May, 2007
To Hope Again
Ezekiel 37:1-15
INTRODUCTION: For years the children of Israel had experienced both good times and bad times. When their situation seemed most hopeless God would send a prophet to give a spark of hope and prophesy words showing God’s faithfulness to a rebellious and wayward people. Today I want to look back to a time in 593 BC when these people were exiled in Babylonia. God raised up the prophet Ezekiel to pronounce judgment upon them because of their sinfulness but also to bring a message of hope and encouragement. Ezekiel, himself, was taken captive in 597 BC and these verses of hope were written to the Jews in captivity in Babylon as well as to God’s people everywhere. They speak to us as well today.
At different times in our lifetime we have situations in which we feel that hope has gone and we are left to struggle hopeless and downcast. In the New Testament before the crucifixion those who were wildly waving palm branches felt that their high hopes had been shattered, and they scattered because of fear. Those people hundreds of years earlier felt the same way. The Savior had not yet come during the time these people lived.
Let’s look at Ezekiel’s message of hope and see how it applies to us also.
In the vision that God gave Ezekiel, the people of Israel were pictured as extremely dry bones, scattered everywhere in an open valley. The bones were disconnected from one another and were very dry and bleached out by the sun. There had been no moisture in them and they were as dry as dust. The Jews in Babylon were like these bones.
God asked Ezekiel a tough question, “Can these bones live?” How would you answer a question like that? Ezekiel didn’t want to say, “Well, no, that is impossible. These bones are so dried out there is no way they could live again.” He didn’t want to put limits on God. His response was, “O Lord, God, thou knowest.” I think that was a good answer. Ezekiel is thinking, “I sure can’t do anything about these dry bones, they look like they are beyond hope--but thou knowest.” These dry bones in the vision were an accurate picture of God’s people who had lost their hope--who were in captivity--a hopeless situation. What could God do about it? There were several things He said and did through His prophet Ezekiel.
1. PROPHESY--Get their attention: God said to Ezekiel, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” He was to prophesy “over” the bones and proclaim God’s quickening Word to them.
In the first part of the prophecy, Ezekiel is told to SPEAK DIRECTLY to the dry bones--directly to the hopeless situation. What was he to speak? He was to speak the Word of the Lord to them. He said, “Dry bones, HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD.” You might say, “So, what is so significant about that?” The importance lies in the fact that he needed to GET THEIR ATTENTION. He was to focus on their HEARING. They needed to perk their ears up. LISTEN. What is God trying to say? For a long time they had not heard from God. The bones were dried out and spiritually dead. They were lying out in the scorching heat of the sun. They were certainly not getting any nurturing or encouragement from anyone. They were seemingly beyond hope. They were separated from one another, and it looked as if they could never be joined together again. It was not humanly possible.
When God begins to work in a person’s life, He needs to get their attention. You might think of times when God has given you a wake up call and it got your attention.
Story: One Sunday morning a man entered the church and sat down near the front with his hat on. Noting the man, one of the deacons spoke to him, asking him if he knew he forgot to remove his hat.
“Yes,” the man replied. “I realize I have my hat on. I’ve been coming to this church for two months and this is the only way I could get anyone to speak to me.”
Hear what God is saying to you. Perk up your ears. There is more information to come. Ezekiel spoke directly to the dry bones, “Dry Bones, hear the Word of the Lord.” Many times things begin with WORDS. We may simply state a goal we have in a few words--I’m going to college. I’m going to be a teacher. I’m going to get a new car. IT BEGINS THE PROCESS.
I believe scripture teaches that we can also speak to our situation. Mark 11:23 says, “whosoever shall SAY unto this mountain, be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.”
Ezekiel is prophesying OVER the bones--”Hear the Word of the Lord.” Jesus said in Mark 11 to SAY unto the mountain be removed. What authority do we take in speaking to our current situation? At times we do nothing and the situation remains. We must begin the process in some way. SPEAKING to our mountain of problems in many cases is the first step. It is a way of ADDRESSING or FOCUSING on the problem. Sometimes we need to make a DECLARATION that even though things look hopeless now, they are not going to remain that way. “DRY BONES--sickness, unemployment, discouragement--HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD!” God has a hopeful word for the most unpromising situation. But Ezekiel did not stop at this point. The dry bones needed more than just HEARING in order to respond.
