First, we need to remind ourselves a little bit about who Ezekiel was. Ezekiel was a man that God commissioned to speak His Word to the Jews who had been exiled to Babylon. Remember that after King Solomon, God split the Jews into two nations—Israel and Judah. Israel in the North and Judah in the South. Israel always led the way in rebellion against the Lord. Israel would go into idolatry and a few years later, Judah would follow. You know the story—both Israel and Judah would rebel for a while, then they would repent. They did that over and over again until God finally said, “That’s enough!” He allowed the Assyrians to capture Israel first. Then just a few years later, Babylon conquered Assyria and went into Judah. This is during the time that Ezekiel prophesied. When Babylon conquered a place, they would do it in stages. They would exile the people out of the area in stages in order to assimilate them into Babylonian culture. In their first go round, they took Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In the second go round, they took Judah’s King, Jehoichin and Ezekiel. Finally, shortly after God gave Ezekiel the prophesy we’re looking at today, Babylon completely destroyed Jerusalem and carried off more people. Those were the times in which God gave Ezekiel this vision. While his vision and prophesy applies uniquely to Israel, there are certain principles we can draw from it that apply to us here today. To discover those principles, we’re going to look at two things Ezekiel’s dry bones have in common with the church today. The first thing the church has in common with Israel is our condition. Look back with me at verses 1-2.
EZEKIEL 37:1-2
What a vision! In the vision, God picked Ezekiel up and set him down in the middle of a huge open valley. But it wasn’t just any valley. It was a valley covered in human bones. When verse 1 says the valley was full of bones, it indicates the ground was covered with them. They were scattered all over the place. Not only were they scattered all over the place, there were a lot of them. Verse two says, “behold, there were very many in the open valley.” But the most vivid description he gives of them was that they were very dry. When I lived out west, sometimes you could find an old skull out in the mountains. When bones are exposed to the elements, they get bleached and very brittle. Before too long they begin to crumble. That’s what these bones were like. That’s why they were a perfect description of Israel. You see, Israel had all the opportunity in the world. Of all the people in the world, God had chosen them to bear His name. They were His chosen people. He blessed them with land. When they obeyed Him, He blessed them with peace. He blessed them with His presence in the temple. He blessed them with His Word through the prophets. But what did they do with His blessing? They took it for granted. Instead of doing what God wanted them to do, they ignored Him and did what they wanted to do. Instead of looking to His Word, they looked to idols. They didn’t worship God to try to please Him. They did their sacrifices out of routine. They did them out of obligation. Because they were supposed to—not because they wanted to. They looked to God when they were in trouble or wanted to get some benefit from Him. Not because they loved Him. Not because they wanted to be obedient to their Lord and Master. So what does that have in common with the church today? As Christians, we are chosen by Jesus Christ. He has chosen us to bear His name. Especially as the church in America, He has blessed us with buildings and budgets and material wealth. Even many of our poorest churches in this country are blessed with nice facilities. God has blessed every church in our association with nice facilities and material blessings. God has given us peace and freedom from persecution. He has protected the church in America from physical harm. God has blessed us with the presence of His Holy Spirit. And He has blessed us with His complete revelation in His Word—something the Old Testament saints never had. He’s given us the complete picture. He’s given us the back of the Book. But what do we do with it? What do we do with God’s blessing? We do the same thing Israel did. We take it for granted. Many times, instead of doing what God wants us to do, we ignore Him and do what we want instead. The problem isn’t that we don’t know what we’re supposed to do. The problem is that we choose not to do what God has so clearly told us we’re to do. We choose to live the way we know God doesn’t want us to. Instead of looking into His Word, we look at Oprah or Dr. Phil. We look at pop-psychology and entertainment when we should be looking to Jesus. Oh, but we do turn to Jesus, don’t we. We turn to Him when we’re in trouble. Or when we’re sick. Or when we want something from Him. When we want him to make us feel good. Or give us a little emotional tingle. So, when we act like that, how are we any different from the dry bones that God showed Ezekiel? If we’re so similar to the way Israel was before the exile, what is keeping God from turning us into a valley of dry bones just like He did with them? I think it’s obvious that the church suffers from the same condition that Israel did. But is it all bad news? If that’s our condition, what’s the cure? The second thing the church has in common with Israel is the cure. Look with me in verses 4-6:
EZEKIEL 37:4-6
Look where the cure starts. It starts with the Word of the Lord. God spoke to Ezekiel and told the dry bones of Israel to hear the Word of the Lord. He didn’t say for them to shake some more hands, or knock on some more doors, or be more friendly, or be more loving. He didn’t say for them to give more money or show more enthusiasm in their worship. Those things are great and very necessary, but not if you’re not hearing the Word of the Lord. No cure could begin for Israel until they heard the Word of the Lord. By the way, they still haven’t. They won’t, as a whole, until the Tribulation. Until that time, they’re still looking for their cure on their own—apart from the Great Physician, Jesus Christ. They still refuse to hear the Word of the Lord. Are we hearing the Word of the Lord, church? When we hear the Word, are we doing something with what we hear? Look at the last part of verse 6 for what hearing the Word was supposed to do for the dry bones. “And ye shall know that I am the Lord.” If hearing the Word doesn’t instill a profound sense of the fact that Jesus Christ is Lord of all, we’re not doing it right. We’re still scattered and dry and ready to crumble. We’re not ready for the cure. Hearing the Word and recognizing Jesus as Lord of all is where the cure begins. Once the Word is heard and Jesus Christ is recognized as Lord of all, the physical cure begins. Look at verses 7-8.
