A translation and sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church, 07 Jan 2006
O Jehovah, you are my God;
I will exalt you; I will praise Your Name,
for You have done a wonderful thing,
plans from of old, faithful and true.
(2) For You have appointed
from the city to the heap,
a walled city to a ruin;
a foreigners' palace from being the city;
never will it be built.
(3) Therefore a strong people will glorify You;
Walled cities of ruthless nations will fear You.
(4) For You have been a stronghold to the poor,
a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm, a shade from the heat;
for the breath of the ruthless is
like a storm of a wall,
(5) like heat in a dry place.
You subdue the noise of the foreigners;
heat by the shade of a cloud,
the song of the ruthless is put down.
(6) On this mountain Jehovah of Hosts will make for all the peoples
a rich feast,
a feast of aged wine,
of rich things full of marrow,
of refined, aged wine.
(7) And he will swallow up on this mountain
the face of the covering that is covering all the peoples
and the veil that is spread over all the nations.
(8) He has swallowed up death forever;
and Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the shame of His people He will take away from over all the earth,
for Jehovah has spoken.
(9) And one will say on that day,
"Look, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He saved us.
This is Jehovah; we have waited for Him; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation."
(10) For the hand of Jehovah will rest on this mountain,
and Moab will be trampled down under it,
as straw is trampled down in the water of a dump.
(11) And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it
as a swimmer is spread out to swim,
and He will lay low his arrogance with the ambush of His hands.
(12) And the high fortification of your walls He has
brought down,
laid low,
and cast to the earth,
until they are dust.
i. We studied that end last Sunday; God’s eternal plan to bring glory to Himself.
ii. The plan is “sure” to come to pass (ESV), it’s “true” (KJV), it’s “perfectly faithful” (NAS, NIV)
i. View West from Jerusalem across Jordan valley = the enemy
ii. Picture of God smashing His enemies to dust with His hand
1. Three words having to do with God coming near: “rest” in v.10, “in the midst/near” in v.11, and “cast – literally cause to touch”
2. God’s hand comes near and pounds them, “threshing or trampling” in v. 10, “laying low” in v.11, and then three verbs like 3 hammer blows in v.12 that pound the arrogant into powder.
3. Most English translations have the word “dunghill” in v. 10 but the word is only used of unburied corpses rotting in the fields.
4. The word for “dunghill/dump” is spelled about the same in Hebrew as the name of a city in Moab called “Madmen” – so there may be a play on words here.
5. An alternate way of reading v.11 is to see Moab personified as a man who has been knocked face down in a cesspool and is swimming and trying to pull himself back out.
6. The point is that the arrogant face a really gross and humiliating end.
i. The root word for “stronghold” has to do with “strength”
ii. It is in contrast to the ruined city of v.2, the walled city of v.3, and the fortified walls of v.12; God’s strength will not be pulled down!
iii. Isa 4:5-6 “Then the LORD will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. (6) There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.
i. God is a stronghold for the poor and needy.
1. Unless we recognize our spiritual poverty and need for a savior, He will not be our refuge.
2. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in heart, for they shall see God.”(Mat. 5:8)
3. There is hope for the strong and ruthless, however, because some of them turned to revere God when He broke them down in v.3 and become His people.
4. There is hope for the people crushed into dust in v. 12, because in Isa 26:19 it says, “You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!”
ii. We need God’s protection because (“for”) we have enemies
1. “The breath of the ruthless” in v.4 is the same as the “noise of the foreigners” and “the song of the ruthless” in v. 5 – they are our enemies.
2. One picture is that of our enemies as a raging storm in which God is a sheltering wall that protects us.
3. The other picture is that of our enemies as sweltering heat in which God is a cloud that brings soothing shade – what a welcome relief on a hot day!
4. Last week, I mentioned the world, the flesh and the Devil - who is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. These are our enemies, and we need protection from them.
We’ve seen what God’s stronghold is and why He offers it to us, so now…
i. v.5 - by conquering our enemies (already covered this point)
ii. v. 6 - by feasting us
1. Lit “fat” and “keepings” i.e. Marbled steak and aged wine
2. The BEST - Fillet mignon and Dom Perignon! – God is not cheap
3. God promises a feast at the end of time:
a. Jesus talked about it in His parable of the wedding feast in Matt. 22
b. God talks about it also in Rev 19:9 “And the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true words of God.’” You can count on this feast being good!
iii. v.7-8 – God blesses us by destroying death
1. The “covering” and “veil” = signs of morning, explained in v.8 as “death”
2. Over “all peoples…all nations” – all mankind affected by death
3. How God destroyed death – through the death of Jesus on the cross!
a. Heb. 2:14-15 “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself [Jesus] likewise partook of the same things [flesh and blood], that through death [His death on the cross] He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, (15) and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”
b. 1Cor. 15:22-26 “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (23) But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming, those who belong to Christ. (24) Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. (25) For He must reign until He has put all his enemies under His feet. (26) The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”
4. Note that death is destroyed incrementally
a. Belief in Jesus means we cross from death to life
i. “Whoever believes in me shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16)
ii. Joh 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
b. Death cannot sting for we have hope (I Pet 1:3)
i. Illustration of Dad taking bee sting for his son
c. Death finally swallowed up at Jesus’ 2nd coming: 1 Cor. 15:52-57 “For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. (53) For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. (54) When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ (55) ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ (56) The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. (57) But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
iv. v.8 – Finally, God blesses us by removing tears & shame (outward and inward)
1. God removes our shame:
a. Sin
is the inward, root cause of all our suffering, tears and shame
What a fantastic promise to remove our sin and same!
b. Isa 54:4 “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.”
c. Ps. 103:12 – “As far as East is from the West, so far has He removed our sin from us”
d. Col 1:22 “He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him.”
e. Rom 10:11 “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
2. God promises to wipe away our tears:
a. Rev 7:15-17 “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. (16) They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. (17) For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
b. Rev 21:4 “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Can you imagine never again having a reason to cry?
And one [one of God’s people from v.8] will say on that day,
"Look, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He saved us.
This is Jehovah; we have waited for Him; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation."
Humanists are trying to roll this curse back through technology, but only God will really do it and leave us saying, “Yes! That’s my God!”
Everyone is invited to the Feast— From the greatest to the least.
The cost was great—the price is free; The Centerpiece is Calvary.
The golden cups are filled with wine, Fresh from the veins of the One True Vine.
The sweet, sweet bread that is offered there, Is the privilege of answered prayer.
The banners high across that place, Proclaim the Master's love and grace.
Great walls surround the banquet room, Protecting all from Judgement's doom.
The Hall is filled with brilliant Light— It's Source—the Host in Glory bright.
Outside are storms of death and hell, But at this Banquet all is well.
Peace, perfect peace, the air doth fill So come, partake, whoever will!
A Gentle Hand wipes tears away And dark of night breaks into day!!
Don't hesitate for lack of dress, 'Though what's required is Holiness,
The Bridegroom waits to welcome you With wedding garment pure and new.
O, such a Feast—O, such a Host!! Lift high His praise and raise a toast
Of praise and glory—worship true, With nail-pierced hands He welcomes YOU!
O, take that hand, receive that grace, And gaze upon His glorious face.
Then reach to others lost outside— Invite them, too, to be His Bride.
The door will close – the guests complete – Leave none outside, their doom to meet.