Our God’s Great Banquet

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 for ever. 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 25:7-8

In Isaiah 25 we read of a banquet prepared by the Lord Almighty for his guests. Isaiah 13-23 speaks about proud nations, represented by the city of Babylon, being brought to utter ruin by Jesus Christ, the Lord of history. Then, in God’s just judgment, the fate of Babylon comes to the whole earth: “See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants-it will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor. The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word” (Isaiah 24:1-3). So not only Babylon, but now the whole earth is seen as an arrogant city which God comes to lay waste. The latter part of Isaiah 24:20 explains why God does this: “[S]o heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls-never to rise again.”

Then we read in Isaiah 25 that God will prepare a great banquet for those who trust in him. What a feast it will be! We want to consider four aspects of this banquet: the host, the place, the guests, and the feast itself.

The Host of the Banquet

Who is the host of this banquet? The Lord Almighty (25:6). As the Lord of Hosts, he judges and punishes all his enemies for their rebellion and causes the arrogant world city to fall, never to rise again. So his people around the world praise him for his triumph: “They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty. Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we hear singing: ‘Glory to the Righteous One'” (24:14). Our God saves and judges for the praise of his glory.

Having defeated all his enemies, this great King will then reign supreme in Zion: “The moon will be abashed, the sun ashamed; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders, gloriously” (24:23). So great will be his glory that even the sun and moon will be ashamed when they compare their glory to that of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Isaiah 2 we read that Mount Zion was raised chief among the mountains. Here we see the picture of many believers, both Jew and Gentile, coming to their triumphant King enthroned there. They come having heard the good news: “Your God reigns!”

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’ Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. (Isaiah 52:7-8).

The Lord Almighty, the destroyer of death, is the host of this banquet. Isaiah 25:1 tells us, “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.” This word “marvelous” is also used in the name “Wonderful Counselor” of Isaiah 9:6. God accomplished salvation by performing wonders which he, the wonderful One, alone can do. Not only that, the word “planned” is the same as “counselor.” Not only is our God wonderful and One who performs wonders, but he is also the Counselor, the God of plan and design. He does not do anything off the cuff; whatever he does, he has planned from all eternity. Isaiah sang that God has done marvelous things, things planned long ago, especially in accomplishing redemption of his people and judging his enemies.

The Lord of hosts is the host of this banquet. He is the Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, the God of the covenant who purposed to redeem us and who accomplished our redemption. He is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides salvation for us; Jehovah Nissi, God who is our victory and banner; Jehovah Shalom, God who is our peace; Jehovah Shammah, God who is there; Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our righteousness; El-Shaddai, the Lord Almighty.

The kings of Israel always provided a great feast at their coronation, such as the one we read about in 1 Kings 1. In the same way, having triumphed over his enemies by his death on the cross, this great King, the Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ, will provide a great feast for his people. This great host will provide everything; we will bring nothing. Salvation is by grace through faith plus nothing.

The Location of the Feast

“On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast . . .” (25:6). The Lord will provide his feast on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. It is also known as Mount Moriah, where the Lord provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice in place of Isaac. It is Calvary’s mount, where Jesus Christ was lifted up on the cross, as he said he would be in John 12: “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” He is the bread of life from heaven; “if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” (John 6:51).

Jesus Christ, the Messiah, draws all men from far and wide to come to his feast on this mountain. No one is saved outside of it; there is no salvation outside of Calvary. The place of God’s feast is also the church of God, where the gospel of the cross of Calvary is faithfully preached. So Paul said he determined to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified.

The Guests of the Banquet

Who are the guests at this divine feast? It is not the proud, the rich, or the self-righteous. Such people will have ready excuses why they cannot come. But those who are poor, oppressed, and needy will eagerly come to their God, who is “a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat” (25:4). In Matthew 22:1-14 we read that when the invitation was sent out for a great banquet, many people rejected it. So the king sent his servants to invite others-the hungry, the needy, the thirsty, the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame-and they came.

God calls those who know they are sinners, and such people will come singing, “Nothing in my hand I bring; simply to thy cross I cling.” As Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:26, not many of us were wise, not many influential, not many of noble birth when God called. But God chooses the foolish, the weak, the lowly, the despised, the things that are nought, and such people will come.

This feast is for all peoples, whether Jew or Gentile, from all nations (25:6). Jesus Christ told us, “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37). In Galatians 3:26-29 we find this glorious statement: “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.” Whosoever believes shall be saved.

We too were invited to God’s banquet, and, by his grace, we came. God is still calling people, saying, “Today, if you hear my voice. . . .” He invites us to enjoy this great feast he himself has prepared on Mount Calvary. When we feast on it, we will live forever.

