Two Tables, Two Destinies Text: Isaiah 65:8-16
Introduction: The Great Sorting
We live in an age of great sorting. It seems as though two entirely different realities are unfolding side by side. In one, there is confusion, rage, hunger for meaning, and a spirit of perpetual grievance. In the other, there is fruitfulness, joy, and a quiet confidence. The world looks at this and chalks it up to luck, to circumstance, to Fortune or to Destiny. They see it as a cosmic gamble. But God does not gamble. What we are seeing is not the result of blind chance, but the result of covenant. God is sorting His people from those who are not His people. He is distinguishing between two tables, two loyalties, and two ultimate destinies.
The prophet Isaiah, speaking for Yahweh, lays out this great sorting with breathtaking clarity. He shows us that history is not a random series of events. It is a story with a plot, authored by a sovereign God who preserves His people and judges His enemies. This passage is a tale of two groups. One is called "My slaves" and "My chosen ones." The other is called "you who forsake Yahweh." One group is like a cluster of grapes with new wine in it, a source of blessing to be preserved. The other is destined for the sword. One will eat, drink, and rejoice. The other will be hungry, thirsty, and shamed.
This is not just ancient history for Israel. This is the iron law of the cosmos. This is the logic of God's covenant playing out in every generation. We are all seated at one of two tables. We are either feasting with the God of truth or we are setting a table for the cheap idols of Fortune and Destiny. And what this passage makes inescapably clear is that you cannot dine at both.
The Text
Thus says Yahweh, "As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, ‘Do not make it a ruin, for there is benefit in it,’ So I will act on behalf of My slaves In order not to make all of them a ruin. I will bring forth a seed from Jacob, And a possessor of My mountains from Judah; Even My chosen ones shall possess it, And My slaves will dwell there. Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks, And the valley of Achor a resting place for herds, For My people who seek Me. But you who forsake Yahweh, Who forget My holy mountain, Who set a table for Fortune, And who fill cups with mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you for the sword, And all of you will bow down to the slaughter, Because I called, but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not hear. And you did what was evil in My eyes And chose that in which I was not pleased.” Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, “Behold, My slaves will eat, but you will be hungry. Behold, My slaves will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, My slaves will be glad, but you will be put to shame. Behold, My slaves will shout joyfully with a merry heart, But you will cry out with a pained heart, And you will wail with a broken spirit. You will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones, And Lord Yahweh will put you to death. But My slaves will be called by another name, Because he who is blessed in the earth Will be blessed by the God of truth, And he who swears in the earth Will swear by the God of truth; Because the former distresses are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My sight!
(Isaiah 65:8-16 LSB)
The Preserving Grace of God (v. 8-10)
The passage begins with the principle of the faithful remnant.
"Thus says Yahweh, 'As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, "Do not make it a ruin, for there is benefit in it," So I will act on behalf of My slaves In order not to make all of them a ruin.'" (Isaiah 65:8)
God does not deal with His people in the abstract. He is a husbandman, and He inspects the fruit. When judgment is deserved, as it certainly was in apostate Israel, God does not simply bulldoze the entire vineyard. He looks for the good clusters. He sees the promise of "new wine," the blessing, the future, contained within a faithful few. For the sake of that faithful remnant, He stays His hand of total destruction. The visible people of God has always been a mixed multitude, a field of wheat and tares. But God knows His own. He acts on behalf of His "slaves," those who belong to Him, in order to preserve them.
This preservation is for a purpose. It is not just about escaping judgment; it is about inheritance.
"I will bring forth a seed from Jacob, And a possessor of My mountains from Judah; Even My chosen ones shall possess it, And My slaves will dwell there." (Isaiah 65:9)
God promises to bring forth offspring, a seed, who will possess His holy mountains. This is covenant language. The promise is not to every Israelite by blood, but to the "chosen ones," the true spiritual seed. This points directly to Christ, the ultimate seed of Jacob, and to all who are in Him by faith. The Church is the true Israel, the chosen ones who inherit the promises. And what is the nature of this inheritance? It is peace and prosperity under God's blessing.
"Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks, And the valley of Achor a resting place for herds, For My people who seek Me." (Isaiah 65:10)
The Plain of Sharon was known for its fertility. The Valley of Achor was the place of trouble and judgment after Achan's sin. God is promising to turn places of trouble into places of rest and to make the land fruitful for His people. But notice the condition: this is "For My people who seek Me." The blessing is not automatic. It flows to those who are in a right relationship with Him, who actively seek His face.
The Idolatry of Chance (v. 11-12)
From the remnant, God turns His attention to the rebels. Their sin is specified.
