ISAIAH LESSON 28


     We will begin this lesson in Isaiah 25:1 "O LORD, thou [art] my
God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done
wonderful [things; thy] counsels of old [are] faithfulness [and]
truth."

     Isaiah is suddenly overcome with praise for God, and all that He
is, and all that He does. The fact that God has established His people
in heaven, has brought this beautiful expression of praise from
Isaiah. Notice, Isaiah puts it personally when he says, my God. God is
not God of the masses. He is God of the individuals in the masses.
Christianity is a personal thing. Jesus purchased our salvation as
individuals. Each person has to decide to come to Christ. Notice,
Isaiah does not say, we will exalt Thee. Just as we sing this praise
to God in our churches today, I believe Isaiah sang this to God then.
Notice, there is a reason for his praising God. He has done wonderful
things. God not only tells the absolute truth, but is in fact, Truth
itself.

     Isaiah 25:2 "For thou hast made of a city an heap; [of] a
defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall
never be built."

     This is just showing that when judgement from God comes upon a
city, that city is utterly destroyed. Sodom and Gomorrah are good
examples. Cities of such great evil, will never be rebuilt. The
"defenced city", can be anything from guards to fences.

     Isaiah 25:3 "Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the
city of the terrible nations shall fear thee."

     A sensible person has to be fearful of God who has that much
power. The word that "city" was translated from is a plural word which
makes me believe this is not a particular city, but many cities.

     Isaiah 25:4 "For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a
strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a
shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones [is] as a
storm [against] the wall."

     God always is a help to those we would call the underprivileged.
He {God} expects all of His followers to help the widows and the
orphans. That is one way you can tell whether a person is a believer,
or not. If they help those who cannot help themselves then you can
number them among the believers. Jesus said, "Inasmuch as you have
done it to the least of these, you have done it unto me".

     Isaiah 25:5 "Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the
heat in a dry place; [even] the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the
branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low."

     "Noise", in this particular instance, is speaking of horrible
destruction. The heathen nations are, probably, what is meant by
strangers. God did destroy heathen nations, and will in the future
destroy heathen nations. The heat comes from heaven, and so will the
destruction. This, also, speaks of God silencing the bragging of the
nations which have been opposed to God's people.

     Isaiah 25:6  "And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make
unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees,
of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined."

     This Scripture has jumped to some of the blessings the saved will
receive. This feast seems to be a heavenly feast prepared for the
believers by God. The mountain, here, is the mount Zion. This
symbolizes the church, or Jerusalem. The fat things, marrow, and
things of that nature were the choicest of the foods, and were for God
only.  This, however, appears to be God preparing the feast for the
redeemed. Could this be the marriage supper of the Lamb.? The location
of this feast certainly is heaven.

     Isaiah 25:7 "And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the
covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all
nations."

     There is no veil between God and the Christians. It was removed
when Jesus gave His flesh on the cross. Jesus opened the way to all
those who would believe in Him, when the veil was torn from top to
bottom. The "veil" symbolizes the flesh of Jesus. The covering over
all people could be speaking of death, or the fact that all things of
God are covered somewhat on this earth. In heaven, all of that will be
opened. The nations will be at war on the earth, but there is coming a
time when they will understand things better, and not go to war.

     Isaiah 25:8 "He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord
GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his
people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath
spoken [it]."

     This is most assuredly taking place in heaven. I Corinthians
15:52 "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for
the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed."  I Corinthians 15:53 "For this corruptible
must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality."
I Corinthians 15:54 "So when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then
shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is
swallowed up in victory."  You can easily see from the above verses,
this is speaking of heaven. The latter part of verse 8 above, could,
also, be speaking of the time period when Jesus will reign as King of
kings on the earth. The Christians will reign with Him for 1000 years.
This will truly be a time when The Christians will feel no more
rebuke. Revelation 7:17 "For the Lamb which is in the midst of the
throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of
waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Whether in
heaven or earth, the Christians will taste the victory of Jesus.
     Isaiah 25:9  "And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this [is] our
God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this [is] the LORD;
we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation."

     Christians suffer a great deal on this earth.  The time of
suffering is over. This is speaking of that glorious day when Jesus
has redeemed His own from the earth. They will know Him, for they
shall be like Him. I John 3:2 "Beloved, now are we the sons of God,
and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he
shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
Acts 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
Our salvation rests in Jesus Christ our Lord.

     Isaiah 25:10 "For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD
rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is
trodden down for the dunghill."

     Again, the "mountain" here is the church of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Right Hand of God {Jesus Christ our Lord} protects the
church with His hand. "Moab" is a symbol of evil, here. They were
thought of as enemies of God. The serpent and all his followers were
at the heel of the believers. All evil is trodden down at this point.

     Isaiah 25:11 "And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of
them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth [his hands] to swim: and he
shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands."

     It is Jesus who judges the evil and condemns them. Their pride
has kept them from repenting and coming to the Lord. The spoils of
their hands has to be earthly treasures they have accumulated. They
were so proud, they did not realize they needed a Saviour. Pride goes
before a fall.

     Isaiah 25:12 "And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls
shall he bring down, lay low, [and] bring to the ground, [even] to the
dust."

     The fortress of the evil ones is no match for the Lord. He will
bring them down like powder. They had been opposed to God's people,
now they get their just reward. They were but dust in the beginning,
and now they are dust again.












                          Isaiah 28 Questions

1.  O LORD, thou art my ______.
2.  Why is Isaiah praising God in verse 1?
3.  How does Isaiah make this a personal praise?
4.  God is God of ___________ in the masses.
5.  How does the author believe Isaiah brought this praise?
6.  What is verse 2 speaking of?
7.  What wicked cities did God destroy?
8.  The defense of the city could be what?
9.  A sensible person will be _________ of God.
10. Who, in verse 4, does God help?
11. What does God expect His followers to do?
12. What does "noise" in verse 5 mean?
13. Who are the strangers in verse 5?
14. What is the mountain in verse 6?
15. Where will the feast take place?
16. Who is the provider of the feast?
17. What question does the author ask about this feast?
18. When was the veil removed making the way to the Father open for
    the believer?
19. What does the "veil" symbolize?
20. He will swallow up death in _________.
21. When is death swallowed up in victory?
22. The last part of verse 8 could take place at what time?
23. Quote Revelation chapter 7 verse 17.
24. Quote 1 John chapter 3 verse 2.
25. Quote Acts chapter 4 verse 12.
26. What is the "mountain" in verse 10?
27. Who is the Right Hand of God?
28. What does "Moab" symbolize?
29. Pride goes before a _____.
30. What happens to the fortress of the evil?