Its Not Over Yet! Ezekiel 37 :1-15

 The bones represented all of Israel. The bones were dry and lifeless and upon seeing them one might think that God has cast final judgement on these bones. The text is a healthy reminder that the bones also represents our issues, our problems and our concerns.

The bones of family drama, medical issues, heartbreak and loneliness.

Dry bones of bad finances, unemployment and the driest bones of all, spiritual conflict.

 

Ezekiel foresaw in the Spirit the coming restoration of Israel. He sees their return to their home land, what has already started, and more clearly the return of God and the acceptance of the Messiah. The restoration is prophesied in ch 36:24-38 and it is seen as fulfilled in ch 37:11. The bones are the house of Israel.

How does it evolve?

a.       Israel coming out of the graves v.12

b.       Their entrance into the land of Israel v12

c.       They are filled with the Holy Spirit v.14

1.       What is the context of this prophecy?: Ezekiel was in the Spirit of the Lord, as John later (Ezek 37:1; Rev 1:10). Only in his Spirit we understand the spiritual things. First, God takes us out of the tumult of the world to a place we are alone with him, then he gives us his revelations.

2.       What did Ezekiel see?: A valley full of bones, therefore without hope. Men who walk away from God, like Israel, end up separated from God and are dead to Him. This is the image describing contemporary Christianity (Rev 3:14-22) To the church in Laodicea they are neither cool nor hot and the Lord will spit them out of His mouth. They think they are rich when in essence they are poor. They think they know but they do not know God; they are wretched, miserable, poor and blind. The Lord says in Rev 3:19 “Be zealous therefore and repent.” The Lord is knocking at your door!

3.       God’s critical question (v.3): “Can these bones live?”. Those enslaved in the flesh do not understand it, but men with open eyes see this disheartening field work. They will act only if they feel and suffer it as God does.

4.       Ezekiel’s answer (v.3): “ Lord, you know”. Only God can bring life back. In this field human efforts do not have power. Only God can resuscitate the spiritually dead (Eph 2:1). So Ezekiel 37 insists that if the bleached skeleton that is Israel is to live again, God will have to enliven her.  If broken relationships are to somehow rise from the dead, God will have to raise them to life.

                             So Son of Man, can these bones live?  Only, insists God, if God’s Spirit blows into them through God’s prophet speaking God’s word to them.  “I will make breath enter you,” God tells the skeletons through his prophet.  “And you will come to life.”  And just as God promises, Ezekiel watches those skeletons somehow miraculously come together.  The skeletons noisily take on tendons, flesh and skin.

               But something is still missing. Some relationships, for instance, have a kind of flesh and skin on them.  Family members exchange pleasantries with each other.  Friends talk about the weather or sports.  Family members may even sing the songs and say the prayers to God.  Yet a kind of deadness lingers; there’s no real life.

             What raises dead bones of all sorts to life is the Spirit of God.  And so when Ezekiel invites that Holy Spirit to blow into the valley’s dry bones, they do, in fact, come to life.  With a rush of the Spirit, “they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army.”

5.       The divine action: It will come only when we perceive the misery and are compassionate. How did help come? Ezekiel did what God had commanded:

a.       He prophesied to the bones (v.7)

b.       He called on the divine breath (v.9)

Saying it in a different way: he preached to the spiritually dead the word of life. The preaching of the word and prayer always were the means for the new birth. In response to such obedience, the divine answer comes promptly (v.10).

Death may surround, fill and even chase us.  But God is in the business of restoring hope by raising the dead to life and breathing new life into people, relationships and even communities.

You may be going through difficult moments and think you are like the dry bones. There are ten promises God gives in this text. Ten times God promises to do something about the dry bones:

1.       “I will cause breath to enter you”;

2.       “I will lay sinews on you”;

3.       I “will cause flesh to come upon you”;

4.       I will “cover you with skin”;

5.       I will “put breath in you”;

6.       “I am going to open your graves”;

7.       I am going to “bring you up from your graves”;

8.       “I will bring you back to your land”;

9.       “I will put my spirit within you”; and 

10.   “I will place you on your own soil.”

Ten times God promises life and wholeness. Ten times God promises return and homecoming. Ten times God promises that the dry bones of this valley are not our final reality. Throughout those ten promises – at the beginning, the middle, and the end – God says, “and you shall live.” “You shall live” is the river of reassurance that flows through the valley of dry bones. 

God says it three times:

1.       “And you shall live”;

2.       “And you shall live”;

3.       “And you shall live.”

Those promises and reassurances are the path we walk in this valley. So when you are filled with challenges remember the promises and the reassurances of God. Listen to the rattling of the bones; bones to bones. They are dead dry bones but they still make sounds.

That rattling sounds like faith, hope, and love. It sounds like courage and a refusal to be ruled by fear. It sounds like people praying Psalm 23. It sounds like church bells ringing in remembrance. It sounds like helping those who have lost jobs or work hours. It sounds like patience, gentleness, and compassion for others and ourselves. It sounds like support and care for healthcare providers, first responders, and essential workers. It sounds like people asking, “Are you ok? Do you need anything?” It sounds like people smiling and laughing as they connect on Friday Bible study. It sounds like a text message saying, “All shall be well.” It sounds like an openness to the future. It sounds like life, and life abundant.  So let’s rattle this valley. Let’s rattle this valley like it’s never been rattled before.