Isaiah Chapter 25 – Praise for the God Who Swallows Death
Isaiah Chapter 25 offers a beautiful pause in the midst of judgment—a soaring praise to God for His righteous rule, His care for the oppressed, and the ultimate promise that He will swallow up death in victory. Following the global shaking of chapter 24, this chapter turns our eyes to the mount of the Lord where His faithful gather to celebrate salvation and rest under His everlasting protection.
The Song After the Storm
✔ God is praised for turning strongholds into ruins.
✔ He is a shelter for the poor and needy.
✔ A feast is prepared for all nations on Mount Zion.
✔ Death itself will be destroyed forever.
✔ God will wipe away all tears and remove reproach.
📖 Isaiah 25:8 – “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces…”
🔎 This verse is echoed in 1 Corinthians 15:54 and Revelation 21:4—pointing to Christ’s resurrection and final reign.
Isaiah Chapter 25 - Overview
Isaiah 25:1–5 – God, Refuge of the Oppressed
📖 Isaiah 25:1 – “O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee…”
🔎 Amid judgment, Isaiah lifts a personal, intimate song of praise. God is not only sovereign over nations—He is a covenant-keeping God.
📖 Isaiah 25:2 – “For thou hast made of a city an heap…”
🔎 God’s judgment on the proud cities (like Babylon or the city of confusion in chapter 24) makes way for justice to prevail.
📖 Isaiah 25:4 – “For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress…”
🔎 God is near to the humble. While empires collapse, He remains a refuge for the lowly.
📖 Isaiah 25:5 – “Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers…”
🔎 The proud and violent will be silenced. God restores peace by removing the oppressor.
➡️ When the world shakes, God lifts the poor and covers them in peace.
Isaiah 25:6–9 – The Mountain Feast and Death Defeated
📖 Isaiah 25:6 – “And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast…”
🔎 A prophetic image of the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9). God gathers the nations to Zion for a banquet of eternal joy.
📖 Isaiah 25:7 – “He will destroy… the face of the covering cast over all people…”
🔎 A veil of spiritual blindness and sorrow has long covered the earth. God will tear it away, revealing truth and light.
📖 Isaiah 25:8 – “He will swallow up death in victory…”
🔎 Quoted in 1 Corinthians 15:54. This promise finds its fulfillment in the resurrection of Christ and the final resurrection of the saints.
📖 Isaiah 25:9 – “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him…”
🔎 The joy of the remnant—those who waited patiently through trials—now rejoicing in the unveiled glory of the Lord.
➡️ The greatest victory is not over nations—but over death itself.
Isaiah 25:10–12 – The Proud Humbled in Moab
📖 Isaiah 25:10 – “For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest…”
🔎 God’s presence rests in Zion, His holy mountain. At the same time, Moab—a symbol of pride and resistance—is brought low.
📖 Isaiah 25:11–12 – “He shall bring down their pride… even to the dust.”
🔎 Moab’s pride is crushed by the hand of God. The contrast between the refuge of Zion and the fall of Moab underscores the fate of the humble vs. the proud.
➡️ God’s mountain is a place of rest for the humble—and ruin for the proud.
Isaiah Chapter 25 - Deeper Study
Overview: From Mourning to Rejoicing
🔹 Timeframe: Prophetic future following global judgment.
🔹 Setting: Mount Zion—the location of feasting, praise, and protection.
🔹 Theme: Praise for God’s justice and resurrection victory.
🔹 Connection to Christ: Christ is the One who swallows death and wipes away all tears.
Death Defeated, Joy Restored
Isaiah 25 lifts our eyes from devastation to redemption. The judgments of chapter 24 lead to a song of deliverance. Zion becomes the place where the faithful are gathered, death is swallowed, and joy returns.
🔹 God is a refuge for the humble.
🔹 He prepares a feast of victory and communion.
🔹 The curse of death will be broken forever.
🔹 Every tear will be wiped away.
🔹 The proud who resist Him will fall—but the patient will rejoice.
➡️ Rejoice now—our God is preparing a feast, and death is already defeated.
Key Takeaways
🔑 God turns ruin into rejoicing.
🔑 Zion will be the site of global celebration and peace.
🔑 Death is not the end—it is defeated by Christ.
🔑 Humility invites refuge; pride invites ruin.
🔑 Waiting on the Lord is always rewarded.
Prophetic Patterns & Dual Fulfillment
🔮 The mountain feast prefigures the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9).
🔮 The swallowing of death is fulfilled in Christ’s resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:54).
🔮 The veil being lifted parallels Revelation 7:17 and 21:4.
🔮 Moab’s fall symbolizes judgment on all who exalt themselves.
Historical & Cultural Context
📜 Moab was historically proud and hostile to Israel (Numbers 22–25).
📜 Zion represents God’s dwelling—His presence and refuge.
📜 Feasts were signs of covenant, celebration, and restoration.
📜 In ancient cultures, swallowing death symbolized total victory.
Present-Day Reflection: The Death of Death
Our world still fears death, clings to pride, and trusts in strength. But Isaiah 25 reminds us—God has already planned the end of death. His feast is coming, His people are being gathered, and His victory is sealed.
🔹 Don’t fear the grave—Christ has emptied it.
🔹 Don’t build in pride—rest in His mountain.
🔹 Don’t chase the world—wait on the Lord.
🔹 Don’t mourn forever—joy is coming.
🔹 Don’t forget—He is preparing a place for you.
➡️ The song is rising. The feast is set. And the tomb is not the end.
💡 Final Reflection: Will You Sit at the Feast?
The table is being prepared. The wine will flow. The veil will lift. The Lord will wipe away every tear, and the voice of His people will sing—“This is our God.”
📌 Have you trusted in the One who defeated death?
📌 Are you waiting patiently—or clinging to what will fall?
📌 Will you stand in Moab’s ruin—or feast on Zion’s mountain?
📖 Isaiah 25:8 – “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces.”
🔥 Let the song rise now—because death is already swallowed, and glory is on the horizon.
God Will Swallow Up Death Forever
Isa 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.
Isa 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.
Isa 25:3 Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.
Isa 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.
Isa 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.
Isa 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.
Isa 25:7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
Isa 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.
Isa 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.
Isa 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.
Isa 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.
Isa 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.
Date Written
740–700 BC
Written By
The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz
Language
Hebrew
Verses
12