Ezekiel 37 1-2
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.
So, what happens in this passage? Ezekiel the prophet is led by God to a valley filled with bones (Ezekiel 37:1-2). God then tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the 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," (Ezekiel 37:4-6). Sure enough, that's what happens. The bones start coming together. Flesh and tendons appear on them, and skin covers them. Yet, the bones still have no breath in them. Then God says to Ezekiel, "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live," (Ezekiel 37:9). Ezekiel prophesies to the bones, as God commands, and then breath and the Spirit fill the bones. Only then do the bones come alive and stand up on their feet as a vast army (Ezekiel 37:10).
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| If you thought that someone in the world came up with the idea of an "army of the living dead," rest assured that it is God who created this reality; showing that there truly is "nothing new under the sun," (Ecclesiastes 1:9). |
What happened in this section of Scripture might not make much sense on its own, but when proper context is provided, the significance and meaning of this passage becomes much more clear (as is common with all of Scripture). Ezekiel was a prophet of God, and he was called by God to prophesy to the people of Israel that they had become wicked and unrepentant; that God's anger burned against them (Ezekiel 8:17-18). Because of this, God had the Israelites taken captive and sent into exile among the nations (Ezekiel 12:15-16). Later in Ezekiel's life, God told Ezekiel that the people of Israel would be brought back to their own nation and they would be restored (Ezekiel 36:8-10). Following this, Ezekiel is taken to the valley of dry bones. There God tells Ezekiel, "these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone,'" (Ezekiel 37:11). God then gives this promise to the people of Israel in Ezekiel chapter 37 from verses 13 to 14:
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.
The meaning of Ezekiel's experience in the valley of the dry bones is that it was God making a promise to Israel; that He would restore their nation and they would know He is God (a promise that was also made using the visuals of a mountain in chapter 36 and two sticks in chapter 37, but those visuals aren't as popular as the bones).
Now, just because this account of the valley of the dry bones was written as a promise to the Isrealites during the time of exile does not mean that we, as believers living in our time, cannot also find applicable meaning in this text. From this passage we can see that God keeps the promises He makes (Read Matthew 27:50-53 to see where God did open graves and bring His people out of them). We can also see that people who have flesh, bones and skin are not alive, if the Spirit of the Lord is not in them, which lines up with what Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:1-10 (This was addressed in a previous blog). One other thing we can see in the text is that it is God who breathes life into the lifeless (Genesis 2:7). If the Spirit of the Lord was not in anyone, then all human beings would be lifeless wandering creatures (the term "zombies" might apply).
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| Though it sounds like a scene from a scary movie, Jesus says one day everyone will be resurrected from their graves, and more so those who have done good will live and those who have done evil will be condemned (John 5:28-29). |
We must remember that apart from God, we have no life, but it is Jesus who gives us life. Jesus Christ says, "I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades," (Revelation 1:18). If we put our trust in God's promises, then we will never die (John 3:16). We will not become a pile of lifeless bones feeling abandoned and without hope. We will be children of the living God, and will be free from the grip of death (Romans 8:2).
No grave
Gonna hold my spirit down
Ain't no grave
Hold my spirit down
Lord knows they'll never keep me in the ground
Ain't no grave
Hold my spirit down
- Newsboys
Sources
- The Bible (New International Version)
- Got Questions: Valley of Dry Bones
- Walk Thru The Bible: Ezekiel
- Newsboys: No Grave
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