The Great Feast

What type of feast did the Lord Almighty prepare for his people? The best imaginable. To the despised of the world he gives the best of meats and the finest of wines. In John 2 we read that at the wedding at Cana Jesus provided the best wine after the regular wine was gone. The wine God has for his people is the wine of the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 5:18 we read, “Do not get drunk on wine. . . . Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit satisfies us and gives us joy.

Isaiah describes this banquet in terms of meat and wine. But the truth is, God himself is the food and drink. Jehovah Jireh, “The Lord Who Provides,” provides himself for his people, which is the best. So in Romans 8:32 we read that God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all. The eternal God incarnate, who knew no sin, is the feast prepared by the Lord Almighty himself on Mount Calvary, where Christ our Passover Lamb was sacrificed. It is to this feast that the prodigals of the world are invited. “The poor will eat and be satisfied” (Psalm 22:26), but the rich he sends away empty.

We find this idea of invitation also in Isaiah 55:1-3:

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. . . .

What is this food? Christ our Lord. Isaiah 55:6-7 tells us what this food will do for us when we receive it by faith: “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” When we come to God by faith to eat and drink, we are given full pardon for our sins.

What happens to those who receive this fullness of pardon from God? They “will go out with joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills will burst into song before [them]” (55:12). When we come and eat by faith, we will be liberated and will go out with great joy.

Here we must clarify what it means to be needy. When we ask people, “What are your needs?” they usually speak about temporal things. But our greatest needs are spiritual: first, forgiveness of sins, and, second, God’s righteousness. The rich food consists of full forgiveness and Christ’s unimpeachable righteousness.

Benefits of the Feast

How, then, do we partake of this great feast? By faith. “In that day, they will say, ‘Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation'” (25:9).

When we trust in God, he will save us, forgive all our sins, and give us his perfect righteousness. Then we will experience certain benefits of this spiritual feast:

1. Complete justification. Romans 8:33-34 asks, “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-more than that, who was raised to life-is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” This is the glorious truth of God’s double transaction: Christ took upon himself our sin and guilt; then he gives us his perfect righteousness.
2. Adoption. Through faith in Christ, God makes those who were rebels and enemies into his sons and daughters. Since we have been adopted into God’s family, Paul says all things are ours in Jesus Christ. The curse has been taken away and the everlasting favor of God now rests upon us. We are heirs of God and co-heirs with Jesus Christ. As sons and daughters of God, we are blessed indeed!
3. Election. As we study the Bible, we discover that God in love chose us in eternity to salvation. In fact, there was never a time when God did not love us. From eternity to eternity, God loved us; therefore, he chose us.
4. Union with Christ. Union with Christ is the mother of all doctrines. We are chosen in Christ, one with Christ, and married to Christ. He is the vine, we are the branches. God hates divorce; therefore, this union is indissoluble. When Christ died, we died with him, were buried with him, and were raised with him. Thus, because he lives forever, we also will live forever. When he ascended, we ascended with him and are now seated with him in the heavenly places.
5. Eternal security. Jesus said, “Whoever comes to me, I will never drive away. . . . I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish” (John 6:37, 10:28). Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God! If your name is written in God’s book of life, it cannot be erased.
6. Communion with God. In Christ we can approach God’s throne of grace with boldness and have communion with God himself. As we pray to him, he will speak to us through his word and lead us by his Spirit daily. God himself promises to dwell in the midst of his people, saying, “I am your God, you are my people.” He is in us; we are in him.
7. Hope. Though we enjoy these benefits here and now, we know that the fullness of the feast still awaits us. This is our hope that will never make us ashamed: Jesus Christ is coming again, and at his second coming, we will be raised from the dead and be transformed to live without sin in redeemed bodies. (PGM) We will live with him in the fullness of joy, without pain, weeping, or sorrow, for he has taken away death, the cause of all fear.

The Destruction of Death

Isaiah 25:7 declares, “On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all people, 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.”

Shroud is a metaphor for death. By his death on the cross, Christ destroyed death forever. Therefore, he who believes in Jesus Christ shall never die, but will always live in God’s presence, having crossed from the realm of death to the realm of life forever. On Calvary’s mount, Jesus Christ swallowed up death for us.

Throughout history, death has been seen as something that will swallow up all people. In Canaanite mythology there was a god, Mot, who was pictured as a great swallower. The myths about him warned, “Do not approach divine Mot, lest he put you like a lamb into his mouth.” We see this idea also in Psalm 49:14: “Like sheep they are destined to the grave and death will feed on them.” Death, therefore, is pictured as something that feeds and feeds but is never satisfied. The wages of sin is death, and none can escape it.

