He will swallow up death forever

"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. 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 25:8-10 

        He will swallow up death forever. I can't seem to get past that first line. The astounding part is the 11 chapters before this is essentially about the destruction of certain cities. Chapter 24 is labeled "Destruction of the whole earth" and starts out by saying,
       "Behold, the Lord will empty the earth and make is desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants."
         How amazing is that? So much destruction is described and even as I was reading, I thought when will this end? Then I found myself upon chapter 25. Where Gods mercy is disabled in epic proportions. God's power and just nature was shown through the oracles of chapters 15-23 and now God's grace for a broken and sinful people is displayed in chapter 25.

What beautiful words to hear on a snowy december morning.

"He will swallow up death forever."

My God is astounding.