Walking Dead Series (3 of 4)
“The Valley of Dry Bones”
Ezekiel 37.1-12
October 20, 2013
Chester FBC, Chester, IL Dr. Mike Fogerson, Speaker
Introduction:
A Apocalypse of any kind is trending high right now.
1 Biological, chemical, nuclear, collapse of government/economy, zombie . . .people eat it up.
a The Walking Dead has survivors battling to survive during a zombie doomsday scenario.
b Apocalypse today has come to mean “end times.”
B The text we are in this morning is called “apocalyptic literature.”
1 It is rich in symbolism, vision, dreams . . .typically apocalyptic literature has to do with future events (eschatological in nature.)
a Ezekiel is quoted in all but ONE chapter in Revelation.
b Apocalyptic literature has a two-fold form:
aa the geographical setting the vision is in (plan, valley, battlefield.)
bb a divine interpretation is given.
Ezekiel 37:11-14 (NASB) 11 Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.' 12 "Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.13 "Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. 14 "I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken and done it," declares the LORD.'"
c At the time Ezekiel is given this vision (600 years before the birth of Jesus) the nation was in Babylonian captivity, without king, Temple, without a land, government.
aa The nation had fallen into apostasy (occult, paganism.)
bb A remnant remained (Ezek. 11.13-17) & God had promised to restore the faithful few into a great nation once again.
Ezekiel 11:13-17 (NASB) 13 Now it came about as I prophesied, that Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, "Alas, Lord GOD! Will You bring the remnant of Israel to a complete end?" 14 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 15 "Son of man, your brothers, your relatives, your fellow exiles and the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, 'Go far from the LORD; this land has been given us as a possession.' 16 "Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Though I had removed them far away among the nations and though I had scattered them among the countries, yet I was a sanctuary for them a little while in the countries where they had gone."' 17 "Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel."'
2 Ezekiel 37:1-12 (NASB) 1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. 3 He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know." 4 Again He said to me, "Prophesy over these bones and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.' 5 "Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, 'Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. 6 ~'I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the LORD.'" 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9 Then He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life."'" 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.' 12 "Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.
B Many scholars of Biblical prophesy see Ezek. 37 as a vision that was fulfilled during the holocaust of WWII.
1 After Germany’s defeat in WWI, much of Germany blamed their Jewish citizens for their defeat & subsequent financial ruin. (Germany was forced to pay war reparations)
a This was difficult because after the war the German Mark was worthless. (In Nov. 1923 it took 4.2 trillion Marks to buy one American Dollar.) Jewish bankers became the scapegoat for the Germans.
aa Germany found itself under the spell of a gifted orator, Adolf Hitler, who despised the Jews.
bb BTW, Mein Kampf (My Struggle) Jihad (My Struggle)
cc The conditions that allowed the world to spin into WWII started on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929 (American Depression) but its effects were felt world wide. (Germany was especially susceptible to meltdown, which allowed the rise of Hitler.)
b Exactly 42 months on the Hebrew calander from October 29, 1929 (25 Tishri) Germany granted dictatorial powers to Hitler (25 Adar) 3/23/33 & the rest is history.
aa From 1938 to 1945 (about 7 years), Nazis executed 2/3 of the Jews from Europe.
bb Rabbis call this 7 years “Jacob’s Trouble”
cc Jacob’s story has him working 7 years for his uncle Laben to get Leah, then 7 more years to get the one he loves, Rachel.
dd I believe that Israel will endure two 7 year cycles of “Jacob’s Trouble”: one was the Holocaust the other will be the 7 year tribulation in Revelation.
c The allied soldiers arrived at the death camps to find piles of bodies, skeletons, frail, emaciated bodies hanging between life & death . . . valley of dry bones.
aa In May 1948, the UN voted to give the Jews a homeland . . . partioning Palestine, Israel. (Not existed for nearly 1,900 years) A nation born in a day.
bb Today, Israel has one of the most sophisticated & powerful armies in the world.
cc My God keeps His promise, word . . . means what He says and what He says He will do!
T.S.: Let’s look at a couple insights we can learn in the valley of dry bones.
I Ezekiel was given an awesome task to do by an awesome God.
A He was to speak the life giving Word of God to the dead
Ezekiel 37:4 (NASB) 4 Again He said to me, "Prophesy over these bones and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.'
