Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1-14
THEME: Ultimate Victory
God speaks to Ezekiel in this vision. Let’s walk with him as he learns what it means to be regenerated, renewed and refreshed in God’s Word and in the power and presence of God’s Holy Spirit.
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
Have you ever had a strange dream?
You’ve had a slice of pizza that day or perhaps a spicy meal and then you had a rather unusual dream that night.
Have you ever had a vision flash before your eyes?
This morning, our scripture takes us to a time when the Prophet Ezekiel had a rather odd vision. God used to share not only with him but with everyone that would listen some amazing truths that can help all of us understand God better and live a more victorious life here on God’s Good Earth.
Ezekiel’s writings are very interesting. I mean where else can you read about all kinds of interesting angels (Ch. 1,9), a wheel that’s in a wheel (Ch.1), what the throne of God looks like (Ch. 1, 10) and all the other strange things that Ezekiel mentions.
The Prophet himself was a very colorful character and had a rather unique way of sharing his message with others.
+There was this time that he cut off his hair (Ch. 5), divided it into three parts to symbolized northern Israel, the Judeans left in Jerusalem, and those in captivity in Babylon.
+There was the time he rationed his food (Ch. 4), carried all the furniture out of his house (Ch. 12), and did various other things to represent the disaster that would soon overtake the city of Jerusalem.
Most of what we read about in the book of Ezekiel occurred while he was in Babylon. He and thousands of others had all had been taken captive by the Babylonians and transferred to live out the rest of their lives in Babylon.
Ezekiel found himself living among the Jewish colonies that were settled near the Kebar River which was around 50 miles north of the city of Babylon. It was there that Ezekiel did most of his preaching and teaching.
In chapter 37, Ezekiel is shown a vision. It is a rather strange vision. It is the vision that we know as the Valley of the Dry Bones.
Let’s take a few minutes and see what we can glean from this vision:
1. The Facts of the Vision:
First, we need to get a hold of what is going on in the vision.
+Ezekiel sees himself in a valley, a place that is low and dark and surrounded by mountains.
+All around him are hundreds of human bones.
+Bones that are completely dry, signifying that they have been there for a very long time.
+Bones that were scattered meaning that they have lost their unity and identity. At first glance, you couldn’t tell which bones belonged to one another. Here was a scattered pile of tibias, over there were some flanges, past them were some rib bones and vertebras and a pile of skulls. All the bones were scattered without any rhyme or reason.
+Bones that symbolized hopelessness and helplessness.
+Bones that symbolized that there was no longer any life or seemingly any possibility of life.
I am sure that when Ezekiel saw all those bones, he had to feel like that was his life and the lives of all the Jews he knew both in Babylon and those that had been left behind in Israel. Their nation, their way of life and the Temple had all been either destroyed or uprooted and so many of them had been brought here to Babylon some 900 miles away.
All their dreams and their hopes were like these bones.
Once they had been a unified people; a people that could quickly tell you if they were of the tribe of Judah, Dan, Benjamin etc…
+Now, how would they keep their identity?
+How would they remain Jewish?
+How would they worship without the Temple?
+How would they stay together without their own government and their own rulers?
I am sure he thought about his own life. By the time we get to chapter 37 Ezekiel had not only lost his homeland and his occupation, but he had also lost his wife and from what we can understand he had no children which to a Jewish man meant there was no future.
I am sure as he looked around, he felt like he was seeing himself and his nation. Dry, scattered, without an identity, disconnected, helpless and hopeless. I am sure that he thought what he was seeing was a future picture of the nation of Israel.
That is where we first find Ezekiel.
But that is not where he stays.
II. Ezekiel was determined to live in Hope.
The strangest part of this whole story is that amidst all these bones, all this death and despair, Ezekiel is determined to live in hope. He is not overcome with misery but retains a heart, mind and soul founded on Hope in the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.
He doesn’t have hope in the bones – after all, he knows that they are dry and dead and scattered everywhere.
