vs. 1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.
•• We discern a nation’s true condition (e.g., Canada or Bella Coola “by the hand of the Lord ... by the Spirit of the Lord.”
• And what He shows us won’t always be beautiful. Here God showed the prophet a valley of dry bones.
vss. 2-3 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. [3] He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”
•• Imagine his feeling of helplessness, of hopelessness upon seeing all this deadness.
•• “Can these bones live?” What is your feeling?
• Can Canada experience revival once more and live?
• Can our Bella Coola Valley come alive in revival?
•• The correct, humble answer is: “Lord, you alone know.”
• Absolute dependence on God alone for revival.
• Our focus on God, not on desperate conditions.
vs. 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
•• That’s what Canada, Bella Coola, BC needs — to “hear the word of the Lord”!
• The written word preached, taught, and witnessed
• The prophetic word — suggesting a moving of the Holy Spirit
• The anointed word, not man’s “wisdom”
•• This will be done through anointed, Spirit-filled vessels:
• “Prophesy to these bones.”
•• It must be done even if you look foolish.
• Prophesy to a valley of dry bones?!!
vss. 5-6 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: “I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. [6] I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”
•• Canada needs that breath of God!
• “Breath” (Hebrew) also means “wind” or “spirit”.
• Born again by the Spirit
• Filled/baptized with the Spirit
• “Changed into a different [nation]” by the Spirit (as with Saul in 1Samuel 10:6)
vs. 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.
•• Obedience helps revival to come — “I prophesied as I was commanded” into a bleak situation.
•• As a result, order (bone to bone) began to come out of chaos and deadness.
vs. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
•• Body coming together, but no breath yet.
• Unity, a “Local Assembly” unified , is a precursor to the valley-reviving breath of God.
vs. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’”
•• We will have a part in any Holy Spirit renewing.
• “[You] prophesy to the breath ... ‘Come, ... O breath.’ ”
•• “Come, O breath” — This speaks of prayer, insistent prayer, for God’s breath to blow.
• Ministry to dry bones will require much beseeching of the Lord for His breath to blow upon our "valley of dry bones".
vs. 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet — a vast army.
•• Obey ... be a willing vessel in the dry times ... pray and prophesy —>
• The breath of God blows!
• Life comes to the dead! The valley of dry bones becomes a living multitude.
• A vast army stands to its feet!
vs. 11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ ”
•• The army is identified as the “whole house of Israel” —> the Church today (Galatians6:16).
• Their/our(?) present state is dryness, hopelessness.
vs. 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.
•• “Therefore,” in light of their despair, you speak:
• God will open your graves.
• He will bring you out of your deadness.
• He will bring you back to the Land of Promise.
• Speak a message of hope from God.
vs. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.
•• Even in the worst of times, even if you feel you are languishing in a valley of dry bones, remember, you are still “my people” to God Almighty.
vs. 14 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 have done it, declares the LORD.
•• God will pour out His Spirit:
• the new birth, numerous conversions
• the baptism with the Holy Spirit and the resulting flow of rivers of living water
•• The final result? — An entire nation will know [13] that God is the Lord and that [14] He can and will do great things for His people and will raise them up as “an exceeding great army.”
Some summarizing thoughts:
• Determine to stay alive if you find yourself in a valley of dry bones.
• Remain a man or woman of the Word.
• Stay under the anointing, so you can “prophesy” when God so moves.
• Remain in prayer — “Come, O breath!”
• Obey God’s promptings to speak into dryness.
•• The restoration of natural Israel (that is, their return from Babylon) did not occur in Ezekiel’s lifetime, but a generation later.
•• So you determine, like Ezekiel, to be faithful to God in your lifetime, and leave the timing of God’s valley-shaking breath to Him.
