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.