Restorative Power -Jehovah Is "Making All Things New" -Restoring Life to the Dead

In the first century C.E., some religious leaders, called Sadducees, did not believe in the resurrection.  Jesus reprimanded them with the words:  "You are mistaken, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God."  (Matthew 22:29)  Yes, the Scriptures reveal that Jehovah has such restorative power, How so?

Picture what happened in Elijah's day. A widow was holding the limp body of her only child in her arms.  The boy was dead. The prophet Elijah, who had been the widow's guest for some time, must have been shocked.  Earlier, he helped rescue this child from starvation.  Elijah may well have grown attached  to the little fellow.  The mother was just heartbroken.  This boy had been her only living reminder of her dead husband.  She may have hope that her son would care for her in her old age.  Distraught, the widow feared  that she was being punished for some past error.  Elijah could not bear to see this tragedy thus compounded.  He gently took the corpse from the mother's bosom, carried the dead boy up to his room, and asked Jehovah God to restore the child's soul, or life. - 1 Kings 17:8-21. 

Elijah was not the first person to believe in the resurrection.  Centuries earlier, Abraham believed that Jehovah has such restorative power-and for good reason.  When Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90, Jehovah restored  their deadened reproductive powers, miraculously enabling Sarah to bear a son.  (Genesis 17:17; 21:2, 3) Later, when the boy was fully grown, Jehovah asked Abraham to sacrifice his son.  Abraham showed faith, reckoning that Jehovah could restore his beloved Isaac to life.  (Hebrews 11:17019)  Such intense faith may explain why Abraham, before ascending the mountain to offer up his on, assured his servants that he and Isaac would return together. -Genesis 22:5.

Next time:Restorative  Power-Jehovah Is "Making All Things New" - Conclusion of Restoring Life to the Dead

From the book: Draw Close to Jehovah