The promise of Messiah’s reign is that death will be swallowed up in His victory. We see all of these things in today’s reading.
Isaiah 25: God Will Swallow Up Death Forever
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.
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,
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.
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.
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.
11 And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim, but the LORD will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill of his hands.
12 And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down, lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust.
Isaiah 26: You Keep Him in Perfect Peace
1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: "We have a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks.
2 Open the gates, that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.
3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
4 Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.
5 For he has humbled the inhabitants of the height, the lofty city. He lays it low, lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust.
6 The foot tramples it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy."
7 The path of the righteous is level; you make level the way of the righteous.
8 In the path of your judgments, O LORD, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.
9 My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10 If favour is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly and does not see the majesty of the LORD.
11 O LORD, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed. Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.
12 O LORD, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works.
13 O LORD our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone we bring to remembrance.
14 They are dead, they will not live; they are shades, they will not arise; to that end you have visited them with destruction and wiped out all remembrance of them.
15 But you have increased the nation, O LORD, you have increased the nation; you are glorified; you have enlarged all the borders of the land.
16 O LORD, in distress they sought you; they poured out a whispered prayer when your discipline was upon them.
17 Like a pregnant woman who writhes and cries out in her pangs when she is near to giving birth, so were we because of you, O LORD;
18 we were pregnant, we writhed, but we have given birth to wind. We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth, and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.
19 Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.
20 Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by.
21 For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it, and will no more cover its slain.
Things to think about…
The Lord will exalt the humble and abase the proud. That is the simple message in Isaiah 25. The foreigners palace will be no more, Isa 25:2 and Moab the enemy of Israel will be trampled down vs 10. Both these things came to be true – Nineveh (modern day Mosul) and its palace was destroyed in 612BC by the Babylonians and Moab was destroyed by the Assyrians. There has been much turmoil in these regions in recent years, eventually the Lord will destroy the armies united against the Lord’s people – Jew and Gentile alike.
Have a look at Isa 25:8 – “He will swallow up death forever…wipe away tears and reproach” – this is our God folks. The Apostle John says the same in Rev 21:4. We have all the fullness and blessing of Christ. Death has no sting and the grave has no victory as Hosea would say, Hos 13:14. Jesus has defeated these things at the cross and proved it by the resurrection. There is no better news than this.
Martin Luther penned the words “A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing”, his inspiration no doubt came from Isa 26:1. Look at the promises He keeps us in perfect peace, Isa 26:3, He is and everlasting rock, vs 4, He makes a level path for the righteous, vs 7. Hence our response should be with Isaiah ‘Your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul’, vs 8. May this be our ever present reality. Luther was right in echoing these words, let’s do the same.
Never pray for a blessing upon the wicked. Look at the principal in Isa 26:10 “If favour is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness”. If you want a blessing to be bestowed upon those who are outside of Christ, pray they are put in the dust spiritually that they may learn humility and seek after the Lord.
A wonderful testimony of the resurrection of the body here in Isaiah “Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise…”, Isa 26:19. Hallelujah. Jesus confirmed the truth of the resurrection with the Sadducees in Mark 12:18-27.
Often chapters in the bible have themes or a focus. One of these is seen in Isa 26. Look at how many times “O LORD’ is written. This shows a heart cry in prayer that acknowledges a dependence upon God and His right to rule the earth. One day things will be made right, vs 21.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
For Cell Groups.
Reading was from Isaiah 11:1-13 Title “Christ’s kingdom on Earth”
1. How do you interpret texts like these in the Bible? How do you know if they are literal, allegorical or symbolic? Eg Gen 1-11 and parts of Ezekiel, Daniel, Jonah etc.
2. Jesus prayed for the Father’s “Your kingdom come your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven”, Mt 6:10. How does this picture of the earth’s renewal fit these verses.
3. Paul speaks about the earth groaning waiting for “creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God”, so that it can be “set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” Rom 8:19-21. How are the sons revealed so the creation can be liberated?
4. Pray for each other, our church and the prayer points.
Prayer Points
1. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
2. Victorian parliament discussing gay conversion therapy, antichristian bill this month.
3. Ministries as they have started back – Youth and Kids at Church.
4. Church finances to meet our expenses and to put a roof over our café.
5. Our City and Country – Pray for revival over our city and the leadership of our country even through these challenging times.
6. The 2 positions:- Youth and Young Adults Coordinator and Children’s Coordinator we are recruiting for in 2021.
