A graveyard of dry bones
Ezekiel chapter 37:1-14
Introduction-
Turn to Ezekiel chapter 37:1-14. Old Testament between Lamentations and Daniel. I want to talk to you about the dry bones of Israel. Before you think you know where I am going with this, I hope you will keep an open mind. I want you to realize something this morning. There is hope for the hopeless. Hopeless situations have hope when God is involved. Noone or no Nation is hopeless who’s hope is in God.
Illustration- (sermoncentral) The devil was having a yard sale, and all his tools were marked with different prices. There was hatred, jealousy, deceit, lying, and pride...all expensive prices. But over to the side of the yard on display was a tool more obviously worn than any other tool. The tool was labeled discouragement. When questioned the devil said, it is more useful than any other tool. When I can’t bring down my victims with the rest of these tools, I can use discouragement, because so few people realize that it belongs to me. Satan is never happier than when he sees people giving in and giving up to despair and becoming lost in hopelessness. Have you ever felt like your whole world is caving in around you and there is absolutely no hope. Your troubles seem to mount up, there is hope for the hopeless. Situations sometimes look pretty bad.
If ever there is a time that we need a breakthrough, I think it is right now If ever there was a time that we need a word from the Lord, it is now
A couple weeks ago, this Nation was faced again with a decision to make. The national day of prayer which was started with roots all the way back to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, a federal judge last week attempted to declare it unconstitutional. The truth of the matter is this.. Weather or not this nation has an official day of prayer or not- no judge or critic can stop believers from praying. “Ask of me, and I will make the nation your heritage” Psalm 2:8. Memorial day this Monday is to remember the ones that have sacrificed for what we have. We remember them We acknowledge them. I am believing as bad as situations appear- that God is able to take a nation walking in darkness and can cause it to walk in the light of God. Because we serve a big God
Ezekiel chapter 37:1-14- you should be there by now.
Background
King Josiah (Godly King) repairs the temple. Rediscovers the book of the law that Israel had ignored. He removed all the idols from the temples. He ran out prostitutes and pagan priest and there was a time of renewal.
King Josiah was killed in battle- his son Eliakim is put on the throne. He was ruthless and evil. He undid everything that his father had done. Raised taxes, pursued other gods, killed the prophet Uriah and imprisoned Jeremiah.
Makes a pack with King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, but after 3 years rebels against him and is defeated and all the leaders, fighting men, the rich and their resources are deported to Babylon. Judah remained independent nation, but all of it’s leaders were exiled and one of those exiled is Ezekiel. That was a discouraging time for the people of God. Sound familiar? Sounds like today. Godly people seem to be replaced with ruthless people. It seems like God ‘s people are handcuffed to things that they don’t want to do. (V1) “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 the valley.” The Lord by a vision or a dream set Ezekiel right in the middle of a valley. Dismal place. Full of human bones dried up in the desert. Apparently an army had been defeated there. Buzzards had done their job. Sun bleached the bones. Perhaps Ezekiel is looking at the bones of his own countrymen who lost their lives. The symbolism is clear. Israel is dead- as dead as dry bones. The exiled people are without hope. They are cut off from God. “Our bones dried up and our hope us gone; we are cut off” 37:11. As Ezekiel surveys this- God has a question for him. “Son of man, can these bones live? Hebrew answer was no Bones are dried up, marrow is gone, no tendons left, there chipped and cracked, broken, picked clean to the bone. But the answer Ezekiel gives is different O sovereign Lord, you alone know ” Ezekiel knows the power of God transcends the power of the grave. He remembers Elijah raised the widows dead son. He remembers Elisha raised the Shunamite’s women son. Then God told Ezekiel to do something bigger than himself. Prophecy to these bones. Ezekiel basically said to God- I don’t know if these bones can live, but with you anything is possible. I tried to picture God telling me from the pulpit to preach to dead bones. God , you have got to be kidding me I feel like sometimes there dry bones, but at least they have skin on them. But as he preached, amazing things began to happen. (V7) “So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them” He prophesied as he was commanded- he didn’t look at it through his eyes. He saw it through God’s eyes, and God began to rattle some old bones. He put together skeletons that had been broken.
Song:
Toe bone connected to the ankle bone.
Ankle bone connected to the shin bone.
Shin bone connected to the knee bone. You get the point.
Bones back together, muscles and flesh fitted together. They are still dead. The valley that had bones scattered everywhere was now a valley of skeletons. Skeletons scattered everywhere. The exiled Israelites felt like that. Skeletons dead and dried up and feel like they have no life. God gave Ezekiel direct step by step instructions for these old dry bones. (V19) “then he said to me, prophecy to the truth, prophecy, 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, so I propheceid as he commanded me, and breathe entered them, they came to life and stood up on their feet- a vast army. Hallelujah Amen God breathed new life into dead dried, lifeless bones. God told Ezekiel that I will remedy their moral incapacities by giving them a new heart and a new Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit- you are lifeless and bones that just maybe just forgot to fall down. Osman this week said, I am a nobody trying to tell everybody about somebody who can change anybody. I am a servant of the Lord, the most high God, trying to tell everyone that Jesus Christ can change anybody Hallelujah The importance of the Holy Spirit breathing life back into us We are not as good as we think we are, and God is way better than we could ever imagine 2 Cor. 5:17- “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old is gone, the new has come.” 2 Tim. 3:16 “All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” By God breathing in them, he promised to bring them back to life. John Wesley comment on this passage of dry bone resurrected:
(1). Reminds us of the resurrection of souls from the death of sin to a life of righteousness. (2.) Resurrection of the church from a afflicted state to liberty and peace.
(3.) Reminds us of the resurrection of the bodies of believers to life eternal. What does that mean for us today? A promise of new life If you will let him Ezekiel is talking about the wonder working power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 50 years later 558 BC. The first group of exiles returned to Jerusalem. A second and third wave of people returned about 100 years later. The book of Ezra and Nehemiah are both books of exiles returning to Jerusalem. They rebuilt the temple and their city. Israel becoming a nation in 1948 is key history. Keep your eyes on Israel. They are still in God’s plan.
Closing:
Do you realize what Ezekiel is saying? Dead dry up bones come to life by the Holy Spirit and by saturating ourselves with God’s Word. He is describing the born-again experience. He is describing how we can come to faith. He is describing how old things can be gone and new things coming into our lives. Something mysterious and wonderful happens when we trust God He strengthens our faith He gives us strength and power to be victorious From our study on Wednesday, pagans as they worshiped idols and unknown gods. Paul says”For I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription, to an unknown God. Now what you worship as something unknown, I am going to proclaim to you.” In God’s eyes, a dry bone is anyone who has no spiritual attachment to God. Anyone with a broken relationship or no fellowship with God. Some are comatose.
Song:
Come Holy Spirit we need thee.
Come sweet spirit I pray.
Come in thy strength and thy power.
Come in thy own special way.
Altar Call
