The Dry Bones Of The Prodigal

Ezekiel 37:1-14

The Dry Bones of the Prodigal

We read this morning the event of the Dry Bones, the dry bones, the dried out spirit of God’s chosen people.

The Lord was then and is now calling His people to come home to Him.

I cannot count how many sermons and stories I have heard about these Dry Bones and the Prodigal Son. What are they, whom are they and what is this vision telling Ezekiel and us, and what does the Dry Bones and the Prodigal Son have in common?

They are parallel stories. If you can understand why all these bodies ended up as dried out body parts, you will see that the son has turned his back on his father, just as the Dry Bones did. His fading love for his father and his self-centeredness, come to a very similar disastrous conclusion.

If the bones are symbolizing the Children of Israel, we see that there is no longer any love for God in then and yet God continues to prophecy to them. One-step at a time to bring them back to life.

The gathering of each bone builds an individual, bringing them back to their original state and then breathing the breath of life back into them.

Luke 15:11-24

In turn, the young son, turned his back on the father, he took all that was his, which was given to him in love, just as sinful man did and wasted it on a self-satisfying sinful lifestyle.

He was wasting away on some pig farm, far away from anyone who loved him. His body and soul was drying up and dying.

His spirit was broken and his pride was gone. What was a Jewish boy doing with pigs? His soul was all but dried up and he was fading.

I wonder if he remembered the story of Ezekiel and the Dry Bones?

If he continued in this sinful manner, the only thing anyone would have found of him would have been his dead flesh and dried bones.

Unlike the prophet Ezekiel who was speaking/prophesying to the Dry Bones, the Holy Spirit was talking to the lost son.

Why are you here and not where you are loved? Go back to where you are loved and wanted; go back to your father.

From a nation of Dry Bones to a single individual, the Lord calls out for a return to Him.

Look at the greatest nation in the world, the United States; you can see that it is almost the valley of Dry Bones. We have taken prayer out of our schools, we have allowed abortions and now we are in endorsing sexual immorality in same sex marriages. We are going to be a nation of Dry Bones.

How long will this go on before we stop listening to the devil and start listening to the Lord?

When does the gathering of the Dry Bones start?

There has been teachings and preaching of the destruction of nations, of churches, of families and individuals who have turned their back on God and His Word.

We cannot pick and choose what part of the Bible we will accept and what part to reject.

There are valleys all over this world, this nation and in our families that are full of Dry Bones and Prodigals.

It will only end when the prodigals and back turners realize that the Father loves them and His spirit is asking them to return home to His house.

Dry Bones or a pigpen, in scripture, they are the same. They are far away from God.

Luke 15:32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'"

We need to kill the fatted calf and have a feast, a party, a great celebration as the prodigals return and the Dry Bones are no longer just bones. They are once again followers of God.