Jesus' name, amen. So as I just mentioned, Isaiah here, in Isaiah 25, has talked about God's wondrous works, God demonstrating his strength through judgment and through salvation. Now we talk about the result of all that, what God will accomplish in this.

On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well-refined. So beginning with this very first part, on this mountain, on this mountain, the Lord of hosts, what is a mountain?

The mountain, the significance of the mountain in the Bible is that it's a place that is close to God. All the different people, all the different peoples would worship their gods on mountains because the idea was that they could be close to their gods on those mountains.

But here, it speaks of one particular mountain. Now, it should be fairly obvious, given some of the other things we've seen in Isaiah, that this is speaking of the mountain of the Lord, Zion. For example, in Isaiah 2, in Isaiah 2, verse 3, it said, And many people shall come and say, Come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, and that we may walk in his paths.

For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And in Isaiah 11, verse 9, it says, They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as waters cover the sea.

Now, it doesn't mention Zion by name there, but we have repeatedly, it's speaking of God's mountain, that he has a particular mountain, and that mountain is Zion, a place where God's people have come to worship him.

Now, as we move to the New Testament, and we see the fulfillment of what is spoken, we realize that this is not just the Zion that is earthly, but there is a heavenly Zion that is spoken of, a heavenly Jerusalem, and that this is God's church.

This is the church that he has established through Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ, when he came and he died, by his blood, he made a new covenant, and the people that are gathered together in that new covenant are part of a great assembly, people who have come to Mount Zion.

Hebrews 12, 22 says,. But you have not come to Zion, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering. It speaks of us coming together to Mount Zion.

This is the fulfillment of all these things. God has accomplished wondrous things, and he has accomplished them in forming the church. Now, what this passage is ultimately talking about, it's talking about what God has provided for his people, that he has provided a wonderful peace, a wonderful prosperity, that he has provided unity, and he's provided great joy, and these things may be enjoyed by God's people.

And these are not just something that are held off far into the future, but as Hebrews 12, 22 says, they have already been accomplished in Christ's blood, and it's something we can already enjoy. Now, many people gather together with other people of God, and they don't necessarily feel the kind of joy that you see described in these verses.

And so what I want to largely impress upon us today is that we need to cultivate a taste for that joy, a taste for the things of God. You know, if you give very good food to a child, a lot of times they don't like it.

It might be very fine food. One time when I was teaching a Bible study, actually, I don't think I was a teacher of the Bible study, but I had volunteered to bring food to that Bible study that time, and I brought Reubens, and I made Reubens, and they were really good.

I really like Reubens. They're probably my favorite food. Now, there was one guy there who was pretty childish in a lot of ways, and one of those ways was, you know, he had a very limited set of things that he liked to eat.

He never expanded his palate much, and so he did not like rye bread. He did not like Swiss cheese. He did not like sauerkraut. He did not like Thousand Island dressing. There was not one element of this Reuben that he liked, because, you know, they all have kind of subtle taste to them, right?

They all have this little bit of bitterness, this sophistication that a child can't enjoy. We need to, as the people of God who have been brought together in this joyous salvation, this is not something that you can just fully appreciate in a single moment, but as you grow maturity, these things become sweeter and sweeter as you learn to value the things of God, as you learn to cultivate the right spiritual palate, loving the things of God, loving fellowship with God's people.

The Lord of Hosts, the Angels, and Reverent Worship

He speaks also and talks about the Lord of Hosts. The Lord of Hosts. We've talked about that phrase before. In Hebrew, it's yaveh tzabaot, which, if you sing some of the songs that we sing, A Mighty Fortress is Our God, that's the one that says, Lord tzabaot his name, and he shall win the battle.

If you've always wondered, what exactly am I singing there? That is just the phrase, the Lord of Hosts. He is the Lord of Hosts. Hosts meaning armies. God has armies of angels. And in this context, it means primarily two things.

It's talking about that great salvation that he brought, that great judgment. It's also, maybe I'll add a third thing here, it's also talking about, referring back to verse 21, it's talking about God's authority over all the hosts of heaven.

But then, also, in talking about gathering all the nations together, all the peoples of the earth, for this celebratory feast into the mountain of Zion, it's also talking about the high society of that people.

The high society of angels that God has brought us together with. Once again, I'll quote Hebrews 12, 22 for you. But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering.

Did you know that there are angels around us right now? That's something that's worth thinking about. The Bible says that when we gather for worship, that there are angels gathering for worship with us.