1 Ezekiel walked all the way around the valley taking in the deadness of his surroundings.
a It was the scene of a battle long ago lost by the nation of Israel.
aa The bone were testimony of a once standing army but were now dead & had been for a very long time. (Very dry)
bb This army had not had a near-death experience, but a total death experience.
cc Left in the most of humiliating of states (A body of Jew was to be washed, wrapped, & buried w/ dignity in a grave/tomb.) These bodies were not in tomb/grave but were under the eye of heaven . . . THERE WAS HOPE!!!!
b Ezekiel was told to preach/prophesy to the dry bones!
aa Seemed crazy, ludicrous, impossible, futile to preach to the dead . . . but God said do it.
bb God said, “Just preach to them and I’ll do the rest.”
2 We are today, in many ways, in a valley of dry bones (death valley) of sorts.
a Each person we meet is either a Born Again Christian or one of the Walking Dead (Spiritually Dead in their trespasses & sins)
b We are not like Ezekiel, but we have all been given the same directive God gave Ezekiel
Ephesians 4:11 (NASB) 11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
Matthew 28:19 (NASB) 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
aa We are to preach to the dry bones, walking dead, the Good News of Jesus so they can live!!! God’s Grace!
bb He’s chosen us to be the people to carry the news of where the cure to sin can be found.
c “Preacher, my wife/husband/neighbor/co-worker wants nothing to do with God, His Word, His Church.”
aa Know this . . . God’s grace is still available to them, life from the dead & the fountain of life.
bb God’s grace can save people without our preaching but our preaching cannot save people without God’s grace, and that grace is sought out by prayer.
cc Prayer is the trip-wire that softens the heart, opens the eyes, gets the walkers attention.
3 When was the last time you prayed for your lost F.R.A.N?
a Invited them to church? Meet them at the door? Shared with them about what God was doing in your life?
b Your witnessing is not in vain, w/o hope . . . God has given us a charge . . . preach to the dry bones!
aa Whether the dead will hear or forbear is not our call . . . we must share the Word.
bb Pray for God’s grace on the spiritually dead so they may live!!!
B Sometimes we wonder if what we are doing is doing any good, making a difference.
1 IL. Sometimes feel like we’re watering a fake plant & expecting it to grow. (No matter how much we water it, put in the sun, miracle grow . . . it doesn’t ever seem to change.)
II God did the impossible for Ezekiel.
A As Ezekiel was prophesying over the dry bones the Word, he sees the power of God released instantly.
1 The bones became reattached, each in its proper place, clothed with skin/flesh . . . w/o life, spirit, breath in them
Ezekiel 37:8 (NASB) 8 And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.
a Ezekiel must have thought, “I guess these bones are too dry/too far gone for even God to do anything with.”
b Notice he didn’t say anything, voice his concern, tweet it or post it on line . . . he kept it to himself!
aa It would have given the enemy an “in” to attack his faith/heart.
bb The devil can’t read your mind!
2 God said, “Prophesy to the wind/breath/spirit (ruach).”
Ezekiel 37:9 (NASB) 9 Then He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life."'"
a To this point, this the equivalent of the two-stage creation of Adam (Gen. 2.7.) Stage 1: Forms Stage 2: Fills
Genesis 2:7 (NASB) 7 Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
b I believe at least twice in Ezekiel’s ministry he encountered the glorious infilling of the majesty of the Holy Spirit
Ezekiel 1:22-28 (NASB) 22 Now over the heads of the living beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads. 23 Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had two wings covering its body on the one side and on the other. 24 I also heard the sound of their wings like the sound of abundant waters as they went, like the voice of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army camp; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings. 25 And there came a voice from above the expanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings. 26 Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. 27 Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. 28 As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.
Ezekiel 3:23-24 (NASB) 23 So I got up and went out to the plain; and behold, the glory of the LORD was standing there, like the glory which I saw by the river Chebar, and I fell on my face. 24 The Spirit then entered me and made me stand on my feet, and He spoke with me and said to me, "Go, shut yourself up in your house.
aa Each time the Spirit filled/enteed him, he fell to his face and the LORD had him STAND.
bb That’s exactly what is about to happen to the dry bones that been formed into bodies.
c When the ruach comes, the same wind that filled the upper room at Pentecost, even now being poured out on the earth (Joel 2.28-29) the life-like bodies came to life as an army purposefully prepared for battle.
