Dry Bones

The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. ² Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. ³ And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”

⁴ Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. ⁶ I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”’”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Also 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 breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. - Ezekiel 37:1-10

The question God asked Ezekiel is a question God asks us.  Do you have an impossible situation in your life right now?  Reflect for a moment about it.  God is asking you, “Son/daughter, can there be life in that situation?”

What is your answer?  Maybe you’ve been praying about it for years and there has been no change.  Maybe all you see is a dead thing.  It will never change, there is no hope for it.  What do you see?  Do you see the thing as it is, or do you see a God who can bring life to anything dead?  What do you see, Christian?  Ezekiel answers with his spiritual eyes, “O Lord God, You know.”  And so it should be with us, our answer to the impossible situation should be “O Lord, Your will be done.”  We must be careful not to lean on this as something to say and not pray diligently with the burdens on our heart, but we must say it knowing that God can bring anything to life.  The situation results are up to Him and Him alone and we are dependent upon Him for it.

Then the bones become assembled in order, flesh is attached, and they become corpses.  I think I’d feel more spooked standing among corpses than dry bones.  There is order established from the hearing of the Word of God, yet there is still no life.  Too often we as a church put everything in order, we get the right people in the right places and still there is no life.  In our own lives, we may read the Word, do the Word, and get worn out by it with the feeling we are doing it all ourselves.  And the truth is we are.

Next, the Spirit of the Lord was breathed into the corpses and they became alive.  Just as God breathed into man in Genesis and gave him life, just as the winds blew at Pentecost and the Spirit came into the disciples, God brought life to them. 

Were you not once as spiritually dead as the dead bones Ezekiel is standing amongst?  And yet, you were brought to life.  The Bible says, "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (1 John 5:12).  If a person does not have Jesus, his bones are bleached, white, and dry. Spiritually speaking, he has no life.  Ephesians 2:1 says, "And you hath he quickened [revived], who were dead in trespasses and sins."  If sin still reigns in our lives, if we're still controlled by a life of sin, then we're spiritually dead.  We are as good as dry bones.  "For this my son was dead," the father said of the prodigal son, "and is alive again; he was lost, and is found" (Luke 15:24).  When was the rebellious son dead?  When he was out living a riotous life. Spiritually he was as dead as a dry mummy, but then God brought him to his knees and restored him to his senses.

When Mary asked, "How can this be?" the angel Gabriel told her, "Nothing is impossible with God."  And when the disciples asked, "Who then can be saved?"  Jesus said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  The Bible is saying that without Christ we can't do anything, but through Christ all things are possible.  God never wants us to lose faith that He can give life-even if it appears that a situation is hopeless.