I Kill, and I Make Alive (Deuteronomy 32:39-40)

2022-03-31

The resurrection from the dead was a hope found throughout the Old Testament. Consider the Song of Moses. Note the order here; death precedes life:

See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. (Deuteronomy 32:39)

Our Lord Himself died and rose again. An allusion to this is found in the following verse:

For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever. (Deuteronomy 32:40)

This is an oath showing that the Lord swore on His own life. But there is more here. The Lord has risen from the dead, and He is alive forever more. “All power is given unto me” (Matthew 28:18).

This song ends with the destruction of His enemies in Deuteronomy 32:41-42. It also ends with hope for His people together with all nations: “Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people” (Deuteronomy 32:43). The risen Lord is the hope of all nations, which includes us today.