International Sunday School Lesson October 20, 2024
Isaiah 25:1-10
Background
Today’s lesson is a hymn of praise to God Almighty from the book of Isaiah. It is placed right after the apocalyptic prophecy in the preceding chapter. Isaiah 24 describes the coming destruction of the earth. Isaiah 24:1-3 states, “Behold, the LORD will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor. The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered; for the LORD has spoken this word.” Our Sunday School Lesson today is describing the new heaven and the new earth that comes after the destruction.
I Will Exalt You
Isaiah 25:1–2 (ESV)
1 O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. 2 For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; the foreigners’ palace is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
God certainly has a plan for the ages. His plan will be executed perfectly. These chapters have a lot of symbolism. This city that is destroyed is symbolic of the world-wide destruction at the end of time. The Hebrew term qiryath-tohu, city of formlessness or city of emptiness, underscores the lack of real substance in the ungodly secular world. There is money and there is power in the ungodly world. That money and political power is empty and meaningless.
Shelter From The Storm
Isaiah 25:3–4 (ESV)
3 Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you. 4 For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
The prophet Nahum said in Nahum 1:7 “The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.” God is there for us. We need to depend on Him for all our troubles. God will see us through if we depend on Him.
Song of the Ruthless Put Down
Isaiah 25:5 (ESV)
5 like heat in a dry place. You subdue the noise of the foreigners; as heat by the shade of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is put down.
The oppressor is like scorching heat in the dessert. The people of the middle east understand this image. The heat bares down. You are miserable. You are thirsty. The sunlight is blinding. You can’t overexert yourself or you will have a heatstroke. A rainstorm is such a welcome relief. The clouds cover the blinding sun. The water cools down the desert. The deliverance of God is like a rainstorm and clouds that break up the heat.
On This Mountain
Isaiah 25:6–8 (ESV)
6 On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. 7 And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.
Mountains are used as symbols in the scripture for centers of power. Isaiah is using that image of the mountain for the center of power during the earthly reign of Christ. He also seems to be talking about Mount Zion. This is where Christ will reign in the kingdom period.
This is Our God
Isaiah 25:9–10 (ESV)
9 It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” 10 For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain, and Moab shall be trampled down in his place, as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.
First, we should praise God when the solution comes to our problems. When a bill is met. When a sickness is healed. When a conflict is solved. Never forget to praise God and thank Him. Second, these verses are talking about that great day when Jesus comes back and reigns. The phrase, “Moab shall be trampled down”, is symbolic of the entire world being judged for its pride and arrogance at the second coming of Christ.
Concluding Thoughts
Deliverance is coming. Jesus is coming back. Jesus wins and those that follow Him are winners with Him. All Christians must believe this reality. You cannot be a Christian and not believe in the victory of Christ. Now, there are different interpretations of eschatology – the study of the end times. I don’t argue with folks regarding eschatology. I will just simply state that I am a Pretribulation pre-millenialist. That means I believe that Jesus will first rapture the church, then there is a great tribulation, then there will be a 1,000-year reign, then another revolt against God. Finally, the revolt is crushed, and Jesus sets up his eternal reign with the new heaven and new earth. You don’t have to be a pretribulation premillennialists to be a Christian. You just must believe that Jesus is coming back, and He wins in the end. Well friends, God Lord willing, I will be back with you next week-end.
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