But God declares that death itself was swallowed up by the Lord Almighty, Jesus Christ, by his death on the cross. So in 2 Timothy 1:10 Paul writes that our Savior, Jesus Christ, by his appearing “has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” In 1 Corinthians 15:54 Paul quotes Isaiah 25, saying, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” He explains that death, the swallower, has been swallowed up, and the sting of death is gone forever for God’s people. Then Paul exclaims, “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (1 Corinthians 15:47). No longer does death reign for us; grace reigns. Christ, the conqueror of death, reigns, and we reign with him.

Romans 5 speaks about Christ’s defeat of death: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. . .” (v. 12). “Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come” (v. 14). “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (v. 17). “The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (v. 20).

This feast celebrates Christ’s victory over all his enemies. How long will his victory last? “He will swallow up death forever” (Isaiah 25:8). Jesus Christ destroyed death forever; we shall not die again. Jesus said, “Because I live, you will live also.” The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces (Isaiah 25:8). The Lord wipes your tears and he wipes my tears; he wipes the tears of all his elect.

Additionally, he removes all our shame and disgrace. Sin was our shame, but Jesus Christ removed it. I hope that we will get a sense of shame back into our culture. Today people glory in what they should be ashamed of. Sin is shame, and the only one who can remove it is the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Great Celebration

What do God’s people do in response to God’s dealing with their sin, death, and disgrace? Celebrate and sing. So we read that God’s people will come from all over the world to his great feast and sing his praises. This chapter can be divided into three sections: In verses 1-5 we see singing; verses 6-8 describe the feast; verses 9-12 speak about God’s people singing again.

In Isaiah 25:1 we find the first song: “O Lord, you are my God.” Notice, it is my God! Those two letters are very important. People are coming from far and wide, acknowledging that the God of Israel is their God. Then they sing, “You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat” (v. 4). So also we can sing, “You are my God. You are my refuge. You are my shelter. You are my shade.” Then in Isaiah 25:9 we read, “In that day they will say, ‘Surely, this is our God'” (italics added).

So we see both individual and congregational singing in this passage. God’s people are singing of God’s triumph over all his enemies, especially the enemy called death. They have come one by one to the foot of the cross, and now there is a great assembly, joining together to sing, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

We trusted in God and he saved us! The word for salvation here is yasha, which is reflected in the name Jesus: “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

Will You Partake of God’s Banquet?

Perhaps you are wondering how you can partake of this great feast. The Bible tells us, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” When you do that, you can say, “Surely this is my God; I trusted in him and he saved me.”

Have you come to this great God? Have you come to his feast? Today he is inviting people from all nations to come. Are you poor? Are you afflicted? Are you needy? Are you wretched? Are you blind? Have you tasted the food the Lord Almighty has prepared? I urge you to taste and see that the Lord is good.

Notice, this is not a potluck feast. We must not bring anything. But what do we get? The best! No one can pay an adequate price for this meal because the cost of this meal was the death of Jesus Christ.

What will happen if you come to him? His mighty hand will rest on you and save you. Isaiah 25:10 begins, “The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain,” which is speaking about salvation.

But suppose you say, as many do, “I do not want to come.” Though invited, such people refuse to come and give excuses: “I just bought a field,” or “I just bought five oxen,” or “I have other business to do,” or “I just got married.” What they are really saying, is, “We have many important things to do, and God’s banquet is at the bottom of our list.” Isaiah tells us what will happen to such arrogant people. His feet shall rest on their neck. “The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain; but Moab will be trampled under him” (25:10).

Either you will experience the grace of God’s saving hand or the pressure of his trampling feet. If you refuse God’s gracious offer of the best of meats and the finest of wines, you will experience the judgment of the abundance of manure, as we read in verses 10-11, were the Holy Spirit pictures arrogant people swimming in the sewer, trying to save themselves by self-righteousness.

Therefore, I urge you again to come to him. Though millions have already come, there is still room for you. Come and taste full pardon. Come and taste the gift of perfect righteousness. Come with all your misery, fear, sin, and guilt. By faith taste of this great divine banquet, and then you shall go out with joy.

We were the rebels and self-righteous who were swimming in the sewer and felt the touch of God’s feet on our necks. But God has brought us to this marvelous place of great feasting. When he told us, “Come!” we came, because the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit drew us. We trusted in him, he saved us, and now we are eating, drinking, and singing with him. I pray that all of us will trust in Christ this day and be saved. Amen.