It's not just that verse in Hebrews 12. There's also 1 Corinthians 11, 10, that talks about being careful about how you attire, how you dress in worship, because angels are present. Angels are watching.

We have gathered together with angels. This is a wonderful, stupendous, glorious thing that is going on here right now. And it's hard to comprehend that. It's hard to have a taste for it, apart from spending much time in the Word and in prayer and cultivating a taste for these things.

Having a sense of God's glory in these moments. We should come to God in worship with much reverence, recognizing the gravity of what is going on, what he has promised in these things. And he will make for all peoples a feast of rich food.

And so what has God provided? God has provided this great salvation. He has provided a unity for many peoples. He gathers all the peoples of the earth together. You know, Brian and I were just commenting earlier about the diversity of this particular congregation.

Now, not every congregation has the privilege of being in such a diverse area. And so they don't necessarily see all the diversity of the nations in their own congregation. But something we get to experience, especially here, that's really quite wonderful and to be cherished.

There's something that God has done that is profound, that he did not save just one nation. He has saved many nations. He has brought many peoples to him. And consider how profound it is, given that people read this verse for many years, for a thousand years, and didn't, or about 700 years, and didn't realize what it was talking about.

It was talking about God really saving the peoples of the earth, not just a single nation. That was so unthinkable that people could read a verse like this and not realize that that's what it was prophesying.

It was prophesying the gospel going out to the Gentiles, going out to those who are not just of the nation of Israel, but all the peoples. Unity is something the world highly values, and thinks of very highly, and all kinds of people have some sort of utopian vision for how this unity is going to be accomplished.

But think about how false these things are. What is it that's going to bring real unity? If you think about efforts like the United Nations, you know, I'm no political expert, so forgive me if I speak incorrectly about this, but if I understand correctly, you have these different representatives that go to the UN who have no real political power in their countries necessarily to change anything.

And so it's sort of this fictitious gathering of unity from these representatives who don't really represent the nations that they're from in any kind of authoritative capacity, at least I don't believe they do.

And so you have these efforts that are designed to create unity, but the closest you can get to that is, you know, some kind of farce. Not even blood unifies people perfectly. I'm sure each and every one of us has some situation in our own families where we have, where we're divided from others in our own families, people who share the same blood as us.

But the Spirit can bring true unity. Salvation can bring true unity. If we are united in the cross, that's something that's not just external. It is something where God changes our hearts to knit us together, adopting us, the Father adopting us, giving us the Spirit of adoption so that we call out to Him as Father and likewise recognize each other as brothers and sisters.

That produces a unity that is stronger than blood even. If you want to pursue unity in the world, this is the mechanism. The gospel is the mechanism. You can't have unity through other things. You can only have unity through truth.

And the most important truth of all is what Jesus Christ has done. Is the fact that we are sinners before a holy God and we need a great and powerful Savior and that Jesus Christ is that Savior. That's something that spiritually transforms people, that gathers them together though they have very little in common otherwise and unites powerfully.

Christ the Servant King Who Feeds His People

Notice also that it speaks of the Lord doing this. On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples. Now that's surprising because to just talk about God going and conquering all the peoples, right?

And He's subduing them. And so you would expect for them to make a feast for Him, right? But it's what happens is the other way around. Matthew 20, 28 says that Jesus did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.

What a, what a stupendous King we serve. One who is not just, one who is not subduing us for the sake of serving Him but rather is doing this out of a love for us, serving us, bringing us together, giving us joy.

Now that doesn't mean we're not called to serve the Lord. We are, but the reason why He calls us to serve Him is for our own joy. It is out of His own goodness that He gives us His law and calls us to walk in truth and in holiness.

What a, what a wonderful King. You know, a King can unite a people and give them unity and joy. If He is a, if He is a good King, a foolish King or a King that's not powerful enough cannot do this. But Jesus is a King above all Kings and He is wonderfully capable of accomplishing this.

Continues on and speaks of a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine, well-refined. Speaking of this, this feast. Now, a couple of things to note. Well-aged wine, full of marrow.

If you've never had marrow, you know, that's considered a, once again, that's kind of a sophisticated ingredient in food that maybe not everyone enjoys. But, but this is talking about really, really fine food.

God is providing richly for His people that He has gathered together in their salvation. A feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine. This is talking about the peace that God has provided. He has provided a peace so that they can gather together and in harmony, fellowship, in harmony, enjoy the great salvation that they have.

