Ezekiel 37:11

Ezekiel 37:11 says, Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.  God then told Ezekiel that the dry bones represented the house of Israel, which had become spiritually dry.  They said their bones were dry, their hope was lost, and they were cut off for their parts, which I believe means that they were separated as a nation and had become just slave labor.  As followers of Christ, we can never afford to become spiritually dry, cut off from one another and without hope in God.  

Verse twelve adds, Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.  God said for Ezekiel to tell the people of Israel that He was going to open their graves and cause them to once more come into the promised land.  I don't believe that this meant that all the dead would be returned to Israel, but that those who were now in captivity would be returned to Israel.  We will not be resurrected physically in this lifetime, but we are to be resurrected spiritually when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, and God has already defeated death and the grave by sending His only begotten Son to die in our place.  For this reason, as Christians we should never be without hope and spiritually dry.  

Verse thirteen continues, And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,  God said that when He restored the people of Israel to life that they would know that He is God.  God was going to do what they couldn’t do themselves, just as He will provide salvation, a new life spiritually, to all those who by faith accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  

Verse fourteen concludes, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.   God said that He was going to put His spirit in them, restore them to their land, and after this happened, they would know that He is God.  When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, God swns the Holy Spirit to live in us, and we become a part of His everlasting kingdom.  I don’t believe that God was going to force His Spirit into the people of Israel, but that those who had repented of their sins and now put their faith in Him would be filled with His Spirit.  God never forces anyone to repent and forces the Holy Spirit into them, but for those who repent of their sins and do put their faith in God will be immediately filled with the Holy Spirit.  One day, everyone will know the truth of God, but we must accept it while we yet live in order for it to benefit us.

Ezekiel 37:7

Ezekiel 37:7 says, So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.  Ezekiel said he prophesied to the dry bones as he had been told to do by God.  It may not have made sense to him, but he obeyed.  What God calls on Christians to do today may not always make sense, but we must obey His call. Ezekiel said that when he prophesied that there was a noise and a shaking and the dry bones began to be joined together as a human body should be.  I have to wonder what Ezekiel might have thought and if he considered just running away at this time, but if he did, he stayed anyway.  If God starts to shake the dry bones of His believers today and bring them alive spiritually once more, I wonder if we would think about running away because we didn’t understand what was happening.  As followers of Christ, we should always be prepared for God to do miraculous things and never run away if He does and we don’t fully understand what He is doing.    

Verse eight adds, And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.  Ezekiel said that after the bones were joined together correctly that the flesh and skin war restored to them.  They looked like people once again, but there was no breath in them. There are many people today who look just like Christians, but they do not have God’s Holy Spirit in them, so they are spiritually dead.  

Verse nine continues, Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.  God then instructed Ezekiel to prophesy to the four winds and tell them to come so that the Breath would come and breathe on them.  I don't believe that just the wind could have resurrected these dead people, but only the Spirit of God could.  Though no one can resurrect those who are spiritually dead except God, we are still called on to proclaim His word to them.  Then, we should give Him the glory.  

Verse ten concludes, So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.  Ezekiel said he prophesied as God commanded him to do and that the former dry bones were restored to life like any other human being and they made up a great army. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are no longer like dry bones spiritually but are given new life as a part of God’s everlasting kingdom.  Those dry bones that were restored to life that day would once again die one day, but when we are resurrected spiritually, we will live forever as a part of God’s kingdom.    

 

Ezekiel 37:1

 Ezekiel 37:1 says, The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,  Ezekiel said that God’s hand was on him and he was carried out into a valley of bones and set down by the Spirit of God.  I don’t know if this literally happened, but that would seem to be the case, but I also know that this would not seem to be the best place for a prophet to be.  We may at times be led by the Holy Spirit to places that do not seem to be the best place for us to witness to lost people, but we should always go where the Holy Spirit leads us.  

Verse two adds, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.  Ezekiel said that there was a valley full of bones and that they were very dry bones.  They had been there for a while, in other words.  We may be sent out into a place that is full of people who are very dry spiritually, and if we are, it is our responsibility to offer them spiritual life through accepting Jesus Christ, the Living Water, as their Savior.  No matter how long they have been spiritually like dry bones without life, God can still bring them renewed spiritual life.  

Verse three continues, And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.  God asked Ezekiel if these bones could live again.  I don't know what he may have thought looking at them, but he gave the only possible answer that a prophet of God should give, and that was that God alone knew the answer.  Preachers and all Christians who are confronted with something that seems impossible should just put it in God’s hand and be content with whatever His solution to the situation might be.  We are to see things with eyes of faith and not just with what may seem possible physically.   

Verse four states, Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.  Ezekiel said that God told him to prophesy to these dry bones and to tell them to hear the word of God.  I do have to wonder what Ezekiel might have been thinking at this point.  It would likely have seemed to be a useless activity, but he had already said that God was the One Who would decide if the dry bones could live again, and now he just had to be obedient to God’s word.  At times, witnessing to certain people may seem to be useless since they are like dry bones spiritually, but it is our responsibility to witness to them, especially if the Holy Spirit is leading us to do so.  

Verse five continues, Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:  Ezekiel was to tell these dry bones that God was going to cause them to breathe and live again.  This is our message to those who are spiritually like dry bones today.  No matter how dead they may be spiritually, God can breathe new life into them spiritually if they will accept His gift of salvation.  

Verse six continues, And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.   God said that He was going to cause them to live once more totally restored to life.  If a lost person accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord today, they will be completely restored to life spiritually.