January 24, 2001
A glimpse at the perfect faithfulness of God...
Isaiah in his prophecy is praising God for destroying the enemy as promised. Right after that he describes what God will build on his mountain, Jerusalem, the Kingdom... and the imagery and poetry is breathtaking.
On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine-- the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples,the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever.The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces;he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. Isaiah 25:6-8
God is communicating how incredible and special his plans are for his people. In the new testament salvation imagery is often presented with themes of banquets, celebrations, joyful themes and we find the roots of that here. What God planned to build in the Kingdom was analogous to a sumptuous feast, the finest choicest delicacies.. God's grace, mercy and the forgiveness we receive as result of Jesus dying are Gods' finest delicacies!!! He has prepared this for us! I think about times I have been honored in a situation and treated to dinner or something like that.. how special it feels... God planned salvation for us in the same way!! He goes beyond that to promise that he will remove, in that time, the shroud or veil that stood between people and God and we know that he did that (2 Corinthians 13:15-16 & Mat 27:51). then in verse 8 he promises to wipe away tears and remove the disgrace form all people for all time. God designed a plan that would comfort and console us perfectly... the fulfillment of which is in heaven but we do get to experience it here on earth through the gospel. As we obey and live out the gospel we are spared many of the pains (the more self imposed ones) of life. 2 Corinthians 1.. we are comforted through the gospel and as others comfort us we then pass that one...
All of this is amazing enough but if you consider an earlier verse in the same chapter...
O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1
God was PERFECTLY FAITHFUL to the plan he mapped out! This despite the fact that man didn't live up to his end of the bargain. This gives me greater and stronger confidence to hold onto the promises of God, he is faithful. I am not, I fall short of what I need to be all the time but God never reacts to me, to who I am or am not at the moment.. he is faithful to his promises!