Dry Bones

Dry Bones

(Ezekiel 37:1-14)

Yearly Theme:  “Kindness is… Advancement”

Series Title:  “Kindness in Exile”

July 23^rd, 2023

Something to think about:

According to LifeSource a nonprofit organ, eye, and tissue donation organization there are three medical definitions of death:

• Clinical Death: Clinical death is a term that describes the cessation (stopping) of a patient’s heart pumping blood through the body and, inevitably, is paired with a lack of breathing.  Clinical death is a medical emergency, without immediate intervention, the window to reverse the condition will close, and legal death will be declared.
• Brain Death: Brain death is the cessation of brain activity and the inability for the brain to carry out the proper functions necessary to sustain life.  Brain death is irreversible.
• Legal Death: Legal death involves irreversible cardiac and respiratory cessation or irreversible brain death function and requires the examination, determination, and sign-off of a qualified medical professional.[1] 

Today, we will be exploring a rather famous and familiar passage from the Old Testament book of Ezekiel called “The Valley of Dry Bones.”  In this passage GOD takes Ezekiel in the Spirit to a place where dry human bones are in abundance.  Through a series of commands, GOD tells Ezekiel to bring back to life the bodies that the bones represented.  Through this, GOD wants Ezekiel to see that though the nation of Israel (its people) have – in essence – died, He plans on resurrecting them to new life.  Let’s take a closer look:

Ezekiel 37:1-14 (NLT),

The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones. ² He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. ³ Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?”

“O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.”

⁴ Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! ⁵ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! ⁶ I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”

⁷ So I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons. ⁸ Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’ ”

¹⁰ So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army.

¹¹ Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel. They are saying, ‘We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone. Our nation is finished.’ ¹² Therefore, prophesy to them and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again. Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ When this happens, O my people, you will know that I am the Lord. ¹⁴ I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done what I said. Yes, the Lord has spoken!’ ”^[2]

Here's the key point this morning:

Key Point:  “GOD can bring to life what was once dead and gone.”

There are three distinct things of importance in these fourteen verses that must be noted and explored in this passage in order to understand what GOD is planning to accomplish. 

The first is the vision of…

• Dry  .

Ezekiel 37:1-3 (NLT),  The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones.  ² He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor.  They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out.  ³ Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?”

• Lifeless  .

Ezekiel 37:7-8 (NLT), ⁷ So I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley.  The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons.  ⁸ Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones.  Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them.

• The  of God.

Ezekiel 37:9-10 (NLT),  ⁹ Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man.  Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four winds!  Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’ ”

¹⁰ So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies.  They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army.

Something to take home:

Life without GOD is not life at all, but rather a meaningless existence merely awaiting death. 

Are you one of the bodies in the valley of dry bones, or are you alive with the breath of the Spirit of GOD giving your life meaning?  Are you merely a shell of a human wandering to and fro with no sense of eternal purpose?  When all is said and done, and your life has come to a close, where will you end up?

Key Point:  “GOD can bring to life what was once dead and gone.”

[1] LifeSource. “What Is Clinical Death?” LifeSource, June 1, 2023. https://www.life-source.org/latest/what-is-clinical-death/.

^[2] Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015), Eze 37:1–14.