The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord God, You know." Again 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 that you may come to life. ‘I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’"
So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew 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 the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God, "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life."’" So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life 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 has perished. We are completely cut off.’ "Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, "Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. "Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. "I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it," declares the Lord.’"
My thoughts -
Yet again we see that God provides hope even in hopelessness. What is more hopeless than dry bones? There is no life here and no hope for life. This isn't Lazarus, just a few days in the grave. These are dry bones. No flesh. No breath. No life. And there hasn't been for quite some time. There is no hope here and then God acts.
I love Ezekiel's answer to God asking if the bones can come alive. I'd want to say "Yes, of course they can. With you, God, all things are possible."
But I wouldn't believe that. Dry bones? Come back to life? It's impossible! But Ezekiel says "O Lord God, You know."
Ezekiel trusts God more than his eyes and more than his brain. His eyes see dry bones. He knows there's no life there. How could there be? He knows that but he trusts that God knows better. Maybe there can be new life. Maybe there can't. That is up to God alone. God knows.
Things were looking bleak for Israel and for Judah. The land is barren. It's as dry as a bone. The people are defeated. They are scattered. Their way of life is no more. Their way of being is no more. They have as much of a chance of being restored as these bones do of coming back to life. They have no hope.
Only God can give them hope. Only God can restore them. And knowing that is a good way to be. Because God just so happens to be in the restoration business.
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