Prepare for a Feast

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 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.

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."

Isaiah 25:6-9:

There is something about a feast that gets me excited. I love Thanksgiving: I love the food. It's my favorite meal probably because it’s no mere meal, but truly a feast.

The big question is this: who is invited to a feast? Or moreso, who is welcome at a feast? I know that I’ve been to meals where I’ve not really been welcome. Some people are extremely uncomfortable having the pastor sharing at their table. It’s actually funny seeing someone squirm while trying to hide a beer behind their back. Then there are the courtesy invitations: you’re invited, but we don’t really want you to come. All we really want is a gift.

So who is really invited?

This is a sensitive issue. Isaiah was Jewish and he prophesied to God’s chosen people. The whole Jewish year is built around their holidays, which are, interestingly, feasts. These feasts celebrate what God had done for His people in the past. So naturally only Jews would really be welcome at a Jewish feast, right?

Others could show up, and if they went through the right rituals to become Jewish, they could possibly participate.

But here, Isaiah is saying the ridiculous: this feast is for all peoples. It is not only open to everyone, but it is specifically prepared for everyone.

This is something to think about as a church. I have heard from various people around town that their perception of our church, of us, is that we’re elitist. That we’re a clique and that they aren’t welcome. Before you get riled up, how inviting are we? We can be just like the Old Testament Jews when it comes to welcoming outsiders who don’t look like us, dress like us, listen to our favorite music, etc.

Did you notice that the food isn’t just leftovers or fast food; it’s God’s very best. In fact, the "best of meats" mentioned here is the portion of the meat that would have been given to God as an acceptable sacrifice. Instead of receiving it from us, God is giving it out freely. The idea here is that God asks us to give to Him, not so He can hoard what we’ve given Him, but for Him to give back to us!

Back to the idea of feasting; the feasts weren’t just about eating; they were about celebrating what God had done. One of the biggest Jewish feasts was Passover, in which they celebrated God delivering them from Egyptian slavery. The only difference in the feast that God speaks of here is this: it is a celebration of something that God will do.

What exactly is it that Isaiah prophesied that God would do? On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, 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.

I usually read a similar passage at funerals: it’s one of my favorite passages, from Revelation 21:3-4, where John hears this: Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Though we aren’t experiencing this in its fullness, the good news is that this feast has already started! This is the essence of what we celebrate in Advent. We celebrate that God came to dwell with men and women in the person of Jesus Christ.

If we look back at what Isaiah said, he talked about God destroying the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations. What is that shroud? What is the only thing (besides taxes) that’s a given? Death. We’ve all got a terminal condition, and we’re all going to die. But in his triumph over the cross and grave, Jesus doesn’t merely defeat death, but He swallows it.

So, what is this feast? Jesus describes the feast this way:

John 4:13-14: Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of living water welling up to eternal life.

John 6:35: I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 7:37-38:If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.

This is the feast we get to sit down for: Jesus Christ Himself!

I love the way this scripture looks in the Bible. It’s written in poetic form, but then, at the end of verse 8, right justified is this statement: The Lord has spoken. When God speaks, no further explanation is necessary. It doesn’t need anything more, just his Word. Last week we sang a song with the lyric "Savior, He can move the mountains, our God is mighty to save" and I first made a mental picture of God pushing a mountain. But then I thought about it and realized that God doesn’t have to push a mountain; He says a word and the mountain moves. That’s the power of God’s Word. And when God says death is defeated once and for all, then it is.

And so we get to the payoff.

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."

The day when God makes his dwelling with us is now. Jesus already came and lived with us, and the Holy Spirit, who is God lives within us now. Death has already been defeated.

So we can live our lives with rejoicing and gladness, even while we await the fullness of His promises.