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ISRAEL,
These Bones Shall Live
Ezekiel 37:1-14 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, [2] 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. [3] And he said unto me, Son of man, can
these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.
[4] Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and
say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
[5] Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will
cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: [6] 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. [7] 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. [8] 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. [9] 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. [10] 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.
[11] 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. [12] 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.
[13] 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,
[14] 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.
[KJV]
This
is a remarkable Passage of Scripture, a remarkable prophecy! This
vision illustrates the promise of Ezekiel 36 . . . new life
and a nation restored, both physically and spiritually. The
dry bones are a picture of the Jews in captivity . . . scattered
and dead.
Ezekiel 37:1 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, [KJV]
Before
Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, I believe God literally
moves Ezekiel. When Ezekiel says that He “carried
me out in the spirit of the Lord,” he is saying
that the Spirit of the Lord carried him out to the valley
which was full of bones.
Ezekiel 37:2 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. [KJV]
The valley which Ezekiel saw was filled with dead bones, and
the thing which characterized them is that they were very
dry and they were scattered.
Ezekiel 37:3 And he said unto me, Son
of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God,
thou knowest. [KJV]
These dry bones scattered all over the place are human bones,
and the Lord asks Ezekiel a question: “Can these
bones live?” Ezekiel answers, “O Lord
God, thou knowest.” Ezekiel could have thought:
"If they can, only You can make them live." But
he answered: O Lord God, thou knowest.
Ezekiel 37:4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy
upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear
the word of the Lord. [KJV]
When I read something like this, I feel very
strongly that God has a sense of humor.
God says to him, “Prophesy on these bones. O ye
dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” Ezekiel
may have thought, Lord, you really don’t mean for me
to start talking to these dry bones.
Ezekiel is looking out on this valley filled with dry bones,
and he is supposed to speak to them. The so-called saved (professing
Christ) in many congregations today "have ears to
hear, but do not hear." And the ones who are not
saved, are dead in trespasses and sins, have not been redeemed
yet. Preachers feel just as helpless as Ezekiel, they understand
the real state and condition of those who are lost recognizes
his own helplessness in speaking to them. Ezekiel is told
by God to say to these bones, “I want you to hear what
God has to say.”
Ezekiel 37:5-6 Thus saith the Lord God
unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into
you, and ye shall live: [6] 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. [KJV]
God told Ezekiel to say, “I want you to speak to them
and tell them I’ll be the One who will give them life.”
That is our condition today . . . if God doesn’t move,
no one has spiritual life. NO preacher, NO teacher can save
you. Only God can do that! God's servants can only speak to
dry bones, giving them the Word of God, but, that is all that
is required of us. The Spirit of God is the only One who can
bring life. That is the only way life can come.
Ezekiel 37:7 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.
[KJV]
Ezekiel obeyed God, he prophesied as he was commanded. There
was a noise and shaking, and the bones came together, bone
to his bone. Do you think Ezekiel may have had wierd feeling
when in his vision he saw all these bones come together?
Ezekiel 37:8 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. [KJV]
The
first condition of the bones that Ezeliel saw was that they
are scattered, dry, and dead. Then they gradually they come
together, and the sinews and flesh come upon them. This does
not happen all at once. Then, Ezekiel sees a bunch of bodies
(corpses). They are no longer bones, but bodies with flesh
upon them. They are human beings even, but they still have
no life in them.
Ezekiel 37:9-10 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. [10] 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. [KJV]
Then
God said to Ezekiel: Prophesy unto the wind, Come from the
four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they
may live.
So, again Ezekiel obeyed God and prophesied as he was commanded;
and life came into those bodies. What happened in Ezekiel's
vision resembles the creation of man. God took man of the
dust of the earth; Ezekiel started with bones, but God didn’t.
God started with just the dirt of the earth, and then He breathed
life into man.
What has happened to these bones has occurred in three
stages:
(1) they were scattered bones, just as dead as they could be;
(2) then they came together, and flesh and skin came upon them . . . they were bodies, but dead bodies; and finally
(3) they were made alive. We will find in these three stages a real key to understanding Bible prophecy concerning the nation Israel.
This next verse explains the
meaning of the vision:
Ezekiel
37:11 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. [KJV]
God
told Ezekiel that the bones are the whole house of Israel . . .
NOT the church; but Israel.
The people in captivity had gone from one extreme to another.
When Jerusalem stood and the false prophets continued to say
they would return, they maintained a false hope. But, when
Jerusalem was destroyed, they went to the other extreme; they
were extremely depressed. They were high up one day, but the
next they drop very low. They had no hope. This vision was
given to them to let them know they do have a hope, and it
is for the whole house of Israel.