And it's from peace that you have prosperity. If you consider that, that you only have prosperity in times of peace when you're able to pursue prosperity. Those things go hand in hand. And it also speaks of the joy that we have in enjoying the things of God.

And lastly, unity. What are these people gathered around? They're gathered around this feast, enjoying their salvation. Yeah, prosperity, peace, unity, joy. All these things are provided to us from the Lord who loves us.

The Feast, the Nations, and the Contrast With Judgment

Now this is an interesting contrast to a passage that just came not too long before. So if you turn back to, I believe it's Isaiah 21. Yes, Isaiah 21 in verse 13. You'll see that there's a real contrast to one of the oracles that was given against an enemy of God's people.

The oracle concerning Arabia. In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge, O caravans of day and nights. To the thirsty bring water, meet the fugitives with bread, O inhabitants of the land of Tima. For they have fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the press of battle.

Now think about the differences there. Instead of all peoples gathered together, you have a singular nation alone and against the world. Instead of people gathered on a mountain, you have them hiding low in thickets.

Instead of peace, you have war. Instead of food and wine feasting, instead of prosperity, you have destitution, thirst, and hunger. Uh, this is what people have apart from Christ. Apart from Christ, they have, they have all the opposites of what we just saw in that passage.

But through Christ, they are given this, this wonderful rich provision and fellowship and joy. And so that is a, that is a joy that we need to recognize and appreciate and take hold of completely. It is something that is available to you now.

As I said before, this is, this is something where if you don't find yourself enjoying your time together with God's people, enjoying the time in God's word, the answer to that is not to shy away from these things.

Instead, it is to cultivate a taste for them. How does one become accustomed to, to good food? It's by repeatedly eating that food, drinking that drink, until you begin to be able to appreciate its subtleties and appreciate its goodness.

It's the same thing with the word of God. It's the same thing with God's people. These things don't always appeal on the first occasion, but the more and more you surround yourself by them, the more and more you enjoy them, the more you cultivate a taste for these things.

The Lord’s Supper and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb

Now, this is also emblemized in the Lord's Supper. God did not just tell us that we would be feasting, but he actually gave us a literal ordinance whereby this joy and peace and prosperity and unity is represented in the Lord's Supper.

And as such, the Lord's Supper should be taken very seriously. It's something that people should not abandon or neglect. It's also, and I apologize, because I should bring this up more often than I do, but it's something where you should, as 1 Corinthians 11 says, examine yourself.

You are to examine yourself so that you do not drink judgment upon yourself. As you take the Lord's Supper, it's not something that is to be done lightly, but something where you are considering what Christ has done and that you are only worthy as you come before the Lord through that mediator.

And this is also valuable if you, you know, if you encounter others who consider themselves, well, maybe they are Christian or they consider themselves Christian and they don't think that it's important to gather with God's people or maybe they're going through a season where they don't understand the purpose of this.

You can always appeal to the Lord's Supper. Like, this is at least one reason why you need to gather is because you can't have the Lord's Supper by yourself. It's supposed to represent our unity. It can only be had together.

And this is also, this also foreshadows the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. So yes, this is something that happens now, but it is something that will be fully manifest, that will be greatly revealed on that final day in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, where all of God's people gather in an actual physical presence with one another, not just here in these small bodies, but one big universal body together.

And as we look at this and appreciate this joy, this prosperity more and more, hopefully we can look forward to that, look forward to the return of Christ where we will be able to enjoy Him and fellowship with Him and His people forever.

And being able to look forward to something gives people endurance. Being able to look forward to something that God is going to accomplish can give you the endurance to get through the trials of this life, where you're not always experiencing this joy as you'd like to.

You're not always experiencing peace and unity as you'd like to. But rest assured that that has been accomplished. It is available to you now. And as you look forward to the return of Christ, you can have the endurance to go through these trials and to finally reach that joy when it is completely manifest at the return of Christ.

Prayer for Endurance and a Taste for God’s Things

Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for this wonderful salvation that you've provided. We thank you for the great feast that you've provided for us, this feast that we enjoy together in each other's fellowship, for the Lord's Supper, for the marriage supper of the Lamb that is still to come.

And God, as we're betrothed to Christ and awaiting that great marriage day, I pray that you would give us endurance. And Lord, I pray that you would cultivate our taste for your things, that we would not be as children who don't understand or appreciate the good things that you have given, but as ones who are growing in maturity, would more and more be able to sense the sweetness of what you have given.

In Jesus' name, amen.