Joel 2:28-29 (NASB) 28 "It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. 29 "Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
B Too often God’s people are like a standing army, life-like but not really alive. (How does life come?)
1 In Ezekiel’s vision, the Spirit had to fill them for them to become an exceedingly great army.
a Christians/Churches need a fresh filling of the Ruach (Spirit of God) if we are going to be in business with God.
aa IL. 4-Wheeler (crank, crank, crank . . . nothing), spray a couple of shots of starter fluid in the carb . . . she starts.
bb Churches get the same way, (programs, ministries, conferences, choir, Sunday School, . . . what we really need is a good shot of the Holy Ghost!)
b Spurgeon, “Decayed churches can most certainly be revived by the preaching of the word, accompanied by the coming of the heavenly breath from the four winds.”
2 Before we heard the Word we were the dry bones in valley but the Holy Spirit quickened us, brought us from death & into life.
a We start to live a new life (on fire!)
aa Like the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 20.9), we couldn’t stop talking about He who raised us from the dead.
Jeremiah 20:9 (NASB) 9 But if I say, "I will not remember Him Or speak anymore in His name," Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it.
bb But like a fire left unattended, the fire grew cold and has almost died out.
b Can these dry bones live? The answer is always a resounding “YES THEY CAN!”
aa Some Christians are like . . .
Wheelbarrows . . . not good unless they’re pushed.
Trailers . . .not good unless they’re pulled.
Kites . . .if you don’t keep a string on them, they fly away.
Kittens . . . only happy if you pet them.
Footballs . . . can’t tell which way they’ll bounce next.
Balloons . . . full of wind & likely to blow if not handled carefully.
Buzzards . . . they “get wind” of a stink and come quickly.
bb Some are filled with the Spirit . . . Thank God for These Folks!
c What bones do you have laying around the valley of your life?
aa sobriety, taking better care of yourself, relationships?
bb Forsaken attempts at tithing, prayer, reading your word, passion for ministry?
cc The bones of your past battles fought and lost are still under heavens eyes and resurrection is not impossible.
3 In his day, hope had become a rare commodity. Ezekiel must have felt as desolate and useless as the piles of bones that he had seen in a startling vision.
a As the prophet sat in the middle of a valley, he knew that only a miracle could bring together his decimated and scattered people.
aa Yet as Ezekiel watched, a miracle of life took place. Where before only dry bones had littered the landscape, the Lord added muscles, tendons, and tissue.
bb And into those restored, silent bodies, God breathed new life.
b Maybe you feel dry, defeated, emotionally scattered. aa Perhaps you sit alone, dejected, watching a
panorama of death unfold before you. But do not despair!
bb If the God of Ezekiel is your God, then know that even the dry bones before you can live again.
cc In His grace they can live and stand upon their feet-an exceedingly great army.
Conclusion:
A This passage was the inspiration for the negro-spiritual, “Dem Bones” but it should to inspire us to so much more.
1 God has given us all the mandate to speak the Word of Life to the “dry bones,” walking dead around us.
2 God will do the impossible when simply do what He says.
B Growing up I was a little bit of a nerd (Star Wars, Star Trek, Close Encounters, Comics, especially comics.)
1 In the back was an ad for the Charles Atlas Body Building Program. (Make you a new man in 7 days)
a Told how Charles was a 97 lbs. weakling who went to the beach with his girlfriend only to be confronted by a big bully who kicked sand in his face.
aa He began an intense exercise regimen and soon became a great big bulging man.
bb He got knocked down, robbed of his happiness, humiliated, bullied . . . then he got some “meat on his bones.”
b If you have been being kicked, punched by the devil, robbed, humiliated it’s time to release God’s power to put “some meat on your bones” just like He did for the bones in Ezekiel 37.
2 Will you . . .
a Speak the Word?
b Expect God to do the impossible? (IL. Boy in hospital ward, teacher “nouns & verbs”, “They wouldn’t send in a teacher to teach a dying boy about nouns & verbs.
c Meat on your bones . . . shot of the Holy Ghost.
d Dry bones of your past that need to be resurrected.
3 Pray
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Mike Fogerson