Ezekiel 37:12 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. [KJV]
This
verse in not speaking of a physical resurrection. See verse 21B : . . . . Behold,
I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen,
whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side,
and bring them into their own land.
I think what God meant in verse 12 when He said, “I
will cause you to come up out of your grave.” is
that Israel is buried in the nations of the
world, and they are to be brought back and become a nation
again.
The
nation Israel was buried and scattered in the nations of the
world, and was dead to God, and she was dead to the things
of God. This is the first stage of the bones that Ezekiel
saw in his vision.
Since
1948, Israel has come back as a nation, but she is really
a corpse, as far as Messiah is concerned. They have a flag,
a constitution, a prime minister, and a parliament. They have
a police force and an army. They have a nation, and they even
have Jerusalem. They have everything
except spiritual life, according to the Word of God.
In
verses 15–28 Ezekiel mentions two sticks. These
typify the northern (Israel) and southern (Judah) kingdoms
which will again become one nation. This means that there
will not be any “ten lost tribes of Israel” .
. . or if they are lost, God knows where they are.
Ezekiel 37:22 And I will make them one
nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king
shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations,
neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at
all. [KJV]
God shall one day Israel into one nation in
the land. One king will rule them all; no longer will they
be divided into two nations.
Ezekiel 37:24 And David
my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have
one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe
my statutes, and do them. [KJV]
WHO is the ONE KING, the ONE
SHEPHERD???
That one Shepherd is none other
than the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah! When
Christ (Messiah) came, He was born in the line of David (Matthew
1; Luke 1–2); both writers very carefully record that He came in the line of David. The One that
came in that line is the Shepherd, and He will rule over them.
Is it possible that God will raise up David to reign over
Israel, either in the Millennium or in the eternal kingdom?
Some commentators believe that he will reign in the Millennium;
others say it will be the eternal kingdom.
Ezekiel
37:28 And the heathen shall know that I the
Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the
midst of them for evermore. [KJV]
This is NOT today! But, it is going to happen! There shall
be a millennial temple and an eternal temple down here on
the Earth. In Revelation where it speaks of there not being
a temple, it is referring to the New Jerusalem, which is where
the church will be and which will not be upon this Earth.
The eternal home of the children of Israel will be upon this
Earth, and God’s temple will be in their midst. Even
though there is no doubt that Israel is the subject of Ezekiel,
and especially of chapters 37–39, we can always make
an application of it for our personal lives. The world that
you and I live in today is a valley, full of dead bones, dead
(spiritually dead) people.
People
talk about being alive and say they are where the action is,
but they are really dead in trespasses and sins. They have
NO spiritual life. That is the reason they have to have a
drink or two, or take some sort of drugs, or do something
to liven up the old corpse.
God has made it very clear. 1 John 5:12 He that hath
the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath
not life. [KJV]
IF
you have the Son of God, you have life. If you do not have
the Son, you are dead. There are two kinds of people: live
people and dead people.
John
3:36 He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not
the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on
him. [KJV]
That means that ANY person, Jew or Gentile,
without the Son (Christ, Messiah) is dead.
John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins:
for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. [KJV]
God is saying to you today that you are dead if you are not
a Christian, a believer in Christ Jesus. Ye dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord. You can come to life. Accept Jesus Christ as your Savior.
This is the application believers can draw from this portion
of Scripture, but the subject of the prophecy is the nation
Israel.
NO
created power could ever restore human bones back to life.
God alone could cause them to live.
God
gave Ezekiel a great responsibility. To be a “watchman”
to Israel. He was a prophet of God to the people; bringing
the message of God to the people.
Ezekiel 37:15-17 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
[16] Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write
upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions:
then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the
stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
[17] And join them one to another into one stick; and they
shall become one in thine hand. [KJV]
The two sticks represent the reunion of the entire nation
of Israel that had divided into northern and southern kingdoms
after Solomon. The scattered exiles of both Israel and Judah
would be released from the “graves” of captivity
and one day regathered in their homeland, with the Messiah
as their leader. This vision has yet to be fulfilled. Ezekiel
felt he was speaking to the dead as he preached to the exiles
because they rarely responded to his message. But these bones
responded! And just as God brought life to the dead bones,
he will one day bring life again to His spiritually dead people.
ISRAEL
Israel's
Ten Failures
Israel, Before and After the Ten Commandments
Israel,
These Bones Shall Live
Israel,
Did She Kill Jesus?
Israel,
God Is Faithful To
Israel, Hating Israel is a Sin
Israel,
The Promised Land
Israel, The
Sabbath
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