Ver. 6. "_And in this mountain the Lord of hosts maketh unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of lees well-refined._ Ver 7. _And destroyeth in the mountain the surface of the vail covering all the nations, and the covering cast upon all the nations._ Ver. 8. _And destroyeth death for ever, and the Lord Jehovah wipeth away the tears from off all faces, and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from of all the earth; for the Lord hath spoken._" "In this mountain," ver. 6, where He enters upon His government (chap. xxiv. 23), and dwells in the midst of His people in a manner formerly unheard of.--"Unto all people," comp. chap. ii. 2 ff. The verse under consideration forms the foundation for the words of Christ in Matthew viii. 2: λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν ὅτι πολλοὶ ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν καὶ δυσμῶν ἥξουσι καὶ ἀνακλιθήσονται μετὰ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακωβ ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν; comp. xxii. 1 ff.; Luke xxii. 30. In ver. 7, "the surface of the vail" is the vail itself, inasmuch as it lies over it. The "covering" here comes into consideration as a sign of mourning, comp. 2 Sam. xv. 30: "And David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet, weeping, and his head covered, and so also all the people with him." The explanation is given in ver. 8, where the בלע is intentionally resumed. We cannot, therefore, agree with _Drechsler_ who explains the being "covered," by "dullness and deadness in reference to spiritual things."--The first part of ver. 8 is again resumed in Rev. vii. 17, xxi. 4. As death entered into the world by sin (Gen. ii. 17; Rom. v. 12), [Pg 153] so it ceases when sin is completely overcome; compare 1 Cor. xv. 54, where our passage is expressly quoted. Besides death, _tears_ also are mentioned, inasmuch as they flow with special bitterness in the case of bereavements by death.--The Lord removes the rebuke of His people when all their hopes, which formerly were mocked and laughed at, are fulfilled, and when, out of the midst of them, salvation for the whole world rises. With the people of God in their exaltation, Moab is, in vers. 9-12, contrasted in its weakness and humiliation, and in its vain attempts to withdraw from the supremacy of the God of Israel. Moab comes here into consideration, only as the representative of all the kingdoms hostile to God, and obstinately persevering in their opposition to His Kingdom; just as Edom in chap. xxxiv., lxiii. The representative character of Moab was recognized by _Gesenius_ also, who thus determines the sense: "Whilst Jehovah's protecting hand rests upon Zion, His enemies helplessly perish." It is intentionally that Moab is mentioned, and not Asshur or Babel, because, in its case, the representative character could not so easily be mistaken or overlooked.--Ver. 12 returns to the world's power in general.