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.