Isaiah: Perfect Peace

Isaiah 25-26

Throughout the book of Isaiah, which some call “the miniature Bible,” we learn over and over and over again that God wins! He is in control of all things. He is the God of power, might, love, and faithfulness, and he addresses our disobedience. Today’s passage declares that the victory will be won and explains what it means to enjoy God’s “perfect peace.”

Isaiah begins with a song of praise for God’s coming kingdom. There will be a day when this kingdom is established on earth— a day not brought about by circumstances. Isaiah proclaims, “O LORD, you are my God . . . for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure” (Isa. 25:1). Isaiah declares that when this glorious kingdom is established, ruthless nations will be put down, and the oppressed will be lifted up (Isa. 25:3-5). The theme that all nations will one day fear God resonates throughout Isaiah’s prophecies (Isa. 2:3; 11:9-10; 49:7; 56:6-7; 66:20).

The rest of chapter 25 describes what will happen in this future kingdom.

• There will be a lavish banquet “for all peoples.” It will be a gathering to celebrate what God has done (Isa. 25:6). You don’t want to miss this party!
  
  
• Death will be put to death!

Isaiah 25:7-8
And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. 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….

Death will be covered like a shroud, as a sheet drapes over a dead body. The word “swallow” means “to engulf, to destroy.” Death will be destroyed forever. The Lord will wipe away every tear. The apostle John tells us that this will occur after the millennial kingdom. We will experience “a new heaven and a new earth…the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven,” and the “dwelling place of God is with man” (Rev. 21:1-4). (We look forward to our future study of Revelation!)

Believers will be permanently delivered! “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’” (Isa. 25:9).

• All those who oppose God will be destroyed.  

Moab is used here to represent all the nations that disregard God. These nations will be “trampled down in his place, as straw is trampled down in a dunghill . . . but the Lord will lay low his pompous pride . . . and the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down, lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust” (Isa. 25:10-12).

On that day, God’s people will sing a beautiful song. Here are several observations for renewal from Isaiah 26.

Trusting God brings peace (Isa. 26:1-6).

When our focus is on God, he delivers peace of heart and mind. Here is today’s ANCHOR POINT:

Isaiah 26:3-4
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.

In Isaiah 26:4, Yahweh appears three times. The translation "LORD GOD" literally means "Yahweh Yahweh." This emphasizes the personal God who is intimately involved in our lives and is trustworthy.

God’s people desire to learn righteousness (Isa. 26:7-11).

Isaiah states that the “path of the righteous is level”; that is, it is smooth and straight and leads to a place of true fulfillment (Isa. 26:7). We long for lasting contentment, which can only be found by trusting in the Lord.

Isaiah 26:8b-9
O LORD, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul. 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.

When we oppose God, we cannot “learn righteousness” or see “the majesty of the LORD” (Isa. 26:10). However, believers strive to trust God in all things, acknowledge him in all their ways, and walk on straight paths (Prov. 3:5-6).

Protection is found in God alone (Isa. 26:12-21).

In this song, the people of God confess that “other lords besides you have ruled over us,” but now they desire to return to God, saying “O LORD our God... your name alone we bring to remembrance” (Isa. 26:13). God alone is to be glorified. He is the One who has “enlarged all the borders of the land” (Isa. 26:15).

Those referred to in this song take the necessary action for spiritual renewal. They acknowledge their past failures. They liken themselves to pregnant women who cry out in pain but ultimately give birth to the wind. Trusting in earthly things offers them no deliverance (Isa. 26:16-18). Therefore, they have turned to God and will wait on him (Isa. 26:20). In contrast to the finality of death, the people who have confessed their sin and now trust in God are confident in the Lord’s power over death itself. They declare:

Isaiah 26:19
Your dead shall live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.

Jesus was raised from the dead, and we will follow him in his glorious resurrection! Isaiah sang this resurrection song seven hundred years before God in the flesh walked on earth. God’s people will sing this song throughout eternity. That will be true renewal!

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Time in the Word: Read and reflect on Isaiah 25-26. Focus on our Anchor Point: Isaiah 26:3-4.

Talking to God: Pray for God’s perfect peace and ask for his help in trusting him through every situation. These chapters may remind you of several worship songs to sing back to God today.

Have Questions?
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Every day is a day of spiritual renewal as we follow hard after Jesus.