God brings the Prophet to a most unusual place; "A Valley full of Dried Bone." The bones symbolizes at least four things:
1. Death and Restoration of the Nation Isreal.
2. Death and Resurrection of the dead in Christ.
3. Death of the sinner’s life apart from God.
4. Death on all levels.
Bones are story tellers. The coroner, the archaeologist and anthropologist use the state of bones to tell the time of death, the diet of a culture, the manner of death, and the lenght of death. The bones in our text are indicators of spiritual dehydration, idolatrous diet, doctrinal chaos, and Divine abandonment resulting from sin and disobedience. The bones also tell the Preacher, that sometimes he must preach in the most hopeless situations. The request by God to preach to a valley full of dried bones are a great test of the Prophets’s faith.
The text teaches us several things:
I. The Desperate Condition in Which Sin Can Reduce Us.
II. Faith is Possible Amid the Most Hopeless Situations.
III. The Power of HOLY SPIRIT Filled Preaching.
IV. Organization is Impotent Without the SPIRIT’S Impartation.
V. Revival is the Work of the HOLY SPIRIT. (ONLY!!!)
VI. The HOLY SPIRIT Can Raise an Army From a Graveyard.
VII. The REAL Source of Resusitation:
A. Faith.
B. Word.
C. SPIRIT.
VIII. The HOLY SPIRIT Can Transform a Valley Full of Skeletons into a Mighty Force for Heaven.
IX. No Broken-ness is Beyond the SPIRIT’S Repair.
Conclusion: Ezekiel’s preaching stirred up the bones and cause much noise but there was no life until he prophesied unto wind. The wind is a symbol of the HOLY SPIRIT. Once Ezekiel summoned the wind from all four corner of the earth; it symbolized the complete workings of the HOLY SPIRIT. Men are in need of the HOLY SPIRIT throughout the world and in every aspect of life. The great challenge of the church is to share Christ with a lost world.
May God Bless and Keep You
Pastor Rodney L. Johnson Sr.,
Historic Bethlehem Baptist Church
Hahnville, LA.
70057
