Isaiah 25 - Bible Study in 5 Minutes

Isaiah 25 Short Summary:

Isaiah begins chapter 25 praising God for accomplishing all His plans through His might and wonderful deeds. The second half of the chapter is a prophesy about the Messiah, His victory over death, and the glorious future that affords to His followers in the future.

Isaiah 25 Bible Study

TIMELINE:

• The prophetic ministry of Isaiah spanned the reigns of King Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

• We do not know the date Isaiah spoke/recorded this prophecy.

KEY CHARACTERS:

• Isaiah – The son of Amoz (1:1). God commissioned Isaiah as His prophet to Judah.

• Messiah - The term means “anointed one.” While many people were anointed in Jewish culture (kings, priests, etc), the term came to refer to a special anointed one, the prophesied Savior of the people of Judah, the branch of the house of David (see Isaiah 11:1; John 1:41; John 4:25).

DEFINITIONS:

• Marrow (25:6) – A soft fatty substance in the cavities of bones, in which blood cells are produced (often taken as typifying strength and vitality) (Oxford).

OUTLINE:

• PRAISING GOD FOR HIS MIGHTY WORKS (25:1-5):

  • The first 5 verses are a praise to God for all of His power and wonderful works throughout time.

  • Isaiah praised God for His faithfulness, for the display of power He put forth in destroying wicked nations, and for accomplishing all of the plans He formed before the world even existed.

  • Though powerful, God was a defender of the weak and a provider for the poor.

  • He suppressed oppressive and ruthless men like a cloud suppresses the heat of the sun when it blocks its rays from reaching the earth.

• DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP FOREVER (25:6-9):

  • Isaiah prophesied that on Mount Zion, God would make a feast for His people when He swallowed up death and removed the veil spread over the nations.

  • This prophesy’s fulfilment was initiated by Jesus, but will have its ultimate fulfilment in eternity, after the resurrection of believers.

  • Jesus had victory over death through His resurrection, which assures us of our own resurrections.

  • Paul quoted verse 8 in 1 Corinthians 15:54, saying, “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

  • The veil referred to in verse 7 may represent the veil between God and humanity. Isaiah prophesied that it would also be swallowed up.

  • Again, we see in the New Testament that this was initiated by Jesus’ work in Jerusalem but will ultimately be fulfilled in eternity. Jesus reunited us with God, removing the separation (veil) of sin. In heaven, we will see God as He truly is, and the veil will be removed in its final sense.

  • God “will wipe away tears from all faces” (25:8).

• GOD’S ENEMIES PUT DOWN (25:10-12):

  • In this final section, Isaiah prophesied that Moab would be trampled down by the Lord.

  • Moab appears to be used in a general sense to represent all the adversaries of God.

  • God will break down all those who oppose His people.

APPLICATION:

• The term “Zion” is one we’ve discussed in the past, but I want to take another moment to discuss it a bit more.

• Zion, or Mount Zion, was a geographic location where David built his palace. After Solomon built the Temple, the term Zion expanded to include that structure. The term eventually became another way to refer to the whole city of Jerusalem, which is how it’s primarily used in the prophets. It was also used to refer to the people of Judah collectively.

• The term also gets another meaning in the New Testament, where the apostles use it to refer to God’s Kingdom in heaven, a heavenly Jerusalem.

• Hebrews 12:22 - But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 

• This new Jerusalem is spoken about in passages like Revelation 3:12 and 21:2.

• Rev 3:12 – “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.”

• When we are interpreting prophecy, we have to keep all these potential usages in mind and do our best to figure out which usage the author is employing based on the context and our knowledge of other relevant passages.