Ezekiel 37 Dry Bones

God shares a vision with Ezekiel that would blow most anybody’s mind. A valley of dry bones come back to life! Israel will too.

I have been waiting for this story for a while. It’s one of the more thought-provoking stories and even inspired songs. I had to go searching, of course, and found that it was an adult song first. And, YES, I’ll share it with you!

Ezekiel saw the dry bones being brought back to life in a vision. It was a metaphor for the nation of Israel. What a sight that would be! But can you imagine it actually taking place in real life? NOTHING is impossible for God.

I was just thinking about this possibility and considering those that were raised from the dead. None of them were this far decomposed, EXCEPT for those that came out of the grave after the earthquake signifying Jesus’ death. We are not told which ‘saints’ rose, but the only ones I can think of are the prophets of old. THOSE would be some DRY BONES or even some dust being brought back to life. Those bodies, whomever they were, not only rose from the dead but went into the city and witnessed to the people. Can you imagine what the people thought of that event? WOW!

Anyway, let’s get back to our story today. Let’s rejoin Ezekiel as he watches, and participates, in a wonder from Heaven. Holy Spirit, You know my heart already. You know the excitement building inside me. Lead me on YOUR path in this journey. Show me the sights along the way that You would have me focus on. And show me what I should take from this story for my own walk.

♥ ♦ ♥

Ezekiel takes his customary place this morning. The place where he spends time with the Lord each day. He loves spending time with the Lord, and is especially grateful when God shares a word with him. He loves sharing the words of the Lord, even though it is NOT an easy job. The people often don’t really want to hear what the Lord has to say. And they certainly don’t take His words to heart. Regardless of their receptiveness, Ezekiel diligently shares anyway.

Today, as Ezekiel kneels in prayer, he doesn’t hear the Lord’s voice. Instead, he begins to experience the same sensation he had the first time the Lord spoke with him. He feels himself being lifted, in his spirit through the hand of the Lord, and taken to another place. As his spiritual feet touch the ground, he feels an excitement travel the length of his body. He can hardly stand still in anticipation for what the Lord has for him today.

Ezekiel looks around and sees an entire valley littered with dry bones. “There must have been a fierce battle here some time ago” thinks Ezekiel as he looks over the thousands and thousands of disjointed skeletons lying on the ground.

As Ezekiel looks out at the evidence of death, a man of God stands beside him.

“Walk with me” the man says.

The two of them walk the length and breadth of the valley, being careful not to step on the dry bones. As they walk, the Lord begins to speak to Ezekiel.

“Son of man, can these bones live?” (Ezekiel 37:3a).

Ezekiel is surprised by the question. A few answers quickly fly through his mind. The first of these is; “You have got to be kidding!” But he tamps down on those answers and says; “O Lord God, you know” (Ezekiel 37:3b).

God didn’t miss the other answers that momentarily took up residence in his mind. But He also saw how Ezekiel wrestled these thoughts to the ground. It pleased Him greatly. He decides to let the fleeting thoughts pass without comment. He speaks to Ezekiel according to the faith he has just demonstrated.

“Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath^[b] to enter you, and you shall live. 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” (Ezekiel 37:4-6).

Ezekiel doesn’t miss a beat. He begins speaking the words of the Lord over the dry bones in the whole valley. He scans the valley with his eyes and tracks it with his hand as he speaks life to the bones lying on the ground.

Before the final syllable dies off his lips, a sound begins to fill the valley. It starts off as a low rattling sound and it grows in intensity until the whole valley vibrates with it. As the sound grows, Ezekiel watches the bones move around and begin to connect with one another. Muscle and tendons begin growing on the bones until they are held together firmly. Then skin begins to form over the muscles and bones.

Ezekiel watches all of this with his mouth hanging open and his eyes nearly bulging from their sockets. The sound suddenly stops. Ezekiel looks out over the valley and it is filled with MANY lifeless bodies. God has restored the bones to in tact bodies. Ezekiel holds his breath. He is CERTAIN there is more to come.

“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” (Ezekiel 37:9).

Without a second’s hesitation, Ezekiel speaks to the wind and to the bodies in the valley. The wind picks up and begins to swirl in on itself, like a small whirlwind. As the wind twist, the bodies are filled with breath. They rise from the ground. Ezekiel watches as the whole valley comes to life and stands in formation of a great army.

As Ezekiel looks around in awe, the Lord speaks to him again.

“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.’ 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. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 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” (Ezekiel 37:11-14).

Ezekiel begins to think about the analogy the Lord has just shown him. In an instant, he is back in his body in his own house. He shakes his head in wonder. “O Lord, You are amazing!” he breathes.

Ezekiel sits for a few moments, absorbing fully the vision and ensuring that the Lord does not have something else to say, before rising to his feet. He is all smiles as he thinks about how he is going to share this vision. He quickly eats his meal and hurries to the marketplace. He has to restrain himself from running with the excitement he feels.

Taking his traditional place, Ezekiel immediately launches into his story. He doesn’t wait for the crowd to acknowledge him or even give him their full attention. This vision and its interpretation are nearly hurling themselves from his lips.

The people quickly abandon their shopping and come to listen to Ezekiel. His story is beyond amazing. They take Ezekiel’s words with excitement and some suspicion.

