Is Isaiah promising resurrection here, or merely the restoration of Israel? He uses language of physical resurrection: “Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead” (26:19). But then he seems to be predicting that the exiles will return to the land (27:13). In chapter 26, Isaiah speaks of the former lords who ruled over Israel (like the Egyptians and Assyrians). These are dead, have been destroyed, and all memory of them has been wiped out (14). But Israel remains. Israel has reason to hope. That hope is not a choice between resurrection and restoration, but a combination of the two. God will not forget his nation, nor will he forget a single believer within it.
LORD, we trust in you for a resurrection from among the dead.
Devotions 