He has hope in God. For the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY has been speaking to him even though he is some 900 miles from the Temple.
+He doesn’t presume to know what God wanted him to do with the bones.
+He doesn’t presume anything. Ezekiel is confident that God has shown him this vision for a reason.
Hope is such a strange thing. It lives and thrives in the strangest of places.
It’s like seeing a patch of grass growing through a crack in concrete.
It’s like seeing the sun coming up every morning.
It’s like hearing the sound of the birds or the laughter of children.
Rick Warren says this about hope:
"What gives me the most hope every day is God’s grace; knowing that his grace is going to give me the strength for whatever I face, knowing that nothing is a surprise to God."
For Ezekiel his foundation of hope was in God speaking to him and through him and feeling God’s presence around him.
He knew that God had a purpose in showing him this vision. A purpose that wouldn’t end with a future of dried out bones.
III. Ezekiel dares to try to do the impossible
The LORD had already asked Ezekiel to see and do some rather strange things.
But I don’t think any of those things were stranger than talking to dead bones.
It’s one thing to write about all kinds of different angels, to cut your hair or even to try to describe the throne of God.
But what do you say to a bunch of dried out bones?
What do you say to something that from all appearances has no hope or future?
What do you say to someone whose life (maybe even your own) when it looks like there is nothing that can happen to stop the trainwreck or even pick up the pieces after everything has been blown apart.
I like what Ezekiel says to the LORD –
“Lord GOD, you know”
That’s a great start – God, I don’t know what to do. All I can see is dryness. All I can see is that things are so scattered there is no way to make sense of anything. All I can see and smell is hopelessness.
He decides whatever it takes or means, he is going to do what God says to do and to say what God tells him to say.
+God told Ezekiel to talk to the bones; to share with them God’s Words
And as Ezekiel begins to do that simple thing – just sharing God’s words something amazing starts to happen. It’s like what we read about in Genesis chapter one where everything is formless, empty and darkness covers the earth. Then God speaks and suddenly everything begins to take shape and light appears and life appears.
That’s what happens when we bring God’s Word to the front and center of everything.
God’s Word is the source of life and power. The Word of God can create, transform, and revive that which is dry, useless, and dead.
We see this fleshed out in the ministry of Jesus.
Remember the story of the 12-year-old girl that dies in the Bible. She was Jarius’ daughter, the leader of the local synagogue near the Sea of Galilee. While she was not yet a pile of scattered bones, the Bible tells us that she was lifeless; she was dead (see Mark 5:21-43).
Mark tells us that Jesus followed Jarius to his house where they were told that the girl had died. It was over. Jesus was no longer needed. Nothing could be done now, she was gone.
But Jesus tells Jarius not to worry. The crowd around them starts to make fun of Jesus thinking that he could do something now that the girl had died.
The Bible tells us that Jesus went into the room where they had put the dead girl, bent down and whispered in the her ears - “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”) and immediately Mark tells us she got up and began to walk around.
The same thing happened later in the life of Lazarus. Only this time it happened four days after Lazarus had died. Again, while Lazarus was not yet a pile of dry and dusty bones there was no life nor was there any hope of life.
Then Jesus showed up. All Jesus had to do is to call out his name – Lazarus, come out – meaning get out of that tomb.
And as John tells us, Lazarus got up and came out of that tomb alive and well.
We need to understand that God’s Word is not a book of useless facts and knowledge. It is not a book of hopelessness. It is rather a book of life. It contains words of life, of hope and of a future.
The Word of God can give hope, faith and life to those who will hear it and will accept it. The Word of God can restore, renew and reconcile that which is broken and scattered.
One of the greatest things that we can do for ourselves and for others is to share with them God’s Word.
For them to take the time and sit down and read God’s Word. To allow it to saturate their heart and mind and soul.
I am sure that Ezekiel’s mind and heart were racing as he suddenly watched all those bones started finding their rightful places and bodies once again began to take shape and taking on muscle and flesh.
