Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20031026.htm
ISAIAH: GOD'S DIRECTIVES TO THOSE TROUBLED AT GOVERNMENTAL APOSTASY
Part XVI: Hoping In God's SPECIFIC Messianic Deliverances For The Oppressed
(Isaiah 25:1-12)
- Introduction
- In teaching His godly, oppressed people in Isaiah 24 to hope for future deliverance from their oppressors, God knew the pain the oppressed now FEEL needs to be addressed to make their HOPE meaningful.
- Accordingly, Isaiah 25:1-12 details the specific WAYS God will turn the tables of current painful situations for the godly to hope with meaning for the future Messianic Kingdom (as follows):
- Hoping In God's SPECIFIC Messianic Deliverances For The Oppressed, Isaiah 25:1-12.
- God had previously implied that His oppressed, godly prophet, Isaiah handle his treacherous foes by hoping for his final deliverance from them in the Messianic Kingdom to come, Isaiah 24:16b-23.
- As a more definitive and hence more edifying encouragement for the oppressed, God revealed in Isaiah 25:1-12 the specific ways He will turn the tables of the current situations (as follows):
- In anticipation of the coming Messianic Kingdom blessings, Isaiah expressed great praise to God in the form of a poetic psalm in Isaiah 25:1-12; Bible Knowledge Com., O.T., p. 1073.
- That psalm anticipates specific blessings for the godly in the Messianic Kingdom, Isaiah 25:1-12:
- God's people will then praise Him for His marvelous and faithful fulfillment of His promises, 25:1.
- Specifically, they will praise God for destroying the fortifications of godless foreigners who threatened the godly in Israel, Isaiah 25:2.
- Specifically, they will praise God for causing strong and even ruthless Gentile nations to glorify God out of respect for Him, Isaiah 25:3.
- Specifically, they will praise God for becoming a stronghold for the poor and oppressed, for causing the victory songs of their oppressors to cease, Isaiah 25:4-5.
- Specifically, they will praise God for supplying a feast of rich food for all peoples, cf. Isaiah 25:6.
- Specifically, they will praise God for ending physical death that has plagued the nations, and wipe away tears of grief from all faces, Isaiah 25:7-8. This victory will occur at the end of the Messianic Kingdom's 1,000 year reign of Christ, Rev. 21:4; Ibid., p. 1074.
- Specifically, they will praise God and be glad for realizing this Lord Who has fulfilled all His promises for these blessings has actually fulfilled them, Isaiah 25:9.
- To illustrate this more concretely for the edification of the Godly, Israel's deliverance from a specific oppressing nation, the Moabites is detailed in Isaiah 25:10-12 as follows: (+) the godly will praise God for faithfully and permanently conquering Moab as a man might trample down mere straw in the ignoble dunghill to cover manure, Isaiah 25:10; (+) they will praise God for faithfully and permanently laying low the great pride of their Moabite enemies in a very powerful , effective way, Isaiah 25:11; (+) they will praise God for faithfully and permanently bringing down the high fortifications of Moab's city walls, laying them low, casting them to the ground, even to causing these walls to be pulverized into the very dust of the ground under the feet of the godly who would walk along on top of that dust, Isaiah 25:12!
Lesson: To EDIFY the godly who suffer from their oppressors in THIS life, GOD gave them insight into His SPECIFIC ways of "turning the tables" on their enemies in the kingdom age. These blessings included God's faithfully, permanently destroying the pride and wicked inventions, gloating songs and cruel threats of their foes, and of His supplying abundant refreshment provisions and victory over death that came as a result of the oppressive acts. These enemies would respect God, and their evil inventions would be put under the control of the oppressed like Moab's lofty fortifications were for the godly.
Application: For OUR era, GOD wants us to know for OUR edification that, in Christ's reign, (1) HE will destroy the pride, the wicked inventions and boasts of our oppressors that CAUSED us oppression; (2) HE will refresh us from what LOSSES we suffered by their oppression and (3) will even cause our foes to RESPECT Him. (4) God will also put our foes' evil machinations under our victorious control (as Moab's fortifications will be trodden in the dust under the feet of the godly)!