The Most Lavish Feast

1 O Lord, I will honor and praise your name,
for you are my God.
You do such wonderful things!
You planned them long ago,
and now you have accomplished them.
2 You turn mighty cities into heaps of ruins.
Cities with strong walls are turned to rubble.
Beautiful palaces in distant lands disappear
and will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore, strong nations will declare your glory;
ruthless nations will fear you.

4 But you are a tower of refuge to the poor, O Lord,
a tower of refuge to the needy in distress.
You are a refuge from the storm
and a shelter from the heat.
For the oppressive acts of ruthless people
are like a storm beating against a wall,
5 or like the relentless heat of the desert.
But you silence the roar of foreign nations.
As the shade of a cloud cools relentless heat,
so the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled.

6 In Jerusalem, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will spread a wonderful feast
for all the people of the world.
It will be a delicious banquet
with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat.
7 There he will remove the cloud of gloom,
the shadow of death that hangs over the earth.
8 He will swallow up death forever!
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears.
He will remove forever all insults and mockery
against his land and people.
The Lord has spoken!

9 In that day the people will proclaim,
“This is our God!
We trusted in him, and he saved us!
This is the Lord, in whom we trusted.
Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!”

Have you heard of Kobe beef? It comes from Japan and makes for the most expensive steaks in the world—more than $250 for an eight-ounce serving. But this hefty price pales in comparison to three bottles of 1869 vintage wine that sold for a record $230,000 each at an auction in Hong Kong!

I doubt that many of us will ever feast on a Kobe beef steak or 19th-century wines. Personally, I am not too worried about that. But I do hope we will see each other at a great banquet described by the prophet Isaiah. This is a special feast that is yet to happen. The Lord will gather his people from all over the world. The best cuts of meat and aged wines will be served. Something tells me those steaks and wines will be much better than the most coveted foods of today.

What’s the reason for this lavish celebration? It’s the sovereign Lord’s victory over death, the complete elimination of all mourning and suffering.

We know that on the cross Jesus dealt a mortal blow to death. Because of that, we know we can lean on him as we face this last enemy. Our physical death cannot break our relationship with the life-giving Savior. We are with Christ in death. And, amazingly, we can look forward to Christ’s banquet table, where we will celebrate God’s complete victory over death and evil.

Father, thank you for saving us. As your people, we are under your care, waiting for the wonderful banquet celebrating your victory. What a celebration that will be! Amen.