Job 19:25-27; 1 Tim. 6:16; Psalm 49; Psalm 71; Isa. 26:14, 19; Daniel 12.

 “By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son.... He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead — and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back” (Hebrews 11:17, 19, NRSV).

 The Old Testament hope is grounded, not on Greek ideas about the natural immortality of the soul, but on the biblical teaching of the final resurrection of the dead.

 But how could a no-longer-existent human body, cremated into ashes or destroyed by other means, be brought to life again? How can someone who has been deceased, perhaps for centuries or even millennia, recover again his or her identity?

 These questions lead us to reflect on the mystery of life. We are alive and enjoy the life that God graciously grants us every day. Even without beginning to understand the supernatural origin of life, we know that in the beginning God brought life into existence from non-life through the power of His Word (Genesis 1; Ps. 33:6, 9). So, if God was able to create life on earth the first time from nothing (Latin ex nihilo), why should we doubt His capacity to recreate human life and to restore its original identity?

 This week we will reflect on how the notion of the final resurrection unfolded in Old Testament times, with special focus on the statements of Job, some psalmists, and the prophets Isaiah and Daniel.

 Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 22.