The Mountain of the Lord's Feast Text: Isaiah 25:6-9
Introduction: The Gospel According to Isaiah
The book of Isaiah is often called the fifth gospel, and for good reason. With breathtaking clarity, the prophet lays out the entire scope of God's redemptive plan, from the depths of human sin and judgment to the heights of messianic glory. What we have before us in this passage is one of those mountain peaks of biblical prophecy. It is a glorious, panoramic vision of the end toward which all of history is moving. It is a picture of the great eschatological feast, the final victory of God over all His enemies, chief among them being death itself.
We live in an age that is starving for joy but is trying to satisfy its hunger with Styrofoam peanuts. Our culture is obsessed with feasts, with food, with celebrity chefs, and with extravagant parties. But it is all a chasing after the wind because they are trying to have the feast without the Host. They want the party without the victory, the celebration without the salvation. They want the fine wine, but they have no taste for the blood of the covenant. They want the rich food, but they reject the broken body of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This passage in Isaiah is a direct assault on all such cheap imitations. It shows us that true feasting, true joy, and true satisfaction are found only in the presence of Yahweh, on His holy mountain, and on His terms. This is a vision of the consummation of the kingdom, a promise that gives shape and meaning to everything we do as Christians. It is the reason we can labor in hope, suffer with patience, and face death with confidence. We know that a great feast is coming, and this feast is not a metaphor for something ethereal and wispy. It is a real, tangible, glorious celebration with the resurrected Christ at the head of the table.
This passage is about the end of all things sad. It is about the final triumph of grace. It describes the lavish provision of God, the removal of the great blindness that covers the nations, the ultimate destruction of death, and the vindication of God's people. This is the goal, this is the destination, and it is as certain as the Word of God who has spoken it.
The Text
And Yahweh of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine. And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, Even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, And Lord Yahweh will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For Yahweh has spoken. And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God in whom we have hoped that He would save us. This is Yahweh in whom we have hoped; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”
(Isaiah 25:6-9 LSB)
The Lavish Banquet of God (v. 6)
The vision begins with a promise of a great feast, prepared by God Himself.
"And Yahweh of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine." (Isaiah 25:6)
First, notice who is the host. It is "Yahweh of hosts." This is the covenant name of God, the great I AM, coupled with His title as the commander of the angelic armies. The one who prepares this feast is the sovereign Lord of the universe. This is not a potluck. We do not contribute to this meal. It is prepared for us, a sheer act of grace from start to finish. This is God's party, and He has done all the catering.
Second, notice the guest list. It is for "all peoples." This is a crucial detail. The Old Testament is constantly pointing forward to the ingathering of the Gentiles. The salvation that begins with Israel will burst its banks and flood the entire world. This is not some exclusive club for one ethnicity. This is a global invitation. The gospel is for all nations, and the final celebration will include representatives from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, gathered together on God's holy mountain.
Third, look at the menu. This is no meager fare. It is a "lavish banquet." The Hebrew speaks of rich foods, full of marrow. This is the best of the best, the richest, most satisfying food imaginable. And it is accompanied by "aged wine, refined, aged wine." This is not just any wine; it is wine that has been carefully aged, strained of all its dregs, pure and potent. In Scripture, wine is a symbol of joy and celebration. This is a picture of deep, mature, unadulterated joy. God is not a cosmic killjoy. He is the author of pleasure, and He promises a feast of unimaginable richness and delight for His people. This is the wedding supper of the Lamb, and it will be a glorious affair.
The Veil is Torn, Death is Swallowed (v. 7-8a)
On this same mountain, God will perform two decisive, world-altering acts.
"And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, Even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time..." (Isaiah 25:7-8a)
First, He will "swallow up the covering." This is a veil of spiritual blindness, a shroud of ignorance and rebellion that covers the minds of the nations. It is the darkness that prevents them from seeing God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Paul talks about this veil in 2 Corinthians, a veil that remains over the hearts of those who read the old covenant apart from Christ (2 Cor. 3:14-16). But here, Isaiah prophesies a day when God will sovereignly, powerfully, and finally rip that veil away. This is the work of global conversion. This is the fulfillment of the Great Commission. The knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14).
