If anyone has ever said scripture is dull and boring hasn't really read much of it!
For this blog, particularly, Ezekiel!
There have been messages spoken on the old testament book of Ezekiel..and I heard one recently on Ezekiel chapter 37....Dry Bones! and it inspired this weeks blog.
📖 The hand of the Lord was on 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. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 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.’”
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.
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.
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.’ 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.’” Ezekiel 37:1-14
Bare, dry, desolate bones, covering the floor of a valley. No breath, no movement, no life!
Can you relate? Have you felt the despair, the desolation?
That is what God intended Ezekiel to see and feel with this vision He put before him.
It was how many were feeling at the time, as the Israelite people had been taken into bondage, cities were leveled. There was probably very little hope among the people.
In earlier chapters of Ezekiel he prophesied how attacks from outsiders, and sin from within will bring them to ruin.
But God had other plans, and He gave a vision to Ezekiel to depict His amazing power of restoration!
Several points that stand out to me;
First of all,
🦴This is set in a valley. It could have been a field, a large dessert expanse, but it was a valley floor. A valley is the lowest point...and we have all been there...at some point in our life, in our walk we have slid down the mountainside and found ourselves in a barren, dry valley.
🦴This was a participation exercise, the Lord didn't just "speak over the dry bones" and they were complete. He commanded Ezekiel to "prophesy", to speak over the bones himself. The Lord directed, gave Ezekiel the words and all he had to do was listen and obey. Hmmmm 🤔
🦴The Lord could have made the bones rise, move, dance and that alone would have depicted a form of restoration, but the Lord's vision to Ezekiel depicted what His full restorative power can look like! Not only did the bones form together, but then the inner workings, tendon, muscle, skin! But He wasn't done yet! There was no life, or breath!
🦴The Lord then explained that this is what He can do....the restoration He was going to do for the Israelite nation.
And lastly, as we head toward Palm Sunday and Easter,
🦴 the restoration He planned for us! The foreshadowing that this passage carries of our restoration as a result of Christ's death, and resurrection, the dead coming to life!
We are dead in our sin, but if we believe what Christ did for us, we can have eternal restoration with Him in Heaven.
📖 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
Have you ever been there, in the valley, feeling as dead, used up and abandoned as an old skeleton? Exposed to the elements, bits and pieces disappearing over time?
Or maybe you feel as though you have begun to be restored; standing, looking as if you are whole, but feeling lifeless inside?
Ezekiel's vision was about hope for the Israelite people, but it can be for us too!
God's restorative power is there for us!
His Spirit in us breathes life into our being, into our soul.
Like Ezekiel we must listen, and follow God's instructions. How? His Holy Word! Read the Bible daily. Find others who read the Word of God and spend time talking, listening and learning. Spend time talking and listening and learning from Him, in prayer.
📖 "I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT IN YOU AND YOU WILL LIVE"!
HOPE in any situation!
📖 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. John 20:21-22
🙏My prayer for you; No matter how low and desolate you feel let God breathe His Spirit into your soul and feel life again, dance again! ❤️
This song was referenced in the message that inspired this blog and it fits so perfectly!
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