God’s Word – spoken, preached, taught, and absorbed is the first answer to anything that looks dry, dead and hopeless.
Psalms 1 reminds us:
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight in is the law (word) of the LORD, and who meditates on his law (word) day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.” – verses 1-3
Let’s get back to Ezekiel’s vision because it was not finished.
Those skeletons were merely standing flesh and bones. They couldn’t move or speak. They looked good but the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY wanted to teach Ezekiel one more lesson – a lesson that we must understand and receive today.
There is no real life without the breath of God; that is without the Holy Spirit.
These skeletons looked a lot like Adam did after God formed him from the dirt. They looked good but they had no real life.
God tells Ezekiel that he has to do another step. Now, Ezekiel invite My Presence, My Holy Spirit into each of them.
And as the Spirit of the LORD began to come into each one of these people suddenly life poured into them. They were more than just physically alive, they were fully alive.
It is the Spirit of the LORD; the Holy Spirit who gives full and abundant life. The Holy Spirit is the one who regenerates, indwells and imparts power. The Holy Spirit is the one who guides and equips this rag tag bunch of bones to be a mighty army for the LORD.
It didn’t take long for the Early Church to grow from 120 in the Upper Room to over 3,000 on Pentecost Sunday.
Do you remember what caused that kind of growth?
It wasn’t anything physical. It wasn’t because they knew how to advertise or gather in small groups. It wasn’t because their pockets were full of coins.
It was because of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. It was the because of the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. It was because of Holy Spirit that made all the difference that Pentecost morning.
The importance of the presence of God’s Holy Spirit was the final touch of Ezekiel’s vision.
Yes, the Jewish people looked like dry bones, even Ezekiel looked like dry bones scattered everywhere on a dark and dreary valley.
Absorb my Word. Read it, learn it and lean into My Word and you will find strength, you will find purpose.
And you need one more thing – my Holy Spirit.
The Church of today needs more than just the physical – we need to do more than just smell good, look good and feel good – and we do need that – but to finish it all off we need the power and presence of God’s Holy Spirit.
For it is the HOLY SPIRIT that brings about miracles, anointings and blessings.
The Early Church made a difference by inviting, by sharing and by being there for others. It also became this living breathing conduit in which the Holy Spirit was able to cleanse, infill and empower.
This is what John Welsey first learned from people like the Moravians and understood at Aldersgate.
John had for years read God’s Word, he had done his best to live according to God’s Word.
But then he met some Moravians that lived in such peace and contentment that it unnerved him. He had all the head knowledge, all the rules and rituals of the Church in his heart and mind but he was powerless. He was restless and he was going nowhere fast.
He discovered that they lived and relied on God’s Holy Spirit. He started searching and looking in the Bible and watching others that seemed to have this Holy Spirit at work in their lives.
And then it happened. He gave himself over to allowing God’s Holy Spirit to cleanse him, to renew him and to infill him and he was never the same person.
He went from being a bag of bones to becoming a person who was being led and guided and infilled with God’s Holy Spirit.
From then on, his life was totally and radically different. It was no longer John trying to be John but John living in and with and through and for the Holy Spirit. It was John living in what has been called the sea of the Holy Spirit.
This morning that is our call – to be physically and spiritually alive in the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. To be born again and to be infilled with His Holy Spirit.
This morning we serve the God who can do the impossible, the not yet seen and the unbelievable.
Our God can make that which is dry, scattered, disconnected, helpless and seemingly hopeless come alive again.
Nothing is Impossible with God!
He is able to take all the dry places, the dead places and the hopeless places in our lives and bring back life. He is able to walk with us through our Valley of the Bones and remind us that in His Word and through His Spirit we can be more than we ever thought we could be; we can be alive, living and breathing in the power and presence of His Holy Spirit.
Let’s allow God to speak to our dry bones – the places in our lives that may seem to be helpless and hopeless. Let’s allow God’s Word and His Holy Spirit to regenerate, renew and refresh our lives this morning.
Prayer – Call to Holy Communion
