The prophet Ezekiel was a contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah. God had a particular mission for Ezekiel. After the Babylonian exile, Jeremiah ministered to the children of Israel who were still in Jerusalem. But Ezekiel was carried off with the second group that was taken to captivity by the Babylonians in 598 BC, and he ministered to the people in exile.
Nearly three thousand years ago, God gave the prophet Ezekiel a scary vision. Ezekiel says, “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. 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” (Ezekiel 37:1-2).
If we visualize the scene, it’s quite scary. God brought Ezekial in spirit to a valley full of bones. And God doesn’t just make Ezekial stand over there. He makes him walk back and forth among the Thousands of bones were spread out across the valley. This valley was a place where intense battles used to take place in the past, but now there is nothing but bones scattered across the valley.
The bones are in bad shape. They are scattered, disordered, and very dry. When do bones become very dry? Scientists say it takes on average at least 18 years for a dead body to completely lose all flesh and become dry and be a skeleton.
What do the bones represent? We find the answer in vs 11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’
These dry bones represented the hopeless condition of the people of Israel. Just as these bones had no life in them, the people of Israel had no life in them. There were enormous bones in the valley but they were completely useless. In the same way, the people of Israel were enormously spread through the land of Babylon but useless. They had no power whatsoever. They were living as captives in a foreign land. The bones that Ezekial saw represented the brokenness, hopeless, fear and dry condition of the people of Israel.
And God asks Ezekial a radical question. Vs. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I think Ezekial probably was a hundred per cent sure these bones cannot live. They did not have one flesh sticking to them. No nerves. Totally dry. Ezekial could have answered, No God, these bones cannot live. One word that would have come to his mind would be IMPOSSIBLE.
However, Ezekial knew if God had brought me to this valley of dry bones there would be a purpose. But he didn’t have the courage to answer YES to God. So he gave a smart response.
Vs 3 - I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
Sometimes it is better to trust God with the answers than try and answer on our own. While our answer would be a sure No, God’s answer would promise to open the closed doors. God’s answers are sure to amaze us. Jeremiah 33:3 - 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
And now that’s exactly what God is about to do to Ezekial.
Vs 4 - Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!
Ezekial was asked to preach and prophecy to these dry bones. Only an insane person will speak to inanimate objects. I think he was the only preacher to preach to a dead crowd. Ezekial actually spoke to the dead bones.
That is the power of God’s words. God’s words can penetrate even through lifeless situations. We may think this chapter is over. This is dead. This is gone. This dream of mine will never be fulfilled. God’s word can penetrate through these dead situations.
John 6:63 – Jesus says, the Words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life.” They are not ordinary words. They are Spirit and life.
When Jesus commanded the dead Lazarus, ‘Come Out’, the dead man heard the voice of God.
John 11:43,44 - When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Ezekial 37:5-6 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 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.’”
When Ezekial spoke the living words of God over the dead and dry bones, something miraculous happened.
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. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
To human reason, this declaration of the word of God was foolish. Yet Ezekiel obeyed, almost like a foolish obedience to the Master. It’s the kind of obedience we need today.
Ezekial did not reason it with his mind. Most often, when we begin to reason God’s word against our limited wisdom and life situations, we will never have the faith and courage to declare His word. Our minds will reason the possibility of the fulfilment of His word against the limited resources we might have, our health conditions, family situations and so forth. The best thing to do is to trust God and speak words of faith.
When Ezekial spoke, all the 206 bones that were scattered across come together from different places. Bones would have searched their exact matches and fixed themselves together. That is why Ezekial records there was a noise, a rattling sound. After that, tendons and flesh appeared. Then he saw skin covering them.
Eze 37:9,10 - 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, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
Here we find Ezekial prophesied as God commanded him, and breath entered them, they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
There is an important lesson we can learn from this passage.
God needs you to speak words of faith and hope over your dry bones
God could have directly spoken the words to the dry bones and they would have lived. That’s what he did when He created Adam. But he didn’t do that now. He commands His words to Ezekial and expects Him to speak the words in faith to the dry bones.
You think it would have been easy for Ezekial? Definitely not! Because what he was seeing was completely opposite to what God was seeing. He was seeing a valley full of dry bones; God was seeing a valley with a vast army.
He was seeing lifeless dead bones God was seeing millions of living human beings
He was seeing hopeless conditions; God was seeing hopeful things.
It would have needed Ezekial a lot of faith to speak the words and when he spoke it, it happened. Didn’t it?
It was a vision that God gave to Ezekial but God was teaching Ezekial something
Ezekial was a prophet who had to prophesy to the people of Israel and Judah during their captivity. God wanted Ezekial to say to them that He would bring them back out of captivity. But Ezekial was seeing exactly the opposite. Babylonians were powerful. There was no way they were going to let the people of Israel go. There was no way the people of Israel could fight against the Babylonians – Israelites had no army, no weapons, no power. Then how can they return to their own land? It is nearly impossible.
So God gives Ezekial this vision and says in vs 11, These dry bones represent the whole house of Israel. They are in a hopeless condition (both Judah and Israel). Israel fell into captivity some 150 years earlier, and God says, this prophecy concerns them too.
Vs 11 - They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’
But God wants Ezekial to know, that when you speak my words in faith to these hopeless Israelites, it will come to pass.
Eze 37: 12-14 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: 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. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 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.’”
Now Ezekial can speak with assurance because he had seen the vision. He knows what God is capable of doing.
God’s word is always powerful. Many times, we don’t have the faith to see what God has in plan for us. We are just pulled down by our dry condition and hopeless situation.
The dry bones may be the financial situation, family relationships, studies, health issues, workplace issues, or anything. It doesn’t matter what your dry bones are. What is important is that we speak the Word of God over the dry bones.
Jesus says the same thing - Luke 17:6 - He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
You can have a small faith, but we need to practice speaking out of that faith. Only when you say to the mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ it will obey you. You can cry over your problems, pray and weep, but if you are not speaking and acting in faith, the mulberry tree will never be uprooted.
Words spoken in faith have the power to change things. Jesus demonstrated this time and again.
God created everything with the power of His word. The power of His word is available to you and me today.
God has given us the power and authority.
Luke 10:19 - I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
Matthew 10:8 - Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
Mark 16:17-18 - And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
What if Ezekial had not spoken the Word of God to the dry bones? The dry bones would have remained dry. With years passing by, it will become drier. The dry bones had no possibility for re-growth by themselves until something supernatural happened. And for something supernatural to happen, Ezekial has to speak to those dry bones.
Today, God wants you to speak over your dry bones so that supernatural miracles will take place.
