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. 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. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “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 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.”
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. 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. 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." 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. 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.’ 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.”
Thought for Today
Do you remember singing the gospel tune Dem Bones, Dem Bones? It's based on this text. It was written 500+ years before Jesus was born. Ezekiel was a prophet in Babylon. In the earlier chapters of this book, he tells of God's judgment of Israel because they reject God. They have forgotten His many miracles to protect and provide for them in His leading them out of Egypt and His Law (given to Moses for their protection and eternal well being). More than likely, they rejected Him because they wanted to 'do life their way'. In essence, they've taken God for granted. It's an all too frequent human condition or state of mind. Arrogant self-determination is a reality all around us each day.
There is a major twist to the story of Israel and for us too. Ezekiel is visited by the Lord and taken to a valley of dead bones. The Spirit asks Ezekiel if these bones can ever live again? His reply is 'O Lord God, You know.', meaning that only God has the power and authority to give life. Ezekiel is then commanded to give directions to the bones to reconnect and to add the elements of tissue that a body needs in order to function and live. But these bodies are not yet alive. What was missing? Ruah, the Hebrew word for breath or the essence of life was needed from God for these bodies to come to life. Ezekiel experienced the prophesy of Israel coming back to life, the eschatology, end of human life as we know it, of Israel when the Messiah returns.
It's important to understand this text because as we began our Lenten journey on Ash Wednesday, what did Pastor Eric place on your forehead or hand? What were the words he spoke over you? This is our earthly beginning and destiny but, just like Israel, our story isn't over.
Dem Bones, Dem Bones; at the end of each verse, there's a refrain. It is 'O Hear the words of the Lord.' Are you listening carefully? He's trying to speak to each of us.
Prayer
Dear Lord, Lent is a very somber time of remembering our sinful humanness and Your justification for giving us what we deserve, death. By the virus of sin that we inherited from Adam, this is our reality. But our story, just like You shared with Ezekiel, is not over. We pray for Your Ruah in our daily lives. We long to hear You speak to us. Amen
Devotional Quote
There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on His Word spiritual strength for labour in his service.
― Charles Spurgeon
Quote of the Day
For the slave, however, without a song, life would be destroyed by death because through the spiritual, a musical sermon, the enslaved “chants new life.” This is the heart of preaching—chanting new life in the midst of death.
Dem Dry Bones
Ezekiel 37:1-14 ESV
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. 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. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “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 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.”
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. 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. 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." 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. 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.’ 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.”
Thought for Today
Do you remember singing the gospel tune Dem Bones, Dem Bones? It's based on this text. It was written 500+ years before Jesus was born. Ezekiel was a prophet in Babylon. In the earlier chapters of this book, he tells of God's judgment of Israel because they reject God. They have forgotten His many miracles to protect and provide for them in His leading them out of Egypt and His Law (given to Moses for their protection and eternal well being). More than likely, they rejected Him because they wanted to 'do life their way'. In essence, they've taken God for granted. It's an all too frequent human condition or state of mind. Arrogant self-determination is a reality all around us each day.
There is a major twist to the story of Israel and for us too. Ezekiel is visited by the Lord and taken to a valley of dead bones. The Spirit asks Ezekiel if these bones can ever live again? His reply is 'O Lord God, You know.', meaning that only God has the power and authority to give life. Ezekiel is then commanded to give directions to the bones to reconnect and to add the elements of tissue that a body needs in order to function and live. But these bodies are not yet alive. What was missing? Ruah, the Hebrew word for breath or the essence of life was needed from God for these bodies to come to life. Ezekiel experienced the prophesy of Israel coming back to life, the eschatology, end of human life as we know it, of Israel when the Messiah returns.
It's important to understand this text because as we began our Lenten journey on Ash Wednesday, what did Pastor Eric place on your forehead or hand? What were the words he spoke over you? This is our earthly beginning and destiny but, just like Israel, our story isn't over.
Dem Bones, Dem Bones; at the end of each verse, there's a refrain. It is 'O Hear the words of the Lord.' Are you listening carefully? He's trying to speak to each of us.
Prayer
Dear Lord, Lent is a very somber time of remembering our sinful humanness and Your justification for giving us what we deserve, death. By the virus of sin that we inherited from Adam, this is our reality. But our story, just like You shared with Ezekiel, is not over. We pray for Your Ruah in our daily lives. We long to hear You speak to us. Amen
Devotional Quote
There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on His Word spiritual strength for labour in his service.
― Charles Spurgeon
Quote of the Day
For the slave, however, without a song, life would be destroyed by death because through the spiritual, a musical sermon, the enslaved “chants new life.” This is the heart of preaching—chanting new life in the midst of death.
― Luke A. Powery