READING FOR MARCH 24, 2026: ISAIAH 40, ROMANS 9, PSALM 23 ISAIAH 40 Isaish is not now talking to overly proud people of coming judgment. His tone has shifted to people who are experiencing discouragement and need comfort. This is a message that would be appropriate for the Jews in Babylonian exile, for Israel under Roman occupation, or for us in discouraging seasons of life. The famous call of verse three to prepare for the Lord’s coming sounds familiar for good reason. It is quoted in three of the Gospels (and in Handel’s Messiah, of course) where it specifically refers to John the Baptist: “The word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. And he came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “The voice of one calling out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord’” (Luke 3:2-4). The first step in coming to Jesus then is knowing and repenting of our sins.
Then God says to call out again. What needs to be called out to Judah now? The needed mes- sage of God is also quoted by Peter in his letter to suffering Christians and is desperately need- ed today: “For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through living and enduring word of God. For, ‘All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of grass. The grass the withers, And the flower falls off, But the word of the Lord endures forever”’ (1 Pet.1:24-25). We are not born again through what our contemporary culture teaches. Only God’s Enduring Word.
Isaiah says this good news of a both mighty, yet tender God (Jesus the good shepherd) needs to be proclaimed forcibly from the mountain tops not hidden away as if we are ashamed or afraid (vs.9-11). It is the only news that can really give purpose in life and hope for eternity. How is Yorktown Methodist Church doing in making this message clearly heard in Yorktown and Muncie? What an honor that God has chosen us for this mission.
Are we ever afraid that we are not up to the task, that our message will be considered out of date or uneducated. Isaiah reminds us who our God is. He is by far the wisest, most powerful being in existence. He doesn’t need to be informed by any current expert. The forces arrayed against Him are like a drop in the bucket. If we put on our Bible-informed lens, we can know that those who oppose Him are “less than nothing” (vs. 17). Get ready to shout about God!
Are we still fearful of the opinion of those thought “with it” today? God says to go outside on a cloudless night and look up (vs 26). Realize that God has made all those stars and knows their names. According to NASA, astronomers believe there may be as many as one septillion stars (10 to the 24thpower). That’s who we’re representing and who empowers us. He promises to give us the needed strength if we wait on Him, even if we are old—like this writer (vs 31).
ROMANS 9 Paul confides to us that, as a Jew himself, he desperately longs for other Jews to come into a saving relationship with God. He even says he would be willing to give up his own salvation if it would help bring his
READINGS FOR MARCH 24, 2026 CONTINUED: ROMANS 9, PSALM 23 fellow Jews to the Lord. Consider if Paul had this attitude, how much more does Jesus want all people to come to faith in Him. What about us? Do we have this intense sorrow for friends and family who don’t know Jesus as Savior and Lord? Paul recounts all of God’s blessings to the Jews over the years: adoption as sons, the covenants, the Mosaic Law, the temple worship, the promises to Israel, and Jesus’s human ancestry. Paul reminds us that even though this promise was originally made to Abraham, not all of his genetic descend- ants received the promise: only Isaac not Ismael, only Jacob not Esau. This was God’s choice and, as we have learned in Job, we are not in a position to find fault with what the omniscient God decides. What is God’s choice trying to show? In verses 11, 16, 18, 23, Paul says God shows that it is not Man’s ancestry or works that matters, but God’s mercy. And to whom has God chosen to receive His mercy of salvation? Paul says God’s chooses to show mercy to those who pursue God’s righteousness through faith, not works (vs.30-32). This extends to believing Gentiles as well as to a believing remnant of Israel (vs. 24 and 27). All are invited to believe (John 3:16). All who believe will be saved and not be disappointed (vs. 33). Let’s two other issues that might raise some eyebrows in this chapter:
- Did God hate Esau (vs.13)? John 3:16 teaches God loved the world. How could he hate Esau? God’s love for the world excludes no one, Esau included. Paul is expressing God’s choice of Jacob over Esau to receive the promise, just as Jesus tells us to choose Him over all others: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). Jesus is not telling us to hate anyone, but to make Him first.
- Why did God harden Pharaoh’s heart (vs.17-18)? He did so to show His power throughout the world. Rahab heard about God’s power all the way over in Jericho and 40 years later she placed her faith in God (Exodus 7:3, Joshua 2:10-12, Heb. 11:31). Also, before God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, it was already hard/stubborn (Exodus 7:13-14, 7:22, 8:15, 8:19, 8:32, and 9:7). God further hardened his heart in 9:12, 10;20, 10:27, and 14:4. These final hardenings enabled Israel to be given jewels by the Egyptians for the tabernacle and to completely remove the Egyptian army as a threat. In Matthew 13:12, Jesus infers that God still hardens the heart of those who reject His truth.
PSALM 23 This exquisite Psalm is possibly the best known and most loved single chapter in the Bible. It is the text for wondrous music and a comfort to grieving families during times of loss. The beauty and comfort of this chapter is meaningless, however, if the premise of the first line is not a reality in the lives of each individual. QUESTION: IS THE LORD OUR SHEPHERD?
- Consider Romans 10:9: “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” If we are not saved, Jesus is not our Lord, and thus not our shepherd. Instead, we have chosen to be our own shepherd.
- Consider Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” If we are not reading the Bible, the Lord is not our shepherd. Instead, we are turning off the light God provides and choosing to stumble in the dark.
- Consider James 1:22: “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves.” If we hear but don’t obey the Bible, we are deceived; the Lord is not our shepherd.
- Consider 1 Peter 1:25: “The word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word which was preached to you.” If we reject the Bible’s teachings as culturally outdated, the Lord is not our shepherd. Instead, the reigning cultural narrative is our shepherd.