EZEKIEL 37:7-8
Back to a little history. After the Babylonian exile, the Jews rebuilt the temple under Ezra and rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah. Some Jews returned, but most stayed in Babylon. Even the Jews of Jesus’ day lived all over Roman territory. They would come to the temple, but they would have to make pilgrimages there. About 40 years after Jesus’ crucifixion, the Roman Emperor Titus destroyed the temple and the Jews were dispersed. They did not begin to return to their homeland until the state of Israel was created in 1948. Jews that have been dispersed throughout the world have steadily been migrating to Israel since then. The gathering of the Jews in the land of Israel that’s going on today is a partial fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophesy in verses 7-8. The bones have rattled and come together. Muscles, tendons and skin are coming back on the bones. The body of Israel is being made whole. But what’s the problem? What’s missing? The breath. The word that’s translated into “breath” is the exact same word that’s also translated into “spirit.” The body’s there, but there’s no breath—no spirit. Now, how does that compare to our churches today? There are more churches in our country than ever before. Every year, hundreds of churches grow to the point that they are considered mega-churches. Every year, Southern Baptists baptize hundreds of thousands of people. The goal for the last couple of years is to baptize a million. We have more programs and conferences and meetings and revivals and activities than ever. We do lots of community work, have food pantries, clothes closets, and disaster relief. We do plenty. Our physical body seems to be pretty healthy. We have sinews and flesh and skin. But where’s the Spirit? Look at verses 9-10:
EZEKIEL 37:9-10
This prophesy for Israel moves from what’s going on now to what will happen to them during the Tribulation. The prophet Joel speaks of this time when he says, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.” The “all flesh” he is talking about in that context is, “all Israel”. It is the spiritless bodies that Ezekiel spoke of. During the Tribulation, after the church is raptured, God will pour out his spirit on the Jews. They will be redeemed, but not before having to endure at least 2000 years of separation from God as He deals specifically with us—his church. God has set His chosen people aside for over 2000 years for one purpose. For the same purpose they will have to endure the awful suffering of the Tribulation. He’s put them aside and will make them endure the Tribulation to purge them of their sin. The Spirit will not return to Israel until sin has been purged from them. Now, carry that over to the church today. Our churches are doing a lot of stuff. We have lots of programs. We have sinews and flesh and skin. But do we have the Spirit? Well, let’s look at the evidence. The Book of Revelation says that when God pours out His Spirit on Israel, 144,000 witnesses will reach the entire world with the Gospel. Revelation 7:9-10 says, “After this I beheld and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” As Ezekiel said, those Spirit-filled Jews will be, “an exceeding great army.” So, the evidence of being more than just a lifeless body is reaching people with the Gospel. Are our churches in America reaching the world for Christ? If they were, it would be evident. There wouldn’t be the evil and corruption that we see in the world today. Let’s bring it closer. Are the churches in our association reaching Southern West Virginia for Christ? What’s the evidence? Let’s get personal. Is this church reaching this area for Christ? Who will stand before the throne and before the Lamb and say, “Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb” on account of this church? Not on account of the pastor. Not on account of the deacons. Not on account of the Sunday School teachers. But on account of the witnesses God has placed here. That is all of you. Are you Spirit-filled witnesses, or scattered dry bones? Is your body standing upon its feet? Or is it flesh-covered but dead, without breath—without Spirit? If you are scattered bones today, there is only one cure. It starts with the Word. It starts with the Word, and I know everybody here today has heard the Word—most of us many, many times. But does hearing the Word lead to a purging of sin? Is there sin in your life today? Is there sin in the church’s life? We can look for sin in the church all we want, but if we don’t first deal with the sin in our own lives, we’ll be like dry bones dealing with dry bones. So, that’s my question for you. Are you dry bones? Are you dead flesh? Or are you alive and Spirit-filled?