“Did you really see this?” “Where is this valley?” “Are they still alive?”

It takes a few times for Ezekiel to explain that this was just a vision, but that it has meaning for the people. When the people finally settle down, Ezekiel tells them of his vision’s interpretation. The very words of God concerning the future of His people.

“God can resurrect our hearts as easily as He restored those dry bones. He will NOT leave His people to rot in their sins. He will draw us back to Himself and put His Spirit within us. And then we will be His people in spirit and in truth.”

Ezekiel shares this vision and hope with the people several times this day and for the next three weeks before the people tire of hearing it. Ezekiel prays that the people’s spirits will begin to take in this word and manifest change. “They need to ‘hear the rattling’ Lord” he says as he walks away from the marketplace each day.

Nearly six months later, Ezekiel is kneeling before the Lord when he hears another word from Him to bring to the people.

“Son of man, take a stick and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?’ say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand. When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God” (Ezekiel 37:16-23).

“That will be a glorious day, Lord! When will this be?”

“That is not for you to know yet. But I swear by My name that I will do this.”

God brings Ezekiel back to the message He is sharing with him now. “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore” (Ezekiel 37:24-28).

Ezekiel waits to be certain that God has finished speaking. “Oh that it were today Lord” he breathes before rising from his place.

Ezekiel goes immediately, even before eating his morning meal, to find the two sticks he will use for God’s purpose. He thinks about how he will accomplish the task God has set before him.

“Should I bind them end to end? Or should I bind them side to side? Should I get pieces of the same size, so that they will fit together better. The two separate kingdoms are not of the same size. I need to bind them in such a way that the words inscribed on them won’t be obscured. I’ll have to find a sharp rock to do the carving. I’m pretty certain that a reed stylus wouldn’t do the job.”

As Ezekiel thinks, he scours the area for what he is looking for. He finally settles on two sticks that are very similar in size. They are both wide enough for him to write on with a sharpened implement. Next, he has to find a stone with the shape he needs for his task.

Ezekiel walks along the banks of the canal until he locates some stones with jagged edges. “One of these should do nicely” he thinks to himself. He picks up several of the stones and brings all his pieces back to his home.

Ezekiel prepares his morning meal and sets it beside him where he is working. He slowly eats as he inscribes the words on the two sticks. By the time he has finished inscribing the words, his breakfast is done as well. He sits back and looks over his work. He is very satisfied with what he sees.

His next task is cleaning up and tending to his fingers where the stones cut into his flesh as he pressed them into the wood. Now he is ready for the next step; binding them together.

Searching through his home, Ezekiel finds finely spun thread that his wife had made. “This will be perfect. It won’t obscure the writing but it will hold the sticks fast against one another.”

Ezekiel wraps the thread several times around the sticks, concentrating on getting it spaced to where it wouldn’t obscure the words. He also makes knots that will keep the thread from unraveling. He surveys his work, and when he is satisfied, he puts his tools away.

“I’m ready Lord” he says. Ezekiel tests the two sticks in his hand. They are not nearly as comfortable as his regular walking stick, but he will adapt. From this moment on, this is his daily walking stick.

Ezekiel leaves his home holding his new stick. People don’t notice the difference from a distance, but when they approach, the bulky stick is easy to spot. On closer examination, the writing becomes visible. People begin to question him, just as the Lord said they would.

Ezekiel is happy to tell them about the Lord’s promise to reunite all the tribes of Israel. “One day, we will be one nation again. No longer two broken people but one whose heart is fixed on the Lord.”

Ezekiel doesn’t leave everything up to the stick to draw the people’s attention. He also goes to his stone in the marketplace and shares God’s message of reunification. The people welcome this news, but wonder ‘when’ that day will come. “Will it be in our lifetime” they ask.

“I asked the Lord a similar question myself, and He said that the timing is not for me to know now. But that it WOULD happen.”

After two weeks, Ezekiel doesn’t bring this message to the marketplace, as the people have tired of hearing it. But he continues using his new walking stick. It still generates a few questions and gives him the opportunity to speak the Lord’s promise again to a new listener.

(to be continued)

I have a feeling that this prophecy is still to come. When Israel returned from exile, records indicate that only the Jews returned. The northern kingdom of Israel is now referred to as the “Lost Tribes” of Israel. That is also why the people are now called Jews instead of Hebrews. The people of Judah are the only ones credited with returning to rebuild the Temple and the land.

Another reason I think this is an end times prophecy is that it states that the Temple will be in their midst forever. We know that the second temple didn’t not stand forever. It too was ransacked and burned by fire. I believe that this prophecy is for the time when Jesus rules the earth and the final Temple rests on earth.

I MAY be wrong! I am no Bible scholar, nor do I claim to have ‘insider’ information. I suppose that we will all have to wait and find out together when that timing is.

Father God, thank You that You CAN bring dead hearts to life again! You make mine alive again. The day I learned to truly trust You with my whole life, You gave me a new heart and breathed Your life into me.

Yes. I STILL mess up. But You don’t abandon me in my sins. You call out to me until I finally stand back up and start walking again. In the hardest times, You actually pick me up off the ground and stand me on my feet. Then You give me Your strength to take that first step back onto the path You created for me. I cannot thank You enough for that Lord! Keep me walking with You Lord; no matter what comes.