"But you who forsake Yahweh, Who forget My holy mountain, Who set a table for Fortune, And who fill cups with mixed wine for Destiny," (Isaiah 65:11 LSB)
Their first sin is abandonment: they "forsake Yahweh." This leads to forgetfulness: they "forget My holy mountain," the place of true worship, the place of God's presence and His law. But you cannot simply forsake and forget. A vacuum is created, and it must be filled. They fill it with idolatry. They set a table for "Fortune" (Gad) and "Destiny" (Meni). These were pagan deities of luck and fate. This is the religion of the autonomous man. He doesn't want a sovereign God to whom he is accountable. He wants impersonal forces he can placate or manipulate. He wants a universe that runs on luck, not law. This is the same spirit that drives the gambler in Las Vegas and the materialist on Wall Street. It is an attempt to have a god who makes no moral demands.
But God reveals the terrible irony of their worship. In a brilliant and terrifying play on words, God shows them the true nature of their destiny.
"I will destine you for the sword, And all of you will bow down to the slaughter..." (Isaiah 65:12 LSB)
The Hebrew word for "destine" is manah, a direct echo of the idol Meni they served. You want to serve Destiny? Fine, says God, I will give you a destiny. I will destine you for judgment. This is the logic of the covenant. God gives rebels over to the consequences of their rebellion. The reason is not arbitrary: "Because I called, but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not hear." They had revelation. They had the prophets. They had the Word of God. But they plugged their ears and chose instead to do "what was evil in My eyes." Their damnation is not a matter of bad luck; it is a matter of settled choice.
The Great Reversal (v. 13-15a)
Therefore, because of these two opposing choices, God announces two opposing futures. The contrast is absolute.
"Behold, My slaves will eat, but you will be hungry. Behold, My slaves will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, My slaves will be glad, but you will be put to shame." (Isaiah 65:13 LSB)
This is the great reversal. Those who belong to God, His "slaves," will be utterly satisfied. They will eat at His table and be full. Those who sought their fortune elsewhere will find only emptiness. Their spiritual hunger and thirst will be eternal. God's people will be filled with gladness, while the rebels will be filled with public shame. The joy of the righteous is contrasted with the agony of the wicked.
"Behold, My slaves will shout joyfully with a merry heart, But you will cry out with a pained heart, And you will wail with a broken spirit." (Isaiah 65:14 LSB)
The internal state matches the external reality. God's servants have a "merry heart" that overflows in joyful shouts. The idolaters have a "pained heart" and a "broken spirit" that can only produce cries and wails. This is the harvest of the seeds they have sown. One chose to seek God; the other chose to seek Fortune. One finds life; the other finds ruin.
The final end for the unfaithful is utter erasure.
"You will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones, And Lord Yahweh will put you to death." (Isaiah 65:15a LSB)
Their very name will become a byword, a cautionary tale, something God's people use to illustrate a curse. Their identity will be synonymous with destruction. This is the opposite of the biblical promise of a great name. They sought their own fortune and lost their own name.
The New Name and the God of Amen (v. 15b-16)
In stark contrast to the cursed name of the rebels, God's people receive a new identity.
"But My slaves will be called by another name," (Isaiah 65:15b LSB)
This is a profound promise of new creation. A new name signifies a new character, a new status, and a new destiny. This finds its ultimate fulfillment in the New Testament, where believers are called Christians, and are promised a new name known only to them and God (Rev. 2:17). Our identity is no longer "rebel" or "sinner" but "child of God," "righteous," "saint."
And this new reality is grounded in the very nature of God Himself.
"Because he who is blessed in the earth Will be blessed by the God of truth, And he who swears in the earth Will swear by the God of truth; Because the former distresses are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My sight!" (Isaiah 65:16 LSB)
The foundation for all this is "the God of truth." The Hebrew is literally "the God of Amen." Amen means true, faithful, certain. All blessing and all oaths, all of reality, will now be oriented around the God who is utterly reliable. This points us directly to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is called "the Amen, the faithful and true witness" (Rev. 3:14). In Him, all the promises of God are "Yes" and "Amen" (2 Cor. 1:20). When we align ourselves with the God of Amen, the former troubles, the sin, the distress, the rebellion, are forgotten. They are not just overlooked; they are "hidden from My sight," dealt with once and for all at the cross.
Conclusion: The God of Amen
So, we are left with the great sorting. There are two tables. At one table sit those who try to manage their own lives, who worship at the altar of Fortune and Destiny, who believe in luck, chance, and the big break. Their plates are empty, their cups are dry, and their future is a name that will become a curse.
At the other table sit the slaves of God. They have stopped trying to be their own masters and have submitted to the one true Master. They seek Him, and they find Him. Their plates are full, their cups overflow, and their hearts are merry. They are given a new name, and their future is grounded in the faithfulness of the God of Amen Himself.
You are sitting at one of these tables right now. You cannot hedge your bets. You cannot have a little bit of Yahweh and a little bit of Fortune on the side. God has called. He has spoken. The great question this text leaves us with is the one He posed to the rebels: will you answer? Will you hear? Or will you choose that in which He is not pleased? Your answer to that question determines not your fortune or your destiny, but your eternal destination, secured by the God of Amen.