Resurrection Hope in the Writings

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." – Psalm 73:26

As we continue our Lenten journey exploring resurrection hope throughout Scripture, we turn our attention to the third major section of the Old Testament: the Writings. These books—including Psalms, Job, Ruth, Esther, Daniel, and Chronicles—contain some of the most dramatic pictures and prophecies of resurrection hope in the Bible.

A Love Death Cannot Thwart

Throughout the Psalms, we find countless expressions of faith in God's power to rescue from the threats of death. The psalmists don't just cry out for deliverance from present dangers; they express confidence in God's power that extends beyond this life.

In Psalm 73:23-26, Asaph beautifully articulates this living hope:

"Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel, and afterwards you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Asaph discovers what we too can experience—that we are grasped by a love that will not let us go, a power that death and the dissolution of the body cannot thwart. The word "take" in "you will take me into glory" is the same Hebrew word used when God "took" Enoch and Elijah, saving them from experiencing death. This is our living hope as followers of Christ: God walks with us, holds our hand, and His grasp is stronger than death.

From Death to Life: The Story of Ruth

The book of Ruth begins with an overwhelming picture of death's power. We meet Naomi, who has lost her husband and both sons in a foreign land, leaving her and her daughter-in-law Ruth without protection, provision, or prospects. Famine, death, grief, loneliness, and poverty surround these women—a dire situation that seems beyond hope.

Yet the more dire the circumstances, the more miraculous the deliverance.

Through a series of providential events, Ruth meets and marries Boaz, a kinsman-redeemer of Naomi's family. Their marriage leads to the birth of a son, Obed, and the women of Bethlehem declare to Naomi:

"Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age." (Ruth 4:14-15)

What began as a story of death was transformed into a story of life. And this reversal goes beyond one family's restoration—through Obed's lineage would eventually come King David, and ultimately, Jesus Christ. Out of death and hopelessness, God brought forth life with eternal significance.

Deliverance on the Third Day: Esther's Story

In the book of Esther, we find the Jewish people living under the threat of annihilation in Persia. When Esther is called to intervene on their behalf, she faces potential death herself—approaching the king without invitation carried the death penalty.

After the Jewish people fast for three days, Esther approaches the king's court and finds acceptance rather than death. Her deliverance on the third day leads to the salvation of all the Jewish people in Persia from certain destruction.

Throughout Esther, God's pattern of reversal is evident—what was meant for death becomes life, what was intended for destruction becomes salvation. Once again, we are reminded that the forces of death are no match for the God of life.

Unharmed by Death's Flames: Daniel's Testimony

The book of Daniel provides some of the most vivid pictures of God's power over death. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are thrown into a blazing furnace for refusing to worship false gods, they emerge completely unharmed:

"They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them." (Daniel 3:27)

Later, Daniel himself is thrown into a den of lions—a situation that naturally could only result in death. Yet "no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God" (Daniel 6:23). In both stories, we see not resurrection after death, but something perhaps even more powerful—the complete triumph of life over death's seemingly unstoppable forces.

Daniel 12:2-3 gives us one of the clearest teachings in the Old Testament on physical resurrection:

"Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever."

This passage points forward to the ultimate resurrection hope we have in Christ—that those who trust in Him will experience everlasting life in God's presence.

From Exile to Restoration: The End and the Beginning

The Hebrew Bible in Jesus' day ended with 2 Chronicles, which concludes with a powerful note of hope. After 70 years of exile in Babylon—a kind of corporate death—King Cyrus proclaims:

"The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them." (2 Chronicles 36:23)

The Old Testament doesn't end with exile but with hope, pointing to the future. God is calling His people from exile to freedom, from death to life—like dry bones coming together in a valley. This ending is actually a beginning, pointing toward the greater restoration to come through Christ.

Our Living Hope Today

As we continue our journey through Scripture, we see how the stories of rescue and prayers of faith in the Writings build upon the Law and the Prophets, stoking the fires of resurrection hope. The biblical narrative consistently reveals a God who turns:

• Darkness into light
• Death into life
• Sickness into healing
• Destruction into restoration
• Exile into homecoming

This same God holds us by the right hand today, guiding us with His counsel through whatever challenges we face. And when our flesh and heart fail, He remains the strength of our heart and our portion forever.

The earth will not hold the dead forever. There is a time to live, a time to die, and a time to rise. Our living hope isn't just in what God has done in the past or what He will do in the distant future—it's in who He is right now: the God of life whose power death cannot overcome.

This article is the third in our "Living Hope" series exploring the theme of resurrection hope throughout Scripture. Next week, we will continue our journey as we move into the New Testament and begin with the Gospels.