Isaiah 28:16 – Believers not disappointed

“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die” is foolish. Instead, they ought to lay aside eating and drinking, and they should fast and pray and be in sorrow until they have made themselves right with God (Isaiah 22:13).

In the New Testament, Paul quotes this passage in Isaiah as an appropriate attitude toward life only if there is no resurrection of the dead, only if death is the end of everything (1 Corinthians 15:32-34).

Death Swallowed Up In Victory

But death is not the end of everything, rather it is more like the beginning.

In the Hebrew Bible, it says in Isaiah “He will swallow up death for ever”.

In the New Testament, Paul goes on to teach about the “resurrection of the dead” and quotes from Isaiah, “He will swallow up death for ever” (Isaiah 28:5, 1Corinthians 15:54).

Every Knee Shall Bow

In the New Testament it says:

When the dead are raised by the power of Jesus, all mankind will recognize him as the Ruler of all and to him “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess…”

Paul quotes this passage in his letter to the Romans and applies it to the final judgment of all mankind (Romans 14:10-12). He also alludes to it in his letter to the Philippians (Philippians 2:9-13).

Believers Shall Not Be Disappointed

In the Hebrew Bible, Isaiah says that as the well-laid cornerstone of their lives, will “not be in haste” (Isaiah 28:16).

In the New Testament, Paul translates this verse to say that those who believe “will not be disappointed”(Romans 9:33, 10:11).

The Word of the Lord Abides Forever

The hardest thing for some people to accept is that anything is eternal. Yet God reveals that there is an eternity.

In the Hebrew Bible, Isaiah tells us that “the word of our God abides forever” (Isaiah 40:6-8). Flesh fades and withers like the flowers of the field, he says. But God’s word never fails.

In the New Testament, Peter quotes this passage when making the point that we have been born again through the imperishable and abiding word of God. That means therefore that we who have believed and obeyed that word have been born again to everlasting life (1 Peter 1:13-25).