Isaiah 25:8
8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
When I came across this verse this morning, there were 3 realities of life and a fourth that is the remedy to the previous 3.
Reality one: Death
Death has been swallowing up mankind since our first father Adam sinned and death entered into this world. No matter how great he was, there seemed to be no man who could offer any release from death’s jaws. We have the record of 2 men who never tasted death, Elijah and Enoch. While they never tasted death, they could not do anything for the ones they left behind. Death is a reality that every man must face because all men are sinners. No matter how victorious a man might become in this life, none ever could defeat death. They may have dodged it a time or two, or so they thought, but in the end, every man has an appointment with Death that you will not miss.
Reality 2: Tears
Living in a sin-cursed world causes many tears. Some tears are pressed out of us through the struggles and trials of life in this world of death. Some are over the failures of others, some because of our failures. Sin takes our loved ones and kills their quality of life before it takes them. The list could go on and on; not one person on this earth has lived and died without having their faces stained with tears. Tears are a reality in this world, a universal language.
Reality 3: Rebuke
Then there is the rebuke or disgrace of his people. As followers of the unseen hand, we seem to be fools to the world around us. They can't see the unseen hand that guides us, nor can they feel the influence of God in their lives. They suppose that it is a delusion we are guided by. They say things like: “Don’t you know you only have one life to live?” “Why waste your time with all this morality and good works?” From their perspective, they can’t see how living for a God we’ve never seen, or living the example of a man we’ve never met benefits us at all. Christians die, Christians suffer, sometimes greater than most so what’s the point? This kind of thinking causes them not only to want nothing to do with God but to rebuke and disgrace those who do. They take their final seat, “The seat of the scornful,” and they make their life goal to scorn and rebuke and scoff, and we are called to take it, turn the other cheek, and be as Christ when they laughed and mocked and rebuked and scorned and nailed him to the cross. Rebuke is a reality in this life, especially for the Christian, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” [2 Tim 3:12]
Remedy: The Promises of God
There is an additional reality, which is the solution to these troubles, as well as all that has occurred or will occur - the promises of God. Note the certainty with which he speaks: "He will swallow up death in victory." "The Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces." "The rebuke of his people he will take away from all the earth." He will and He shall, there is no hint of doubt in these words - these are certainties! Just as certain as death is, so is victory over death in Christ Jesus. Just as certain as tears are in this life, so is their absence in the life to come. Just as certain as rebuke may be in this life, so is its removal from the entire earth. The people in Isaiah's time were uncertain about how this would happen, they knew a Messiah was coming to fulfill God's promises, to conquer death, wipe away tears, and remove rebuke, but they did not know him. That is not the case for us - this man's name is Jesus. He conquered death on the cross at Calvary, he was the only man who ever "tasted death." Death was so powerful that to taste it meant to be consumed by it, but our Lord tasted it for three days, and death was defeated and had to release our Lord, and when he rose from the grave, he held the keys to death. Dear reader, Jesus conquered death, and that is our only hope beyond the grave - to be in Christ, place your faith in him and you can declare like Paul, "O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?" [1 Corinthians 15:55]
Without a doubt, tears have been a reality for you, but there is a reality that makes up for all the tears of this lifetime: the removal of all of them in the life to come! In Christ Jesus, we have the hope of a world with no death, no sin, and therefore no tears! No longer will our hearts be crushed by inward sins, nor will death take our loved ones. Tears are precious to Him in this life, but in the life to come, there will be no sad tears at all. If any tears fall, they will be only happy, joyful tears of worship and adoration, the kind we welcome.
Rebuke will have passed off the scene, all our rebuke was placed on Jesus. He was bruised for us, despised and rejected for us. In this life, we will bear a cross, but remember that he bore the heavier end of that cross. Like Simon who bore the cross behind Christ, so are we. That was not an act of kindness on the part of the Romans, but rather an act of torture. Christ would have been under the crossbeam, and when Simon lifted his end, he bore the light end, and the heavy end pressed more harshly into the open shoulders of our Lord. Remember, Christian, in this life as you bear the cross of reproach that he has borne the heavier end, and that one day very soon, the cross of reproach will be laid aside. Death will swallow up these bodies, but up from the grave, we will raise in the likeness of our Lord! We shall be like Him! In the world to come, no death, no tears, no rebuke! All of these will have passed away! What a day that will be!
What is our confidence? How can we be sure? “The LORD hath spoken it.” Jehovah has said so, the great I AM, the creator, the almighty, the all-knowing, all-good, has said so. He has the power to bring such things to pass, he set this world into motion by his word, He upholds it by his word, he spoke peace to our hearts by his word, and we haven’t any reason to doubt that his word can carry out what he says it will. All of these things are realities, certainties, what is left to question is whether or not you will be a part of this world. All the woes of this world find their remedy in one man, Jesus Christ. If you are outside of him then death, tears, and rebuke are the only reality you know, but Jesus Christ is a reality friend, not a fantasy. You can find victory over death, relief from sorrows, and glory in rebuke. What reality are you living in?
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