On this mountain [the Lord Almighty] will destroy the
shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will
swallow up death forever (Isaiah 25:7,8).
Israel’s enemies referred to in Isaiah’s writings are
Assyria, Babylon, and the smaller surrounding kingdoms as referenced in the oracles against the nations (chapters
13-23). In chapters 24-27 Yahweh takes on an even more powerful foe: death, the enemy of all peoples.
Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who
dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the
morning; the earth will give birth to her dead (26:19). Not likely the work of the eighth century BC Isaiah ben
Amoz, these are considered to be the latest additions to the book of Isaiah
[1]. They mark an evolution of thought regarding life after death, and the
resurrection of those who belong to God.
We read in the earlier writings of David: I am set apart
with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more,
who are cut off from your care (Psalm
88:5).
Consider the words of Jesus: I am the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). And finally Paul: Where, O death, is your victory? (1
Corinthians 15:55).
The message to Israel (and us too) could be: If even
death cannot stand against our God, then is there any enemy he cannot defeat?
Death isn’t final.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
What does that mean to you?
If death cannot stand against our God, which of your enemies can?
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