Today you should read: Isaiah 25
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. (Isaiah 25:8 ESV)
Is there a cooler verse in the Bible?! I am sure you could come up with some, but this one is definitely in my top 10. What a breathtaking, awe-inspiring, hope-filling promise. And the cool thing is that that part of this verse has already been fulfilled. See, Jesus showed us that God was serious about this when He went to the cross for our sins. Some have called this the “death of death” because Jesus’ death would ensure that many of us would not face eternal death. I know it is lengthy, but I want to remind you of Paul’s exhortation along the same lines of Isaiah 25 that is found in Romans 5:
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. (Romans 5:12-18 ESV)
Paul loves this theme. He continues to hammer it home in his first Corinthian letter:
“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:54-57 ESV)
What did God teach you today? Did you find hope in today’s reading? May Isaiah continue to draw us near to God, and as it does, let’s believe in God’s promise to draw near to us.
By: Todd Thomas — Worship & College Pastor
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