The Teaching of the Resurrection in the Old Testament
The resurrection of the dead is an event that will involve the Lord Jesus Christ together with the angels. They will exercise the mighty power of God to re-create many of those who have been alive before but have died. This amazing event has been promised to the faithful and is a necessary first step in giving eternal life to those who are worthy.
There are at least nine passages of scripture in the Old Testament that refer to this wonderful event. In studying these it was thought best to deal with them in the order of occurrence in scripture.
Gen.13:14 ‘And the LORD (Yahweh) said unto Abram … “Lift up now thine eyes and look from the place where thou art (Canaan) northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.’”
Although in this case the resurrection is not specifically referred to, its necessity is inferred by the circumstances in which this promise was made. In chapter 15 Abram was told that he would “die in a good old age”. Consequently for God to fulfil this promise it would be necessary for him to raise Abram from the dead.
The Testimony in Job
Job 14:14-15 “If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come. Thou shalt call and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands”.
Here is a straightforward statement of belief in the resurrection. Job would wait in the grave for the ultimate call by God, which he would answer in full consciousness.
Job 19:25-27 “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God”.
Job’s knowledge of what happens to a dead body did not weaken his faith that one day in the future, called the latter day, he would be raised again to see God and others, too, who have been raised.
The Testimony in the Psalms
Psalm 16:8-11 “I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; my flesh also shall rest in hope: for thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore”.
This is a passage of scripture that the apostle Peter quoted on the day of Pentecost to show how it referred to the Lord Jesus. His flesh did not see corruption because God raised him after his crucifixion on the third day (Acts 2:25,31). David adds, “my flesh also shall rest in hope”. Death is described here as a ‘rest’ from which he hoped to awake at the resurrection. Because of that wonderful event God would not leave his soul in hell (Heb. Sheol – the grave) so that he would be shown ‘the path of life’ for evermore.
Psalm 49:14-15 “Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them ….But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me”.
It is worth noting that the word ‘grave’ here is a translation of ‘Sheol’, the same word which was used in Psalm 16:10 where it was translated ‘hell’ which, of course, means the same thing. In Psalm 49 the grave is said to have a ‘power’ which is to keep captive in their decaying state all the dead bodies which are put into it. David recognised that God has the ability to release a dead body from this power by raising it to life again. In faith he declared, “God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave”.
On God’s behalf, the Lord Jesus has been appointed to be the redeemer. Because he was to offer himself as the redeeming sacrifice, he was able to declare, “Everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on him may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day”. (Jn.6:40)
The Testimony in Isaiah
Is.25:6-9 “And in this mountain (Mount Zion) shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the lees, …well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all the people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us; this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation”.
This passage describes in joyful pictorial language a celebration in Jerusalem of the marvellous consummation of God’s plan of redemption for this world. All that the surviving inhabitants should understand about their merciful redeemer will be made known by the Lord Jesus when he comes to reign over them.
For this reason Jesus claimed to be the light of the world (Jn.8:12) not only for New Testament times but also when he comes again in glory. When that happens death will be swallowed up in victory. At last the dead will be raised and made immortal, to die no more.
This passage of scripture (Is.25:6-9) is quoted by the apostle Paul in the 15th chapter of his letter to the Corinthians. In his conclusion he identifies the redeemer by joyfully exclaiming, “Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”. (1Cor.15:57) To this we can all say Amen!
Is.26:19 “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead”. This brief declaration is very clear in its import. It is uttered with the background of the prophet contemplating the failure of the nation to achieve a state of righteousness and success. Their past struggles are likened to the pains of a woman bearing a child. But there will be eventual joy when the dead are raised. The prophet Isaiah is confident that his own dead body will surely join with others in being raised and sing for the joy of experiencing the new and wonderful life being granted to them. The glistening dewdrops which can mysteriously appear in the morning on the leaves of plants is used as an apt figure to describe this wonderful event which is yet to take place.
Is.61:1-3 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me …. to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified”.
We can well understand the Lord Jesus wanting to quote these early verses from Isaiah 61 when he went to Nazareth (Luke 4:26-29) because they applied to him. In our extract above we have omitted the early part of verse one because Jesus fulfilled them at that time. The later phrases we have quoted would be fulfilled by him when he comes the second time (Heb.9:28). The remarkable phrase ‘give them beauty for ashes’ means the giving of immortality after a spell in the grave, even when people’s bodies have long since mouldered into dust! The ‘oil of joy’ is the rejoicing of the redeemed when granted a new life after death. The ‘garment of praise’ is a figure of divine nature bestowed on the faithful at the resurrection, ‘being made equal unto the angels’ (Luke 20:36).
All these beautiful figures of speech describe those who are raised to life by the Lord Jesus and are therefore called ‘trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD that he might be glorified’.
The Testimony of Daniel and Hosea
Daniel 12:2-3
“And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever”.
This concise statement occurs in the course of a long historical prophecy that helps one to assess the time when the resurrection will take place. The use of the term ‘sleep’ indicates that these people would ‘awake’, as it were, to a new life at a later date.
The glorious bodies of those who are granted divine nature (2 Pet.1:4) are described as ‘shining as the brightness of the firmament’ and also as ‘the stars for ever and ever’. Such a reward can only be described as wonderful. However, there will be some that will be judged unworthy of eternal life and will be rejected.
Hosea 13:14 “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes”.
This remarkable verse comes in a context in which God reminded his nation Israel about their sinfulness (13:1-2). However, in spite of their failures there was hope. “O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help” (13:9). God’s help will certainly be manifested when he ransoms them from the power of the grave, when the resurrection of the dead takes place.
In poetic style, the abstract term ‘death’ and the literal ‘grave’ are both personified and addressed in no uncertain terms to the effect that mortality will be a distressing calamity of past years, when God “creates a new heaven and a new earth” (Is.65:17). He will not change his mind about this wonderful development as the last sentence intimates, “repentance shall be hid from mine eyes”.
Summary
It is remarkable how all these passages of scripture referring to the resurrection use such a variety of style; poetic, figures of speech and celebrations of victory over death to describe what will be one of the most wonderful of events ever to take place on the earth. The redeemed will want to rejoice and praise God and the Lord Jesus. The book of Revelation gives a glimpse of this: ‘And they sang a new song saying, “Thou art worthy…. for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth’”. (Rev. 5:9-10)
Bro. Ralph Green (Torquay, U.K.)
