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. (Ezekiel 37:1-10 ESV)
Having done hundreds of funerals over my lifetime - I've come to find graveyards are just not one of my favorite places to go. It's where life ends. It's a place of finality. It's a place of tears.
Yet, this passage comes to us today right from a graveyard where some amazing things take place.
Here's a little background...
In 586 BC Jerusalem was totally ruined by Nebuchadnezzer and his great Babylonian army. Solomon’s Temple, which had been the pride and glory of Israel for almost 400 years was reduced to ashes; all the inhabitants of Jerusalem had been taken either to Chaldea or to Babylon in captivity, including Mattaniah, last king of Judah who was blinded and taken in chains to Babylon (present day Iraq). They had been warned repeatedly by God through His prophets, yet they had turned a deaf ear!
The Psalmist records: "By the rivers of Babylon ... we sat down, (and) we wept ....". Ezekiel adds his own lament to this bleak situation as he records in Ezekiel 1:1 that: " . . .I was among the captives by the river of Chebar."
Of all the prophets, Ezekiel (Who’s name meant "God strengthens") was probably the most colorful. He used pantomime, would cry and wail and slap his thighs, ate a scroll, and did many other unusual things to burn his messages into the minds of the people.
Historians tell us that Ezekiel was probably only about 25 years old when taken into captivity. Here was a young man who had been raised literally in the shadow of the great Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. He would follow in the footsteps of his father, a Zadokite priest. He had undoubtedly trained for this his entire life. Jewish law provided for a man to enter into the priesthood at the age of 30.
He looked forward to this with great anticipation. He would be revered and respected by an entire nation. Perhaps he would even become one of the chief priests of the Temple.
Undoubtedly he had grandiose plans and dreams. But now, instead of being in the lofty position of priest of Israel, he find himself "among the captives by the river of Chebar".
But God had a plan! He had not misplaced Ezekiel. He had not lost track of where he was. God's plan was to use him in a different place. He thought his place would be as a priest in Jerusalem but God's plan was for him to be used as a prophet in Babylon.
God's knows exactly where you are and He promises to "never leave nor forsake you."
Undoubtedly those who found themselves incarcerated in the land of Babylon felt their life had ended. They felt they had become one of many "corpses" in the great Babylonian Graveyard. They felt their lives had been reduced to ashes, and yet God has promised to ". . .give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;" We find in Scripture that "Testimonies can even emanate from a Graveyard!" Even in the graveyard of captivity, there is hope!
If ever a man was made to look upon an impossible situation, it was Ezekiel. Scripture records that the hand of the Lord was upon Ezekiel, carrying him out and setting him down in the midst of a valley which was full of bones". He was taken to the graveyard! It was a symbol of the impossibility of his situation.
Not only was this graveyard filled with bones, it was filled with dry bones. Not only were the bones dry, scripture graphically portrays them as very dry. These corpses had undoubtedly been dead a long while.
If Ezekiel had been taken to a valley filled with people who were dying there would have been a glimmer of hope. Perhaps some would be healed and survive. If the valley had been filled with the corpses of people who had just died, there would have been the possibility of a mass resurrection.
Even if the valley had been filled with complete skeletons, there would be some hope. But this valley was filled with very dry, scattered bones. This points to the absolute hopelessness of the situation. There is only a remnant left of what once was!
God speaks to Ezekiel in v.3 and asks "Son of man, can these dry bones live?" God was asking: "What do you think about it, Ezekiel? Is this a hopeless situation?"
The very asking of this question brought a glimmer of hope to the prophet. "Lord, you alone know the answer to that."
Scripture reminds us that "with God all things are possible." Is it possible that the scattered, very dry bones that are in a heap in this valley might really live again?
Notice God's plan...
Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. (Ezekiel 37:4 ESV)
Notice first that he was to listen to "the word of The Lord." Life comes through God's word.
In verse 7 we see the results of the Word of God: "So I spoke these words from God, just as he told me to;"
Here's the thing:
Don’t water it down
Don’t try to improve upon it
Don’t try to rationalize it
Don’t feel you have to apologize for it
Don’t philosophize over it
Don’t be timid with it
Simply tell the Word as it is --- just as he tells us to! It’s not our Word, it’s His Word! It didn’t originate with us -- it originated with Him! It's His Word!
He prophesied exactly as God told him to and...
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. (Ezekiel 37:7-8 ESV)
When I get to heaven I want to replay this scene over and over and over.
Death became life. Impossibility became a possibility.
My prayer today is "do it again Lord."
Verse 5 says - "I am going to make you live"; verse 10: "they lived".
...I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it. (Isaiah 46:11 ESV)
No matter what your impossible situation is - God can bring a miracle your way.
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.” (Ezekiel 37:12-14 ESV)
Do you feel you are in a graveyard surrounded by "very dry bones?" The Lord says to you this evening, "I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again."
For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37 ESV)
Here's a good worship song about dry bones that I think you will enjoy... http://youtu.be/fVHT9VcfCN8
No comments:
Post a Comment