“O Lord, you are my God! I will exalt you in praise, I will extol your fame. For you have done extraordinary things, and executed plans made long ago exactly as you decreed. Indeed, you have made the city into a heap of rubble, the fortified town into a heap of ruins; the fortress of foreigners is no longer a city, it will never be rebuilt. So a strong nation will extol you; the towns of powerful nations will fear you. For you are a protector for the poor, a protector for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm, a shade from the heat. Though the breath of tyrants is like a winter rainstorm, like heat in a dry land, you humble the boasting foreigners. Just as the shadow of a cloud causes the heat to subside, so he causes the song of tyrants to cease. The Lord who commands armies will hold a banquet for all the nations on this mountain. At this banquet there will be plenty of meat and aged wine – tender meat and choicest wine. On this mountain he will swallow up the shroud that is over all the peoples, the woven covering that is over all the nations; he will swallow up death permanently. The sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from every face, and remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. Indeed, the Lord has announced it! At that time they will say, “Look, here is our God! We waited for him and he delivered us. Here is the Lord! We waited for him. Let’s rejoice and celebrate his deliverance!” For the Lord’s power will make this mountain secure. Moab will be trampled down where it stands, as a heap of straw is trampled down in a manure pile. Moab will spread out its hands in the middle of it, just as a swimmer spreads his hands to swim; the Lord will bring down Moab’s pride as it spreads its hands. The fortified city (along with the very tops of your walls) he will knock down, he will bring it down, he will throw it down to the dusty ground.”
— Isaiah 25:1-12
I am no Isaiah expert. It’s often repetitive and themes often overlap. Sometimes, the prophet is discussing past events. Sometimes he is looking forward. (Many times we can’t tell which, or we assume it’s future, when it’s really present events for his own time).
This chapter appears to be praise to God because not only is He powerful and majestic but also faithful. He keeps the plans that He said throughout the ages. The words for faithfulness in v 1 are trustworthy and reliable back to back.
The difficulty I had in reading this was “the city” in v. 2. Would this be Jerusalem, looking forward (or another author/editor looking back)? Is the author speaking proleptically? Since the overall chapter is about God’s rescue of His people and the collapse of the pride, it could be the wicked people of Israel, but there’s enough about their rescue that makes me think this is not Jerusalem’s capture. The destruction of the “fortified city” at the end probably connects the two. Moab is going to be overthrown. Israel’s long time enemy will fall, and the proud will lose their source of boasting.
Then the inhabitants will not only know the power of God but also fear Him. God’s character is one of caring for the poor, the needy, the outcast. I’m assuming by stating these things that Moab’s priorities were not the same as God’s. (We know that Israel often struggled with this, too.)
“All nations” — again my limited knowledge of Isaiah still makes me think of Gen 12:3 where blessing goes out to all through Abraham. Isaiah has a couple verses about Israel being a light to Gentiles/the nations. Though Moab falls, God is going to have a feast for the nations. He is redeeming/restoring the whole world, and ideally, it was going to happen through Israel. Their Messiah represents them and accomplishes the mission.
NET makes a note that ancient cultures had many myths about death’s mouth. It would swallow people. So that YHWH swallows death is shocking. This is the cloud that covers everyone/all nations. Many argue that Daniel 2:12 is the clearest and earliest mention of bodily resurrection in the OT. I don’t know how an ancient people would understand the swallowing of death—maybe not dying to being with. It’s nothing to fear anymore. There may be indications/hints of life after death.
This would be the ultimate rescue. Deliverance from enemies is one thing, but salvation from death-the final enemy-is quite another. Perhaps this chapter uses death as a symbol of Israel’s worst enemies. Whatever the referents, the point is clear that God is more powerful than all. And the proud will not stand before Him.
“Dusty ground” Dust is usually a sign of mortality, from the beginning. All those similes/metaphors at the end for Moab are strong, referencing their weakness compared to YHWH.