When Dry Bones Can Live Again

WHEN DRY BONES CAN LIVE AGAIN

Text: Ezekiel 37:1 - 14

Ezekiel 37:1-14  The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.  (2)  And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.  (3)  And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.”  (4)  Then 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, and you shall live.  (6)  And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”  (7)  So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.  (8)  And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had 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 may live.”  (10)  So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived 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 is lost; we are indeed cut off.’  (12)  Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel.  (13)  And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.  (14)  And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.”

“Dr. Edward Bauman tells about some Boy Scouts who were learning first aid. Three of them, who were to pretend that they needed medical attention, were stationed along the trail. As they came to each of these, the others were to administer the necessary aid. The third scout was to pretend to have a sever cut with much bleeding. But the boys took so long in ministering to the first two that the third one got tired of waiting. When the other scouts arrived at the place where he was stationed, they found a note that said, “I have bled to death, and gone home.” (Clarence W. Crawford. Cups of Light. Valley Forge, Pennsylvania: Judson Press, 1988, p. 124). What Ezekiel saw in his third vision in this thirty-seventh chapter, was not a drill. Those dry bones had been there a while! Those dry bones were a symbol of hopelessness.

Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death! God’s people at that time had been defeated, divided and exiled as a judgement upon their sinfulness as a nation. Only God could bring them back! This passage of scripture speaks of a time when God’s divided people will be united.

Symbolically, this vision is about the resurrection of Israel as a nation. The dry and disconnected bones represent how God’s people had been defeated, divided and scattered in exile. Only God can reconnect their bones, unite them and bring them back together as a country!

The Corona Virus reminds us that people are divided and disconnected world wide. We are all in this crisis together. Satan would like to use this crisis to tear us further apart. God wants to use this crisis to help us reconnect to Him and unify us as His people. This virus seems to be something that God is using to show us our true colors.

Our three points are hope, obedience and belief.

HOPE

What would you do if God gave you a vision placing you in a valley of dry bones telling you to prophesy to those bones? 1) Hesitant: Would we say it was hopeless to do that? Charles R. Allen once said, “When you say a situation or a person is hopeless, you are slamming the door in the face of God”. (Roy B. Zuck. The Speaker’s Quote Book. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1997, p. 199). 2) Not Impossible: Luke 1:37 “ … with God nothing shall be impossible” (MKJV). Example of God’s work