| 6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. 7 And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. 9 It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” – Isaiah 25:6–9 (ESV)
Ok… so you know my upbringing was a little… ah, what should I call it… different. I was raised in Indonesia where my parents served as missionaries. Not only is Indonesia a third-world country, but the remote areas live in Stone Age era ways. We lived a more modern life with a kerosene-powered refrigerator and a generator that gave 4 hours of electricity each day. Everything was hand-washed, hand-made, and hand-picked. We lived organically and free-range before that was a thing.
So imagine my surprise when, on a home visit in New Jersey, my grandma told me we were going to have a banquet for dinner, and she pulled out a box of Salisbury Steak Dinner! I had never seen a tray with sections of seasoned ground beef full of fillers, instant mashed potatoes, and rubbery peas and carrots! I’m salivating now as I walk down this part of memory lane! I’ve had a misunderstanding of what a banquet is ever since, so be careful if you ever get invited to a banquet at my house!
Thankfully, we have a much better banquet in our future. Isaiah 25:6-9 speaks of a feast in the future of “rich food, well-aged wine, and marrow well-refined” that we will enjoy with the Messiah when our relationship with Him is unhindered by sin, death is no more, and all our tears are wiped away. Trust me, it will be far better than a Banquet TV Dinner. And you are invited! As we’ll see in Luke 14:12-24, Jesus tells a parable that invites you to the Great Banquet but warns that some will not be at the table. I invite you to come see this next Kingdom Code!
Now off to find more of that Salisbury Steak!
Pastor Nate Newell |
