By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
March 31, 2024
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Isaiah 25:6–9 (ESV)
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.”
He is Risen!
For two thousand years we have celebrated this day. We sing for joy. We shout with excitement. We rejoice. We celebrate this day!
Today is the day that all creation reaches toward. It is the day the stars, the moon, and the sun yearn to participate in. We yearn for this day above all days because it is on this day that hope is restored. Redemption is secured, and life is renewed. We celebrate this day, but do we live as if the events that occurred on this day are reality?
For centuries, the peoples of the world have longed for this day. Every language, every tribe, every nation on the face of the earth sought for this day above all other days, even though they may not understand the reality.
From the dispersion of the nations at Babel, the Most High God had enacted a plan. From the Days of Noah, Yahweh had a desire to redeem the people of this world. From the fall in Eden when humanity joined the spiritual rebellion, God had restoration in play.
In Eden, God spoke to our first parents. We often look at the results of fall as the curse God placed on humanity. The curse was that by the sweat of our brow we would work the earth that would yield thorns and thistles. The curse was that in labor we would bear and raise children. And at the end of our lives, we would return to the dust of which we were created. Because we are but dust. Humanity is of the earth, but we are more.
God looked at the world he created, he gazed upon the sun and the moon. The oceans and the land. The majestic trees and the rolling prairies, and he announced that this is good. But there was more he looked around at those beings surrounding him as the earth sprouted to life and he said, “Let us make man in our image.” Let us create for this beautiful paradise a being to be our representative, our ambassador, connecting the physical with the spiritual.
We fell. We rebelled. We turned our back on our creator and the image we bore.
Our ancestors sought knowledge of good and evil on their own terms. And this shaded our sight.
God in his growing concern over humanity chose to preserve creation through one family, Noah. The entire world turned from God and sought knowledge that was not intended for them at that time. They gained this knowledge through deeper rebellion; they made pacts with the beings of darkness. And these beings brought deeper darkness into the world. They brought greed, jealousy, fear, and violence. It is not that we were not capable without them, but we wanted greater power over those that could come against us. The growing disillusion between us threatened creation, and we became our greatest enemy. So, God chose to initiate a system reboot, by sending a flood.
God started over with Noah, but eventually collective humanity once again desired to rise. We wanted to be equal to God instead of mere bearers of His Image. God provided an answer to our heart’s desire. Our desire was to be our own god. He divided the nations and confused our languages. We scattered though the whole earth, creating cultures and societies. But when our nations met, we were driven by fear and hatred. Just as in the days of Noah we began striving to create tools to give us the upper hand. We were trapped in an endless cycle of violence and death.
Scripture tells us that the nations of the world were divided among the sons of God, but The Most High God chose one nation from among them to be his inheritance. Through this one people, he would initiate redemption and reverse the corruption and failures of our most ancient of parents.
God did not choose the greatest nation. He did not choose the one with the most resources, or the strongest army. God chose one man who at the time did not even have an heir. It is through Abraham that God would conduct his redemptive work. To this one-man God promised to make a great nation. Through this one-man God would shine light into the darkness and draw all the nations back to himself.
This is God’s plan, but the shades of disillusion veil our sight. We became incapable of seeing the one beside us as being a fellow bearer of God’s image. Instead, we see race, nationality, gender. We see the things that divide instead of the beauty of Eden’s Garden.
This disillusion becomes more skewed, and our fears grow. Eventually even the people who called by God’s name began to act in the manner of the kingdoms of men. They too desired wealth, power, and security. They, like each of us, sought what was best for themselves. Generation after generation we drifted away from the God that continuously called to us. We allowed the darkness to envelop us, and death took control.
These are the warnings that Isaiah gave to that generation of Israel before their exile. He showed them how they had fallen away. How they had become the very thing they opposed. They wanted to follow God, to be the light to the nations, but they, in their righteousness, and their greed began to snuff out the glowing embers of light God called them to feed.
What is the result of our rebellion? We often sit and wonder why God would allow evil, why God would allow dreadful things to happen to people. The reality is that we have all sinned, we have all missed the mark, we all fail. We live within cultures that perpetuate ideas that harbor greater divisions and jealousy. We ask why does God allow terrible things to happen? The answer is right here in this very room.
We allow it. We allow it through our own understandings of good and evil. We allow it because we often look at our good at the expense of the good for others. We can become the evil that haunts others’ lives. We can become the instruments promoting injustice for others. We can even, in our righteousness, be blind to our own apathy and desires.
Isaiah knew this. Isaiah saw this, experienced it. Isaiah watched as these things occurred in the royal courts. And he knew where it would lead because we all are caught in these cycles. Cycles of wealth and greed. Cycles of power and violence. He spoke out against what he saw. He told the people that that life and lifestyle will lead to destruction, but his own people failed to listen.
Yet even when we reject the wisdom and leading of God. God remains. He continues to work things together for those who love him and participate in his kingdom work. He works, even when he is seemingly nowhere to be seen.
God is working, and Isaiah reminds us that God will complete his work.
“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.”
