Ezekiel 37:1-12 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones. He led me all around among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, and indeed, they were very dry. Then He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones come to life?” “O Lord GOD,” I replied, “only You know.” And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Lord GOD says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh grow upon you and cover you with skin. I will put breath within you so that you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’ ” So I prophesied as I had been commanded. And as I prophesied, there was suddenly a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. As I looked on, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and tell the breath that this is what the Lord GOD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, so that they may live!” So I prophesied as He had commanded me, and the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet—a vast army. Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘O My people, I will open your graves and bring you up from them, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, My people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put My Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.’ ”
Kindly check out the video. The video beautifully narrates the above passage with visual aids.
Prophecies are full of symbols and are a treasure indeed, with layers of truths embedded in a visual form. Today's passage refers to the state of the people of Israel, and many of us could relate (to some extent) to what the Israelites are feeling. They don't just feel dead. They feel that their bones have dried up - as the death happened a long time ago and that the only future they see are the dried bones becoming dust again, reminding them of God's curse on Adam, "From dust you came, and to dust you will return".
Ezekiel is taken to that place that we dread. A place of regret. It is not a valley of darkness bringing in fear of uncertainty - for even in darkness there is a hope in us that the light might shine one day. It is not a valley of emptiness bringing in hunger and desperation. It is a valley of dry bones. A place that shows us the sad reality of a once alive man, a once breathing man, a once blessed man, who is now dead, dried up, and without hope. To make things worse, it is not even a coffin that contains the dried bones of one man. It is a valley of dry bones of all people together. There is no identity there apart from death.
God is speaking hope to this people! He gives them four promises. (i) He will open their graves and bring them up from them, (ii) He will bring them back to the land of Israel, (iii) The people would know that He is the Lord, (iv) He will put His Spirit in them and they will live. He gives them as a prophecy to Ezekiel who is referred to as the son of man.
Almost half a millennium later, in walks the One who calls Himself the Son of Man. He walks in to the true valley of dry bones.
(i) He opens the grave of Lazarus:
Jesus had already raised to life the daughter of Jairus, and the son of the widow of Nain. So, what is special with Lazarus? The main difference was that Lazarus was already put inside the grave. Jesus mentions in John 11:15 that He was glad for the sake of the disciples that He was not there in Bethany when Lazarus died. For, Jesus already knew that He was going to raise Lazarus to life. The disciples were going to 'believe' because they were seeing the Son of Man in action - calling out life and opening the grave! In terms of a miracle, it was that of restoration of life, the same as that of Jairus' daughter, but this was also a fulfilment of the prophecy. No wonder, the Pharisees who got to know about it, the Pharisees whose hearts were hardened, worrying for "their place. From that day on they planned to kill Jesus.
(ii) He causes the curtain to tear and brings people back to communion with God:
Israel was to be a treasured possession of God, a nation through which God blesses the ends of the earth. However, Israel lost focus on God's true blessing when the physical land was all they longed for. The land of Israel will be just another piece of land if God doesn't dwell there, and if the people aren't reconciled to Him. Jesus came forth proclaiming reconciliation of man with God through the cross that He carried. At His death, the curtains tore from top to bottom depicting that the way back to God is finally accessible through Christ.
(iii) He proclaims to be the Lord, and the Way to know LORD:
In John 10:14 Jesus declares that He is the good shepherd. He knows His own and His own know Him, echoing "My people will know that I am the Lord". In John 14:6 Jesus that He is the only way to know the Father.
(iv) He commands people to be born again of the Spirit, and promises to send the Spirit, He proclaims to be the Resurrection and life:
In John 3, when Jesus talks to Nicodemus, Jesus declares that no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born again. Nicodemus doesn't seem to understand this. In John 3:8 Jesus says, "The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit". Doesn't this remind us of Ezekiel being told to prophesy to the winds to breathe life? Romans 8:10 says But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. Only the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit can give us true life. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit and the disciples received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Even today, anyone who repents of their sins, confesses with their mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in their heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved and have eternal life through the Spirit of God who dwells in them.
Jesus also declared to Martha that He is the resurrection and life. And this Jesus who died for our sins also resurrected through the power of the Spirit of God! Death could not hold Him. He has promised that we who believe in Him will also resurrect to dwell with Him forevermore.
So, can the dried and dead bones live? Yes, and that is the Christian Hope! The Maker who breathed life to dust is willing to breathe into the bones that were dried and are dead. Praise God for His unfailing love and for His mercies that are new every morning.
For all of life's questions, we seek answers, answers that are true. Truth is found in the person of Christ.
Thank you for walking with me these 40 days as we went through different questions that people asked God in the bible, ending with meditations about God's questions to different people in the Bible, and questions that He is still asking us today.
May God bless you and answer the deepest questions that might trouble your soul. May God bless you and put in questions that you never thought had to be asked. May God bless you and help you help others who are having questions about God. And May God bless you and ask you questions and may we find His wisdom to answer Him in truth.
Link to the previous article: Do you love me?
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