Notes on Isaiah 25 and 26

Isaiah 25:2 — For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.

Strangers are people you don't know. Strangers to God are people who don't know God. To know (Hebrew: yada) God, is to be in a covenant relationship with Him. This verse is another way of saying a house not built on the rock of Christ will fall. If we do not know God, there will be no palace built - all our efforts will be vain.

Isaiah 25:5 — Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.

The world is full of noise and tumult that tries to distract us from the truth of our divine heritage. As we turn to the Lord, He can help us see through that noise. When we focus on the still small voice of the Holy Ghost, we can tune out the song of the terrible ones. Additionally, in the millennium, the noise will be banished completely.

Isaiah 25:8 — 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.

Such a beautiful verse. He has swallowed up death in victory, and we can find peace in Him. Notice it doesn't say that we won't ever have tears but that He will wipe them away. Life will have sorrow and difficulties, it's supposed to, but as we lean on our Savior, He will swallow up our sorrow and bring us Joy.

Isaiah 26:4 — Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:

As we trust in the Lord, and build upon the rock of His foundation, we will have strength to endure anything and always find joy. Similar to the previous verse in Isaiah where He will wipe away our tears - we will still have tears and sadness, but he will comfort us and turn sorrow into joy - there will still be difficult challenges in life, but trusting in the Lord and sharing His yoke will enable us to rely upon His everlasting strength to overcome such trials.

Isaiah 26:13 — O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.

14 — They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.

13 and 14 refer to dumb idols that do not speak, hear, or live. Anything we prioritize above God becomes an idol, and all fade with time. I line verse 13 because we have all had our own idols, but the choice to put them away and only make mention of our Savior and commit to only serving Him, is the path to joy and eternal life. We we trust God, put all our faith in Him and reserve none for the arm of man - what a beautiful state of joy we find.

Isaiah 26:19 — Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

Jesus Christ overcame death and the earth cast out His body (He left the tomb) because no prison could hold the master of all things.