READING FOR MAY 1, 2026: ISAIAH 66, 2 CORINTHIANS 5, PSALM 37:27-40 ISAIAH 66 Just as God gave Isaiah a vision of His greatness and holiness before Isaiah began to serve Him as a prophet (Isa. 6:1), God ends this book by giving us a view of reality regarding who He is compared to us. God said He is overwhelming in His jurisdiction. Heaven is His throne and earth his footstool. We cannot begin to accommodate Him by building a grandiose structure of worship, and He is not seeking this. He is looking for those who come to Him who are humble, sorry for their sins, and take His Word totally seriously. God is not impressed by our so-called achievements, education, or take-it-or-leave-it attitude toward His Word.
God lists three kinds of sacrificial offerings prescribed by Moses that the people bring which God finds disgusting. Why don’t these correct acts of worship please God? It is because the people continue to act in abominable ways (vs.3). Leviticus 18 gives the most comprehensive list of acts labeled “abominations:” adultery, incest, child sacrifice, homosexual acts, marrying sisters concurrently, bestiality, and having sexual intercourse during the menstrual period. God’s promise is that He will punish His people who do these things regardless of their correct sacrificial offerings. He said these people likely will hate those who are obedient and will experience the Lord as their enemy. God judges them as hypocrites just as Jesus later so named the Pharisees.
Those who are true God followers can be consoled by the promise that God will deliver them. They will be like a joyful infant who is delivered without labor to a comforting mother who lovingly meets all her needs (vs. 7-14). Once again God reminds us that He will come against His enemies (i.e. the hypocrites) like a sword-wielding charioteer bringing death (vs. 15-17).
Starting in verse 18, events are prophesized that fit the description of the end times as record- ed in Rev. 5:9-10: “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You [Jesus] to take the scroll and to break its seals; for You were slaughtered, and You purchased people for God with Your blood from every tribe, language, people, and nation.’ You have made them into a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth.” In contrast, those rebelling against God (vs.24) will experience eternal torment in what Rev. 20:14-15 calls the “lake of fire.”
2 CORINTHIANS 5 Paul continues the discussion we once had in response to Genesis 23. As a tentmaker himself, Paul compares our earthly body to a tent and our eternal body to a heavenly dwelling or house. Maybe Jesus had this in mind when He said in John 14 that He was leaving His disciples to prepare a place for them in heaven. Paul, however, understands how those of us who are getting older feel while still on earth: groaning with ailments. Of course we want to fix this now with medical care, but the only permanent fix is to be clothed
READING FOR MAY 1, 2026 CONTINUED: 2 CORINTHIANS 5, PSALM 37:27-40 with our heavenly dwelling. Paul says it’s not morbid to long for this. In fact, knowing this along with the deposit of Holy Spirit gives us courage while we are still here, groaning away.
Paul then gives us valuable information about the future: 1) upon leaving our earthly bodies we, as believers, will be present with the Lord—no delay; 2) this arrangement will be much better for us than our current status; 3) it should inspire us to focus on pleasing the Lord now; and 4) all believers will appear before Jesus to be evaluated and compensated for what we did on earth. Sounds scary for those of us who don’t enjoy performance evaluations, but we can trust in God’s great love for us. So, what does all this make Paul do? He’s dedicated to persuading others to stop living for themselves but to live for the One who died and rose again for us. Are we persuaded by Paul? Are we persuading others?
Paul reminds us that becoming a Christian is not just going to church rather than staying home, but it’s becoming new creatures, almost a different species of humans. We view life with new lens because we are reconciled with Jesus, who although always loved us, could not have had relationship with us due to our sin. This wonderful reconciling ministry was given to Paul, who calls himself God’s ambassador. Maybe the Lord wants to appoint us as well. What an honor!
Finally, Paul explains the amazing concept known as imputation. Jesus took on our sins, so that we, by grace through faith, receive His sinless righteousness in the sight of God. What a deal!
PSALM 37:27-40 Sometimes we hear scholars say there are not any references to life after physical death in the Old Testament. Yet consider this verse: “Turn from evil and do good,
so that you will dwell forever” (Psalm 37:27). Perhaps there is a way to explain this to mean the opposite of what it says. Certain biblical scholars are talented in that way.
We remember that turning from evil, meaning repenting, is also stressed by John the Baptist and Jesus. Some further context is necessary, though, to clarify that it is not just doing goodthat saves us. Psalm 37:3 had already introduced the full sequence: “Trust in the Lord and do good.” It’s faith or trust that saves us and then prompts our good works. An even fuller picture of God’s justice is presented in Romans 3:26: “He [Jesus} would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” This fantastic eternal future, though, is not available to nonbelievers: “But wrongdoers will altogether be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be eliminated” (Psalm 37:38). This refutes the currently popular belief known as universalism.