Last evening, our family celebrated this day. We celebrated by eating our signature Kansas City Barbecue. We had ribs, burnt ends, beans, cheesy corn, the works. This is what I imagine Isaiah is speaking of. The English Standard Version translates it as rich food, but more accurately it would fatty food. This is not speaking about chocolate cake, even though I would take a slice of that too. This is speaking of USDA Prime cuts of meat. Well marbled and cooked to perfection. It also speaks of marrow. Marrow in ancient times was considered a delicacy. It was rich in nutrients and abundant in flavor. Today we do not enjoy this as much, but we can go to the store and purchase bone broth. The marrow provided favorable seasonings. This feast, this banquet holds nothing back.
Then there is the wine. We as Friends are not as fluent as some regarding wine. In the ancient mid-East wine was part of every meal. But this wine is not normal everyday wine, this is well-aged well refined wine. This is the wine that saved for the best of days. This banquet on the mountain is that type of day. One to remember.
“On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples.” Lord of hosts is an interesting phrase and one we may not fully explore. The term host usually refers to a large assembly of troops gathered and ready for battle. But there is another way to look at this phrase. Hosts can also refer to celestial bodies like the sun, the moon, and the stars. Today we see the stars as gigantic masses of incandescent gas and the moon we know as being a sphere of rock and dust that reflects the rays of the sun. In ancient days, these heavenly hosts were seen as spiritual entities. The lord of hosts is the Most High God over heaven and earth. And when the nations were divided among the sons of God, God did not relinquish ownership of the peoples of the earth. He limited himself to one nation. Waiting for the moment where he could once again gather all the peoples of the earth to him.
On this day, this very day we celebrate that gathering. He swallowed up the mountain. He destroyed the covering that had been cast over all peoples. He ripped the veil that shaded the truth from our sight. When our first parents first rebelled against God, we were separated from life. God is the source of all life; he is the one that sang the world into existence. Separation entered the world, and the tune of creation became faint, muffled as our ears and eyes were veiled. This separation from the life giver is death.
“He will swallow up death forever.” The use of death here, is not how we often regard death. Death is the absence of life; it is separation from life. But here we are not speaking of death in an abstract concept. Here Isaiah is speaking of death not as an event at the end of life instead he speaks of Death as a personality. In most Old Testament poetry, Death, or Mot, is personified. Mot is present in the religious pantheon of Ur though not worshiped as a deity. Mot was regarded as the enemy of the gods. In Ur, the Most High God is El, which is the name Abraham knew as God because it was from Ur God had called him. And Ba’al was the son of El. Ba’al was the one that brought life and fertility. Mot brought sterility. Ba’al provided the rain for abundant crops. Mot brought heat and drought. Every good thing that Ba’al brought, Mot provided the opposite. Mot was the consumer of gods and men. His tools were bereavement and widowhood, and his children were disease, disillusionment, and famine.
I know we get a bit queasy when we speak of Ba’al in a seemingly positive light. But these stories were the ones that Abraham grew up hearing it was often through these lenses that our patriarchs of faith viewed the world. Yes, they believed in the Most High God, but other spiritual entities were also present. These are part of the veil that covers us. In the mind of Isaiah, death was not the end of life, death is a person.
For many years this was one of the areas of faith that caused me to struggle. We sing songs of faith that claim that death no longer has power over us, and yet death has always been and remains part of life. We say that Jesus has conquered death, and yes, he rose from the tomb in the fulfillment of his glory. But many people of faith, inspiring people, saintly people die.
But when we look at death in a personified form things take a turn. The Christian view is that the wage of sin is death. Death is everything and anything that separates us from the giver of life. Death is a person. Death is an entity. Death is the diseases that cause us to question our faith. Death is the fear that causes disillusion, and the famine that caused by wars and disasters.
I contemplated this concept the past few days. I looked at the idea of death not as the nature end to life, but as the outcome of our actions. We bring about death, we cause much of the suffering those within the world experience. We, not necessarily us directly, but we as peoples of the world. It is the nations of the world that start and perpetuate war. It is we as the peoples of the world that grow food and lock it away in silos while people throughout the world hunger. We as collective humanity in our pursuit to do good by one group, cause harm to another. We may not see it or understand our place within that cycle but that is because a veil is spread over us. Muting the cries and skewing our vision.
“The Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth.”
As I contemplate the death that I have participated in, I then sat with these statements. The Lord will wipe away the tears. The lord will provide comfort to those that have suffered under the scepter of bereavement and widowhood. The lord will remove the indignity and dishonor so many have experienced through the various actions of the kingdoms of men. The lord will reverse the influence passed down to us from spirits of rebellion and death. God himself will swallow all that separates us from life and will renew a right spirit in us. He will split the veil, so we can see each other once again. He will open our ears, so we can once again sing along with the songs of creation.
“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.”
The kingdoms of men want us to live in fear. The spirits of this world, the spirits of rebellion and death want us to stay engulfed and trapped within the shadow’s veil. They want us to think that there is not enough. They want us to believe the lie that some peoples are different than others. They want us divided and bound in the grip of death. We see it in the news. We hear about it in every commercial break. Our bookshelves are filled with publications, both sacred and secular, that ooze fear and disillusionment.