This work began at the cross. When Christ died, the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, signifying that the way into the presence of God was now open to all. And what began there will be consummated when the gospel has run its course throughout the world.
Second, and even more climactically, "He will swallow up death for all time." The Hebrew here is vivid. Death is not just defeated; it is devoured. It is consumed, annihilated, utterly destroyed. Death is the final enemy, the great tyrant who has held humanity in fear since the fall. But God promises to put an end to it. The Apostle Paul quotes this very verse in his great chapter on the resurrection: "When this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory'" (1 Cor. 15:54). This is the promise of our own bodily resurrection. Because Jesus conquered the grave, we who are in Him will also conquer the grave. Death has been defanged. It is a conquered foe, and its final destruction is certain.
Tears Wiped, Reproach Removed (v. 8b)
The consequences of death's destruction are personal and profound.
"And Lord Yahweh will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For Yahweh has spoken." (Isaiah 25:8b)
This is one of the most tender images in all of Scripture. The sovereign Lord of the universe, Yahweh of hosts, will personally stoop to wipe the tears from every face. This promise is echoed in the last chapters of Revelation (Rev. 7:17, 21:4). Every sorrow, every pain, every grief that has ever marked the lives of God's people will be healed. The memory of sin and suffering will no longer bring pain. All things will be made new.
Furthermore, God will "remove the reproach of His people." Throughout history, God's people have often been a despised and rejected minority. They have been slandered, mocked, persecuted, and shamed for their faith. But on that day, all that reproach will be removed. God will publicly vindicate His saints. Their faithfulness will be honored, and their persecutors will be silenced. The shame of the cross will be transformed into the glory of the crown. And we can be certain of this because of the final clause: "For Yahweh has spoken." This is not wishful thinking. This is a divine decree. It is as good as done.
The Great Acclamation of Faith (v. 9)
The chapter concludes with the response of the redeemed. On that great day, a universal cry of recognition and joy will rise from God's people.
"And it will be said in that day, 'Behold, this is our God in whom we have hoped that He would save us. This is Yahweh in whom we have hoped; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.'" (Isaiah 25:9)
This is the great "Aha!" moment of history. All the promises, all the prophecies, all the patient waiting through long centuries of struggle will finally be fulfilled. The cry is one of vindicated hope. "This is our God in whom we have hoped." Our hope was not in vain. Our faith was not a fantasy. The God we trusted, the God who often seemed distant or silent, is here. He has done exactly what He promised to do.
Notice the repetition: "This is our God... This is Yahweh." The abstract concept of "God" is now the concrete reality of Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God of salvation. He is not a principle or a force; He is a person, and He is our God. The proper response is not quiet contemplation but explosive joy. "Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation." The salvation is not just a past event; it is a present and eternal reality in which we are invited to exult.
The Feast Before the Feast
So what does this glorious vision mean for us now, living in the "already/not yet" of the kingdom? It means that our present worship is a foretaste of that future feast. Every time we come to the Lord's Table, we are participating in a dress rehearsal for the wedding supper of the Lamb. This meal of bread and wine is a small, simple token, but it points to the lavish banquet to come. It is an appetizer for the main course.
When we eat the bread and drink the wine, we are proclaiming the Lord's death until He comes. We are remembering the victory that made this future feast possible. We are looking back to the cross where the veil was torn and death was dealt its mortal blow. And we are looking forward to the mountain of the Lord, where that victory will be fully and finally realized.
This passage gives us a robust, joyful, and confident eschatology. We are not hunkered down in a bunker, waiting to be evacuated from a doomed planet. We are marching toward Zion, the city of the living God. And we are not marching toward a funeral, but toward a feast. The world is not winding down into chaos; it is being prepared for the great celebration. The veil is being lifted, nation by nation, as the gospel advances. Death is a defeated enemy, thrashing about in its death throes. And the reproach of God's people is being turned into honor as the kingdom of our God and of His Christ expands.
Therefore, let us live as people of the feast. Let us live with joy, with hope, and with a confident expectation of the victory that is to come. Let us not be ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation that will culminate in this great celebration. And as we wait, let us say with the saints of old, and with the saints who will be there on that day, "Behold, this is our God. We have waited for Him. Let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation."