God's Miraculous WordEzekiel 37:1-10, 13 &14 (NIV) "The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. {2} He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. {3} He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know." {4} Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! {5} This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. {6} I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'" {7} So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. {8} I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. {9} Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" {10} So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army. ... {13} Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. {14} I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.'"
Text Vs 5 "This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life."
To understand this text a little better, some background information would help. Date Approximately 587 B.C. Israelites are captive - Ezekiel is captive Ezekiel tries to avoid getting involved for 5 years. He saw the terror of captivity. He also saw his fellow countrymen ADAPT and Adjust to the ways of their captors. He was sick and broken hearted at all he had seen and observed. Ezekiel's life was one of hardship and persecution. He was a true shepherd of souls. He was a Watchman. Ezekiel's problem was one of MOTIVATION
Israel, as well as Ezekiel, was DISCOURAGED. Would they ever he free? Would they ever find life? This vision suggests an answer for Israel. And for us. I am aware that this vision is prophetic for the future of Israel. Allow me to interpret it into our lives and gain some spiritual truth for this generation.
Ezekiel had sat where they sat. A good prophet does!! (pastor)
They were discouraged! Ezekiel was discouraged! All hope was gone. Only
the Holy Spirit can bring hope into despair this bad
I. THE PROBLEM
Simply A valley of dry bones. This valley was FULL of DRY BONES. It was FULL Of DEATH. This is not a Halloween Story. The situation was bad! God wanted Ezekiel to know how bad it really was. Ezekiel records - The hand of God carried me" God showed him this valley full of bones Vs 2 says 'very many ... very dry
A BIG PILE of bones, DRY - BLEACHED - LIFELESS BONES - HOPELESS!!! There was no hope. Everything was DEAD. "VERY DEAD" "VERY MANY" Death had saturated the valley. The dry bones are significant of ABSOLUTE DEATH!! Deadness Abounded - Flourished
Spiritual Death: Israel was spiritually dead. Israel was just as dead as the bones. It looked as if all was useless. Any hope Ezekiel may of had was now taken. This vision demonstrated a HOPELESS situation. Israel had life physically, but spiritually they were dead. We may be the picture of health, We may he intellectually brilliant, We may be successful in business, We may have our name on the church roles And still be spiritually dead. VERY DEAD!
Al Capone - Was: healthy, an organizer, Administrator. Wealthy, powerful, Yet HE WAS DEAD SPIRITUALLY. Our Churches can be: the largest, wealthy, have a brilliant pastor. successful program, And STILL BE DEAD
God was not pleased with Israel. God shows all this to Ezekiel and asks "can these bones live?" Ezekiel said 'Thou knowest" Not much excitement, No commitment, No Faith, No Vision. God only knows, and He ain't tellin'
II THE SOLUTION
God said to the dry bones: Vs 5 "Behold I will cause breath to enter you and ye shall live" Only the spirit of God can give life, REAL LIFE. And can accomplish what is humanly impossible! God is the real worker. God is the life giver. Without the spirit there is no life. No one is beyond the reach of God's Love. You are not too dead for God! Your church is not too dead for God! God can and will create life in the deadest of us!
What is the cure? Vs 4 'Then he said to me, 'Prophecy to those hones and say to them. "ye bones. hear the word of the Lord!'" Prophecy - Not just teach or preach! To prophecy is to declare the word of God It sounds crazy!! It is absurd!! God said to prophecy to the dry, dead bones. Ezekiel Prophesied and observed. Paul talked about the foolishness of preaching (not foolish preaching).
Now this seems foolish to me. I don't make a habit of preaching to dead people. At funerals I preach to the living, not the dead. Yet Ezekiel heard God say to preach to the pile of bones, not corpses, DRY BONES. I hear God saying to us today, to preach even when it is hopeless. If you are a teacher, Then teach God's word to your dead class. If you feel that there is no hope, preach the Word. As God's word is declared He will quicken your mortal bodies.
God's word is the source of Vitality, God's word is the source of Life, Are the people you associate with dead? Then give them the Word. Not your idea or suggestion! Your idea is wrong! No matter what it is, It is wrong!! If it is yours, it is wrong!
LISTEN TO THIS! "As he prophesied sinews and flesh and skin came upon these bones - " They were still dead!!
Vs 10 "So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they come to life and stood up on their feet -- a VAST ARMY"
This is what God can do in a hopeless situation. This is what God wants to do in our churches. This is what He wants to do in our lives Ezekiel did not impart life! He just preached God's Word. God did the work It was not Ezekiel's job to give life. That was God's part
Ezekiel's task was to preach (prophecy) the Word. It seemed foolish, yet it worked. There is an application to more than to a church or group of people. There is an application to your personal life and family. It many lives are in shambles! Through the human eye, they are just as dead as these VERY DRY BONES. We need to return to God's word and receive Life. We don't get out of a jam by wanting out. We don't solve life's problems by positive thinking. WE DON'T SOLVE THEM. It is the Spirit of God who brings hope out of hopelessness.
Our problems are spiritual!! Many here today feel just as dry and dead as the bones Ezekiel saw. You feel that there is no hope Listen to God!! You feel that you might as well give up. Don't grow weary in well doing. THE ANSWER IS GOD'S WORD. Don't look to other people. Don't look to other things. Don't look to man's ideas. LOOK TO GOD AND LISTEN TO HIS WORD
There is wisdom in GOD'S WORD. It is Free!! The Holy Spirit: is our only hope, will bring flesh to the dry bones, will use the Word of God to bring life to our situation, can bring a congregation together, can bring denominations together
We need the H.S. to anoint God's word in our lives. Don't say preacher you are talking about So-n- so. God has ordained this message for you! If you feel that you are In a hopeless situation God is wanting to bring life to you and your situation
You need to formulate a plan to get more from God's word.