Resurrection in the Bible, Sensational Hope for the Weary
By Jeremy Bell
In the course of all humanity, it is undisputed truth that when a creature is born, that creature dies. The life it was given is separated from the matter in which it inhabited and that matter decays and fades away. All sorts of scenarios play out between those moments. Scientifically, minus empirical evidence, all living things die and their chemical essence is transformed to become a part of creation in a different way. Though this fact is observed, much of scientific discovery is used towards finding ways to prolong life and if possible, never die. Unfortunately, science is often more concerned with denying the resurrection in the Bible than learning from it, while attempting to accomplish it.
Strategies for power, gain in one way through violent overpowering of foes while others hold power through diplomacy. Countries begin with fresh governments in hopes that they have a new method for a nation without end. They have or will one day end. A lot may be studied of human history, even for an individual, to strategize their lives for life without endings. A life of continual prosperity. There are best practices and best odds. But there have never been guarantees and never an existence without separation and death.
God Spoke
God spoke in His word the truth of all these matters and wrote about resurrection in the Bible. He wrote that separation was chosen in free will by Adam and Eve. This separation was death and removal from the presence of God. Everyone born is born through Adam and not only inherit this separation but agree with Adam’s choice to break communion with God. Death, sorrow, and evil are part of the human experience, and no one is exempt. The just thing for God to do would have been to banish Adam and Eve to hell with no offspring.
But God is gracious, and God loves people. God made more people and over time He used Abraham to birth a nation that would be an example of relationship with Him. This is a forever relationship irrespective of Israel’s faithfulness and consequences, and God promised it. As an example, this relationship was a type of beacon for all the nations, for every individual, who desired to respond to the true God for the repair of communion. Though death, sorrow, and evil appear to gain power, this promise of God can never fail. Though, long suffering does produce weariness. Frustration with the current broken reality is good because that is in harmony with God.
God’s Curse, a Blessing
From the moment Adam and Eve turned against God, God took control. He withheld immediate death by blessing humanity with a curse that would allow them to be fruitful. God made a promise of a Christ savior that would crush the deceptive devil and redeem people. This messiah was written about throughout the Old Testament and revealed by the writers in the New Testament. Jesus is that Christ and any who believe in him will experience the same resurrection in the Bible as described of Jesus.
Look at some excerpts from Psalm 44. It displays a longing for help from God. It takes pause to wonder where He is. The Psalmist cries out in anguish for himself and for his brothers and sisters. They are killed all day long for their loyalty to God. But their loyalty remains and in spite of death, their faith continues. Their faith is not built on emotions alone. They know the truth and remind each other to overcome the temptation to turn against the God who saved them and promises to save them. These color coding’s and groupings are excerpts from my book, Psalms in Motif Visualization.
With these highlights at the forefront, read the Psalm as written.
[ Psalm 44 ]
For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. A contemplative psalm.
We have heard with our ears, God;
our fathers have told us what work you did in their days,
in the days of old.
You drove out the nations with your hand,
but you planted them.
You afflicted the peoples,
but you spread them abroad.
For they didn’t get the land in possession by their own sword,
neither did their own arm save them;
but your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face,
because you were favorable to them.
God, you are my King.
Command victories for Jacob!
Through you, we will push down our adversaries.
Through your name, we will tread down those who rise up against us.
For I will not trust in my bow,
neither will my sword save me.
But you have saved us from our adversaries,
and have shamed those who hate us.
In God we have made our boast all day long.
We will give thanks to your name forever. Selah.
But now you rejected us, and brought us to dishonor,
and don’t go out with our armies.
You make us turn back from the adversary.
Those who hate us take plunder for themselves.
You have made us like sheep for food,
and have scattered us among the nations.
You sell your people for nothing,
and have gained nothing from their sale.
You make us a reproach to our neighbors,
a scoffing and a derision to those who are around us.
You make us a byword among the nations,
a shaking of the head among the peoples.
All day long my dishonor is before me,
and shame covers my face,
at the taunt of one who reproaches and verbally abuses,
because of the enemy and the avenger.
All this has come on us,
yet we haven’t forgotten you.
We haven’t been false to your covenant.
Our heart has not turned back,
neither have our steps strayed from your path,
though you have crushed us in the haunt of jackals,
and covered us with the shadow of death.
If we have forgotten the name of our God,
or spread out our hands to a strange god,
won’t God search this out?
For he knows the secrets of the heart.
Yes, for your sake we are killed all day long.
We are regarded as sheep for the slaughter.
Wake up!
Why do you sleep, Lord?
Arise!
Don’t reject us forever.
Why do you hide your face,
and forget our affliction and our oppression?
For our soul is bowed down to the dust.
Our body clings to the earth.
Rise up to help us.
Redeem us for your loving kindness’ sake.
[ Romans 8: 26 – 39 ]
… The Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we don’t know how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which can’t be uttered. He who searches the hearts knows what is on the Spirit’s mind, because he makes intercession for the saints according to God.
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Whom he predestined, those he also called. Whom he called, those he also justified. Whom he justified, those he also glorified.
What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who didn’t spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things? Who could bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, yes rather, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Even as it is written,
“For your sake we are killed all day long.
We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from God’s love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God Made a Way
God made a way through another Adam, Jesus, for people to reconcile with Him and enjoy communion with Him. This is not simply for the Earthly life span, it is for eternity through the process of the resurrection in the Bible, accomplished by God almighty. One day, the existence we all know will end and for those who enjoy communion in Jesus, the perfection of a deathless existence will be realized. Until then, death, sorrow, and evil are parts of life even for those in communion with God.
God cannot lie, he is trustworthy
He has made promises and He has spoken them and written them, preserved in scripture for thousands of years. God has never promised the immediate vanishing of death, sorrow, and evil, He has promised to transform a person from it. He promises to be with the needy, even when they don’t feel it. He promises that for those who have faith in his son, a final transformation is coming when death, sorrow, and evil will be separated from the believer forever. This is a death worth looking forward to and described through Jesus in the resurrection in the Bible.
God hears cries of pain and suffering, and He is responding, even when feelings tell us otherwise. Joy now is sometimes focusing on the joy that is coming. Joy in Jesus is secure, it’s a promise, and it can be counted on. Pour out feelings of despair to God, but don’t despair in Him. This secret is revealed in Jesus, Christ, the essence, and Nature of Joy.
Resources and Notes
All scripture in this article is from the WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE (WEB). The World English Bible (WEB) is a Public Domain (no copyright) Modern English translation of the Holy Bible. The World English Bible is based on the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible first published in 1901, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament.
For more related to this blog, check out my post on Unity in the Bible Truths About God.
This is a reliable translation, but it is always good to read other translations as well. Biblegateway.com has a multitude of translations to read from. It is a great resource.
Another great resource is Biblehub.com. There are multiple translations, commentaries, and so much more. Great research can be done on this platform.
One more I use regularly is Gotquestions.org. This is a great site to answer questions and find threads of related questions.
There are many resources. The key is that God wants relationship directly with you, the individual. His primary source for revealing who He is and growing in intimacy is His word, the scriptures. Don’t just read for instruction. Analyze and read for understanding. Explore, ask questions, and be transformed in Jesus every moment you possibly can. There is no dispute this is a key desire of God. People are brough to the Father, in the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This… This is the Nature of Joy.
Jeremy is an author, musician, and business intelligence manager. His mission is to equip and encourage those in Christ, to equip and encourage others in Christ. Jesus, Christ, is the Nature of Joy and melody of the heart. Jeremy unites business analytics (business intelligence), songs, and Scripture for Christian living in the power of the Holy Spirit.