25:1    O LORD, you are my God;

I will exalt you, I will praise your name;

            for you have done wonderful things,

plans formed of old, faithful and sure.

2          For you have made the city a heap,

the fortified city a ruin;

            the palace of aliens is a city no more,

it will never be rebuilt.

3          Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;

cities of ruthless nations will fear you.

4          For you have been a refuge to the poor,

a refuge to the needy in their distress,

a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat.

            When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm,

5                      the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place,

            you subdued the heat with the shade of clouds;

the song of the ruthless was stilled. (Isa. 25:1-5 NRSV)

These verses have been called a “Psalm of Thanksgiving” (Robert C. Dentan, NOAB), but the pattern fits that of many Psalms that are called “Hymns of Praise.” The term “Psalm of Thanksgiving” is fitting because the praise is for a specific occasion of deliverance. But in the style of a “hymn,” God’s name is praised (v. 1a), and the reasons for the praise are indicated by the word “for”(cf. Ps. 136 in which the second line of each verse begins with “for”): “for you have done wonderful things” (v. 1b), “For you have made the city a heap” (v. 2a), “For you have been a refuge to the poor” (v. 4a). The final sentence (vv. 4d, 5), without the word “for,” nevertheless is another reason for praise. The “winter rainstorm” and the “heat” represent the attacks of “the ruthless,” but the LORD has “stilled” these storms.

6          On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples

a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,

of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.

7          And he will destroy on this mountain

the shroud that is cast over all peoples,

the sheet that is spread over all nations;

8                      he will swallow up death forever.

            Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces,

and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,

for the LORD has spoken.

9          It will be said on that day,

Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.

This is the LORD for whom we have waited;

let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

10        For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain. (Isa 25:6-10a NRSV)

These verses present themes that resemble later eschatological works. The feast “for all peoples”is explained by J. J. M. Roberts (HarperCollins Study Bible): “A new king celebrated his accession by providing a feast for his supporters (1 Kings 1:24-25.” Adonijah’s banquet demonstrated his desire to succeed David as king (cf. Vv. 18-19), but he was not able to prevail against the supporters of Solomon (vv. 32-53). Jesus’ Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Mt. 22:1-14) distinguishes those who “were not worthy” (v. 8) from the “few” who “are chosen” (v. 14), which in turn anticipates one of the final scenes in Revelation. “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev. 19:9). The Lord God’s wiping “away the tears from all faces” (Isa. 25:8) is also reflected in Revelation (Rev. 7:17; 21:4).

9 I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” (Rev. 1:9-11 NRSV)

The message of the Book of Revelation came to John as a vision. “I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day,” he says (v. 10), and the voice said, “Write in a book what you see” (v. 11).

12 Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. 14 His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force. (Rev. 1:12-16 NRSV)

The vision of Christ, “the Son of Man” among the churches (the “lampstands”) is awesome. His “royalty, eternity, wisdom and immutability are suggested by means of symbols; the effect is that of terrifying majesty” (Bruce M. Metzger, NOAB, on vv. 12-116).

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. 19 Now write what you have seen, what is, and what is to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. (Rev. 1:17-20 NRSV)

Christ reassures John, “Do not be afraid” (v. 17), and reminds him that he (Christ) has the power of life and death (“the keys of Death and of Hades,” v. 18). He explains that “the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches,” that is, the “seven lampstands” (v. 20).

[[ 53 Then each of them went home,8 1 while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”]] (Jn. 7:53-8:11 NRSV)

The square brackets, [[ . . . ]], are a reminder: “The most ancient authorities lack 7:53-8:11; other authorities add the passage here or after 7:36 or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38, with variations of text; some mark the passage as doubtful” (NRSV footnote k). This variation in New Testament manuscripts is understood to mean that the passage was not a part of the original manuscript of John’s Gospel. But it is also usually understood that the passage describes an authentic event in Jesus’ ministry–he really was confronted by this situation and responded as the passage says: “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (v. 7). “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again” (v. 11). We can be grateful for a Lord who regards sin as a serious matter, but who recognizes the supreme value of persons whom he seeks to redeem. That’s the problem with sin, you know. It injures persons created in God’s image.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com