It’s fitting that the triumph of God should be celebrated with feasting and song, and this is in fact what we have in this chapter. The banquet in verses 6-8 is certainly the centerpiece, and it is framed by songs of praise: a personal song in verses 1-5, and a communal song in verses 9-12. The theme of both songs is the character of God which has been plainly revealed in His acts of judgment and salvation. And this God is no stranger to the singers; they know Him (vv. 1 & 9).

The lone singer of verses 1-5 is best taken as Isaiah himself, whose gloom has at last been dispelled by glorious prospect with which his vision in chapter 24 ended. Isaiah is impressed by the sheer power of the Lord’s deeds, but even more by their purposefulness and moral character. The city of verse 2, like that of the previous chapter, represents the world as a whole organized in opposition to God. He destroys it, not for any spiteful satisfaction He may have in doing so, but in order to bring the nations to their senses (v. 3) and to deliver those who have been victims of their misuse of power (vv. 4-5). God always has been and always will be on the side of the poor and needy. It’s something that we who profess to believe in Him would do well to remember.

This focus on the poor and needy in the opening song makes it particularly appropriate that final salvation should be pictured in verses 6-8 as a feast at which, by implication, the food is free. That food is the very best of fare, and the Host is the Lord Almighty Himself. It is of course, a victory celebration, but in the description of the feast new dimensions of that victory are revealed. It will be total victory because it will include victory over the ultimate enemy – death itself (v. 8a). Hence the destruction of the shroud or sheet in verse 7, which represents the universal sorrow that death has brought into the world, and the wiping away of tears in verse 8a.

Chapter 55 sheds a little more light (the rich food is abundant pardon), but we have to turn to the New Testament for the full picture. The banquet consists of the blessings of the gospel, of which all are invited to partake, the decisive victory over death is won in the death and resurrection of Jesus, and God’s people enter fully into that victory when Jesus returns. It is then that death is finally “swallowed up” forever, pain and sorrow (Isaiah’s shroud) are removed, and tears are wiped away. Isaiah’s words, as always, are pregnant with gospel truth.

But final judgment is just as much an aspect of gospel truth as final salvation, and it is this solemn note that is struck as we move from the end of the banquet scene into the second song. The people of God have waited long for their salvation (v. 9), and during this time they have been objects of disgrace (v. 8) in the world. But the day of which Isaiah speaks here will see a complete reversal in their fortunes: they will rejoice and be glad (v. 9) while their proud enemies (represented by Moab) will be cast down and experience utter humiliation (vv. 10-12). In the end their will be a great gulf fixed between those who are at the feast and those who are not. It will not suffice to have belonged to a group close the kingdom, to have stood on its very threshold, or to have known some who have entered. Either repentance will bring you to the feast or pride will keep you away, and the consequences will be unsullied joy or unspeakable terrible judgment. The alternatives which the gospel sets before us are as stark as that!

Isaiah 25:1-12 Reflection Questions:

What famous sermon did Jesus talk about the poor and needy?

Do you have a personal song to glorify God for what He has done for you? How often to you sing it?

How does this study impact your understanding of David’s Psalm 23?

Are you a part time Christian or are you all in? The road is narrow.