Isa 26:19 | KingComments | STEP | is the answer to the confession of the previous verse. It puts us back in the time of Isaiah. The song of praise just sung in faith contains a great encouragement for faith, namely that God keeps His promises. He does so in the resurrection ( ). Here we find the truth of the resurrection in the Old Testament (cf. ). Thinking about the resurrection in the future gives strength to live today from faith in the future. In this faith Isaiah calls for rejoicing, because unlike the dead oppressors ( ) the pious will rise from the dead. Isaiah speaks to the LORD about “Your dead”. They are “the dead in Christ” ( ), “the dead who die in the Lord” ( ). Unlike Isaiah 25, where we find a wonderful reference to the resurrection ( ), this is about the resurrection of Israel as a people. Possibly Isaiah by “Your dead” means the revival of the lost and dead ten tribes of Israel and by “my corpse”, as it also can be translated, he means the restoration of the people of Israel as a whole ( ). Israel will rise from the dead as it were ( ; ; ). This happens when the LORD re-establishes the connection with His people, a connection that has not been definitively broken, but temporarily interrupted. The dew is a picture of blessing, refreshment and life-giving power. Thus is the LORD for His people ( ). Dew, which means the newly formed remnant of His people ( ; ), belongs to the dawn of the day, to the light. Night and death are over. Life has been given back to those who “lie in the dust”, to those with whom hardly anything of life could be seen anymore. “The earth will give birth to the departed spirits”, life can emerge from the dead and grow and blossom undisturbed and come to full maturity as a fruit to the glory of the LORD. The acceptance of the remnant is nothing but life from the dead ( ).

‏ Isaiah 26:19

Faith in the Resurrection

Isa 26:19 is the answer to the confession of the previous verse. It puts us back in the time of Isaiah. The song of praise just sung in faith contains a great encouragement for faith, namely that God keeps His promises. He does so in the resurrection (Heb 11:39-40). Here we find the truth of the resurrection in the Old Testament (cf. Job 19:25-27).

Thinking about the resurrection in the future gives strength to live today from faith in the future. In this faith Isaiah calls for rejoicing, because unlike the dead oppressors (Isa 26:14) the pious will rise from the dead. Isaiah speaks to the LORD about “Your dead”. They are “the dead in Christ” (1Thes 4:16), “the dead who die in the Lord” (Rev 14:13). Unlike Isaiah 25, where we find a wonderful reference to the resurrection (Isa 25:8), this is about the resurrection of Israel as a people.

Possibly Isaiah by “Your dead” means the revival of the lost and dead ten tribes of Israel and by “my corpse”, as it also can be translated, he means the restoration of the people of Israel as a whole (Hos 6:2). Israel will rise from the dead as it were (Eze 37:1-10; Dan 12:2; Rom 11:15). This happens when the LORD re-establishes the connection with His people, a connection that has not been definitively broken, but temporarily interrupted.

The dew is a picture of blessing, refreshment and life-giving power. Thus is the LORD for His people (Hos 14:6a). Dew, which means the newly formed remnant of His people (Mic 5:6a; Psa 110:3), belongs to the dawn of the day, to the light. Night and death are over. Life has been given back to those who “lie in the dust”, to those with whom hardly anything of life could be seen anymore. “The earth will give birth to the departed spirits”, life can emerge from the dead and grow and blossom undisturbed and come to full maturity as a fruit to the glory of the LORD. The acceptance of the remnant is nothing but life from the dead (Rom 11:15).