GOD'S BOUNTIFUL FEAST -- Tomorrow:
"And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined." KJV (Isaiah 25:6)
The abundance of salvation can certainly be more fully known than is common in our time. Satan has extended himself to corrupt man's view of this salvation. He is pictured as spewing a torrential flood out of his mouth "that he might cause her (the church) to be carried away of the flood" (Rev 12:15). Part of that flood is the distortion of the Gospel and a misrepresentation of what God has prepared for those who love Him. If our adversary cannot completely remove the truth, he will do his utmost to corrupt it.
In this regard, one evidence of Satan's aggression is the general ignorance of the plenitude provided in salvation. Often it is associated with restriction and boredom, as though being delivered from sin took more from us than was brought to us. With fervency we must labor to dispel this delusion.
The 25th chapter of Isaiah is a prophecy of the day of salvation in which we live. It would be characterized by the overthrow of the saint's enemies (vs 1-5). The veil of ignorance that had been spread over the nations would be lifted, so the Lord could be plainly seen, and His gracious purpose comprehended (v 7). The day would not close until death had been swallowed up in victory, all tears wiped from the faces of His people, and their reproach removed by the hand of the Lord (vs 7-8). Speaking to faith, the Lord adds, "For the LORD has spoken it" (v 8). The promise is sure!
And what does the Lord say of this great salvation? What will be its traits, its characteristics, or its attributes? First, it is something the Lord MAKES: "The Lord of hosts SHALL MAKE . . . " Salvation is not something men achieve, discover, or construct. It is the "Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes" (Psa 118:23).
Second, it is a "FEAST," abundant and divers in its offerings: "the LORD of hosts make unto all people A FEAST." Jesus likened the day of salvation to a great marriage feast in which He "prepared My dinner: My oxen and My fatlings are killed" (Matt 22:4). Jesus accented this aspect of salvation when He said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
Third, the provisions are rich, nourishing, and of the highest quality: "rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine-- the best of meats and the finest of wines" (NIV). In Christ, God provides the very best for His children. Salvation is driven by the Lord's "glory and virtue," or His finest and most productive qualities (2 Pet 1:3).
Salvation does not bring the second best of anything. It does not leave the soul unsatisfied, or provide things that quickly dissipate or have no nourishing value. When the souls of the saints are not nourished and satisfied, whatever they received was disassociated from God's great salvation. It did not come from Jesus, nor was the Holy Spirit the Minister of it. Everything about salvation is good and satisfying, abundant and spiritually nutritious. This is what God had given to us in Jesus. Take full advantage of it.
PRAYER POINT: Father, I thank You through Jesus Christ for Your satisfying, effective, and productive salvation.