2. Hope Comes Through the Word of God: The actual WORDS of his prophecy to a pile of dead bones was the beginning of hope for a nation. Ezekiel obeyed in speaking them out when it looked like nothing could be done. There needed to be a Word from the Lord after he got their attention. Ezekiel prophesied the Word of the Lord. What was it that the Lord was saying?
I will cause breath to enter
I will lay sinews (tendons) upon you
I will lay flesh upon you
I will lay skin upon you
This was the BROAD OUTLINE of what God was going to do. The restoration, however, did not happen instantly although it was prophesied that there would be flesh and skin on these bones and that they would live and breath again. As the Lord gives us hope that miracles CAN happen and WILL happen in our life, we do not always see the answer come immediately. We think that things should change immediately when we say, “AMEN.” In Ezekiel, we find that there was first a little indication that something was happening--A NOISE, a SHAKING first. Transformation was beginning to take place. Then in the vision, the bones started to come together and to take their proper place. It was only a skeleton--it wasn’t living and breathing yet, but it was better than it was. Hope began to spring forth at the Word of God.
When we feel that things are hopeless for us we may not recognize LITTLE improvements beginning to take place. We need to be alert for even the smallest signs and then thank and praise the Lord for how He is beginning to work to pull things together for us.
Story: A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer heard the mule ‘braying’ and after carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule but decided that neither the mule or the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened. He enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.
Initially, the old mule was hysterical. But as the neighbors and the farmers continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, the mule shook it off. This he did, blow after blow.
“Shake it off and step it up…shake it off and step it up…shake it off and step it up!” the old mule repeated to himself. The old mule fought “panic” and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping it up.
Before long, the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well. What seemed like it would bury him, actually blessed him. The adversities that come along to bury us usually have within them the potential to benefit and bless us.
As Ezekiel continued to prophesy, more things began to unfold--the sinews (tendons) and flesh came upon these bones and skin covered them. Quite a bit had taken place since Ezekiel first spoke to the bones. They were still just a skeleton and no life was in them. When we pray about things we may think, “this is still not the way it should be.” You might think, “Yes, there’s improvement--but it’s not very good.” Remember that God is still working in the situation. There’s an old song that says, “God’s still working on me.” The Word of God is powerful and works in and through people and situations to bring the completeness that we need. So let hope rise in your heart! Know that God is mindful of your needs even when things look incomplete. We may pray for healing and we are some better--praise the Lord for what healing you already have. You have prayed for a job and just got a part time one--praise the Lord for the part time one.
3. The Action of God: The dead bones lived by a power that went along with the Word of God. The skeleton was formed, bones were in the right place, they had flesh and skin on them but no breath was in them--there was no life. Ezekiel prophesied again by the Word of the Lord. “Come from the four winds”--from ALL DIRECTIONS and breathe upon these slain that they may live.” And through the ACTION of God breath came into them, and they lived and stood up upon their feet an exceeding great army. In the vision of the dry bones, God had caused the work to be completed through His Word spoken and through His ACTION. They would know it was God when breath entered the dry bones and they came to life. This vision of a resurrection from death to life is unknown to nature. It is contrary to nature, but it points ahead to what Jesus said. “I am the resurrection and the life; He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” (John 11:25, 26).
It points to the resurrection from the death of sin to life through Christ. Ephesians 2:1,2 says, “and you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins.” It points to the resurrection of believers at the great day to rise to life eternal.
In this prophecy the dry bones represented the whole house of Israel almost 600 years before Christ. He gave the promise of restoration to people who were so dispersed among their enemies, destitute and alone that it looked as if there was no hope ever to be found. All the while God has been at work to unfold his plan and his purpose. Let us know that the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ezekiel, and all of the others down through history is still at work to restore hope to our individual lives also. We can rekindle hope by remembering the past. Have you not known? Don’t you remember? Don’t you remember how you used to sing? Remember your past. Don’t forget the God who brought you safely this far.
Our hope is BUILT on the solid foundation of the memory of God’s faithfulness. Our hope is SUSTAINED by the fact that our God is still working in our lives.
CONCLUSION: In the midst of your despair, get ready for God to do a new thing. He is a God of His WORD. He is a God of ACTION. Let God restore your hope.
David in the Psalms said: “For in thee, O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord, my God.” Psalm 38:15
“And now, Lord, what wait I for? My HOPE IS IN THEE.” Psalm 39:7