It makes me wonder what it is we believe.
“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.’
From the initial rebellion in the garden, God has been at work among his people. He provided for his creation through the troubles that caused the flood. He chose one nation in all the earth to become a beacon of light to the all the peoples. The Torah speaks of this hope. The prophets sing of his redemption. And in the fullness of time God came to this earth born of Mary. He lived among a family within a community. He worked with his hands alongside his uncles and cousins. He grew in knowledge of man and of God. He lived with us. He showed us what life with God truly is as he made it his custom to worship with his community. As he withdrew to isolated places to pray. And as he ministered to the needs of those around him. He showed us real life as he lifted the veil and renewed the song of creation in our ears.
The crowds responded and cheered hosannah blessed is the one who comes in name of the Lord. He is with us. But death and his children are will not go quietly. Within a week the cheers and the songs were muted. The veil was lowered once again. The injustice of humanity in their attempts to keep the peace, sentenced an innocent man to die. He suffered with us, for us. He knows our tears. He knows the anxiety, the depression, heartbreak, and betrayal. He knows pain. He knows death.
Death thought it swallowed the life. Death believed that the light was extinguished, entombed, and sealed behind a stone. But we have waited. We have longed. We have hoped.
Behold, this is our God. Death could not hold him, and the sting of death can no longer threaten us. Because God is with us. God is for us. He is Risen and we will rejoice in his salvation. He is risen and we will no longer be prey to fear. He is risen, we will no longer endure dishonor and we will not participate in injustice. Because all the peoples of the earth have access to the banquet of rich and flavorful meats. Our cups are filled with the most refreshing of drinks. The veil has been ripped and tossed to the side. Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, lives so that we can live with him!
He lives. Do we truly believe? Do we live in that reality or are we dwelling in the shadows of death? I pray that we believe. I pray that we will become a people loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit, and a people living the love of Christ with others. I pray that we will live in the light of Christ and not disillusioned by the fear the world seeks to bind us in. He lives and so do we.
Previous Messages:
Broken Dreams Restored
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 05, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili John 20:1–18 (ESV) 1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the…
The Mind of Christ
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church March 29, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Query 3: Do you attend regularly the services of your church and participate in them actively? Do you prayerfully endeavor to minister, under the guidance of the Holy…
Walk as Children of Light
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church March 15, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Ephesians 5:8–14 (ESV) 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit…
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Several nights ago, in the middle of the night, I heard the words whispered in my mind, “this is our God.” A few days later I saw the announcement of your blog post. My heart stirred within me when I saw the title; a confirmation of the words I had heard in the night. So, two things. First, thank you for what you wrote. The second thing, I feel led to share with you something that was opened to me during our (New Foundation Fellowship) 90 minute worship session on Saturday evening. I will put that into a separate comment
Posted by Ellis Hein | April 3, 2024, 9:55 PMSecond comment: Jesus told his disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”
Why make disciples of all nations? Because they have all abandoned the life mankind was created to live. They have abandoned the image of God and instead of living beings, they are lifeless.
So, I am brought back to the Garden and I hear the Voice of the Lord walking in the Garden calling, “Ha-a-dam where are you? Ha-a-dam, where are you?”
Mankind, finding they are naked, have hidden themselves. Then the Voice of the Lord asks, “Why are you here?” Ha-a-dam explains they have hidden because they found they were naked.
This nakedness is not a lack of clothing. Eventhough they covered themselves with “fig leaves” (and later animal skins) nakedness remained. This nakedness is the absence of life, the absence of the breath (spirit) that made them living beings. And only the covering of life does away with the nakedness. So how are we to be reclothed in life?
Joel stated,”And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my breath upon all flesh…”
“The breath? Yes, the breath provides the life I so want,” cries lifeless Adam.
How are we to obtain this life that does away with our nakedness?
John stated in his prologue how the breath that breathed life into man is an intelligible Word, who was in the beginning and is the creator of all things. In the Word is life and the life is the light of mankind. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” Jesus, this Word made flesh, stated: “The flesh profits nothing, it is the breath that gives life. THE WORDS I SPEAK TO YOU, these are breath, these are life.”
So we come to the third question: “Are you listening to the words I speak to you?”
These three questions give us a glimpse of the essence of the Creator:
• Adam, where are you?
• Adam, why are you here?
• Adam, are you listening to me?
Now, returning to our task of “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…” we see that we are to search, calling out to lifeless humanity, “Where are you?” “Why are you here?” “Will you listen to the Word made flesh who has the words of life?” Those who hunger after life will respond. Those who are proud of their fig leaves will spurn your efforts. And so we are to immerse those who seek life into the essence, the character, the authority (the name) of the Father who seeks for his lost sheep; into the essence, the character, the authority (the name) of the Son who speaks the words of life into the hearts of all who will hear; and into the essence, the character, the authority (the name) of the Holy Spirit who brings to the Son all who set their heart on finding life.
Posted by Ellis Hein | April 3, 2024, 9:56 PMThank you for sharing this Ellis. I truly hope we will all begin to once again see each other as fellow image bearers and living accordingly.
Posted by jwquaker | April 3, 2024, 10:01 PM