Tuesday 9 December 2025
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. (v. 6)
Background
Most of us love parties, celebrations of significant life events – a wedding, a ‘big’ birthday, a reunion of old friends. These are occasions for being thankful, for rejoicing, for renewing relationships, for being at one with each other. And here Isaiah has painted a wonderful picture of just such an occasion – the feast God has prepared for God’s people.
Throughout Scripture, food is associated with rejoicing and celebration. One engaging example is the story of how, after the return of the Israelite nation from exile in Babylon many years later, the prophet Nehemiah asks that the Book of the Law be read to the people and then he tells them, "Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet wine and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared." (Nehemiah 8.10) Hear the word of the Lord – and then celebrate together.
Isaiah was no blind optimist – he recognised that the situation in which the Israelite nation found itself was perilous, threatened as it was by Assyria and neighbouring nations. But his vision stretched beyond the present peril to a future security in God. He highlighted again the presence of God on the mountain (verses 6 and 10) and, in his mind’s eye, he saw the feast prepared by the Lord. Tears will be wiped away, death will be conquered and all that God’s people have feared will disappear. They will rejoice together.
Often when things are difficult and the going is hard, the promise of something bright in the future, perhaps a family event, a gathering of friends, a task finally completed, can keep us going. Things will be better, life will be easier, so we promise ourselves.
And that ultimate heavenly banquet has been prepared for us, as we are reminded when we celebrate together, taking Holy Communion. We take and share bread and wine. It's a foretaste of that banquet when all will be one.
To Ponder:
- Reflect on times when what kept you going was the promise of better things to come. Think of a specific occasion and how it felt when you were there. Are you in a position to share this with someone who was beside you at the time? How was it for them? And how did you celebrate when the cloud had passed?
Prayer
Loving God, as we are gathered, you are with us, as you have been in times of stress and danger. And now you are with us in the good things of life, as we feast on your plenty. Keep us ever aware of your presence at the table. Amen.
Bible notes author: Gillian Kingston
Gillian Kingston is a local preacher on the North Tipperary Circuit of the Methodist Church in Ireland and an ex-Vice President of the World Methodist Council. She was the first Lay Leader of the Conference of the Methodist Church in Ireland. Married to Tom, a retired Methodist minister, and with four adult children, she is also the besotted grandmother of seven beautiful granddaughters and one handsome grandson.