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1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me round among them; and behold, there were very many upon the valley; and lo, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, thou knowest." 4 Again he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you 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 rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And as I looked, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had 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 the breath, Thus says 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 upon their feet, an exceedingly great host. 11 Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.'12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you home into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it, says the LORD." (Ezekiel 37:1-14 Revised Standard Version Bible)
"I truly beleive that God has forgotten about me, Pastor!" A woman nearing her 100th birthday in one of my churches. She had lost her husband many years prior to this statement, as well as many members of her family. She was ready for her turn. She was a pastor's widow and she loved the Lord. She knew Him personally, trusted Him, and trusted His promises. Resurrection was awaiting her, but she had to face death first. How many people do you know that await their turn to die?
I've said before the job of a prophet was a difficult one. Most, if. not all, were called to preach what no one else wanted to say, much less hear. And most, if not all, prophets had difficult, if not deadly congregations. Remember the prophet who ran for his life because the prophet had killed off fake prophets after a showdown where God obliterated the fake god and as a result the prophet killed off 400 fake prophets. And in today's passage, Ezekiel is led by God's Holy Spirit to a valley of dry bones. Could we call this an open-air cemetery? Do you remember a few years ago, some funeral homes tried having drive-thru viewings? You would drive up to the side of the funeral home and there on a tilted bier sat the coffin and friends and family could drive up after hours and view the deceased was in full view. I have to confess I am not a fan of such a thing. I wonder if the prophet enjoyed visiting this valley of death?
What he probably did not enjoy were the questions asked of him. God asks, "Son of man, can these bones live?" Uh. Ezekiel gives an honest and clever answer, "O Lord God, Thou knowest." Then God says to him, preach to these bones, using this sermon, "O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord." And then the word; "Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live." And the rest of the sermon says that He, God, would restore them not only to life, but to their original state. The prophet loves and trusts God and does not hem or haw at his assignment. He does the preaching and what God said would happen, happens. The dry bones are now human forms, but lacking the breath of life. Then God says for Ezekiel to preach to the four winds to come forth and fill these bodies with life. And wonder of wonders, the God of Nothing-Is-Impossible-For-Me, brought to life the bodies He had formed. Then God said, "These bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.'" There it was, God showing the prophet His sermon prop. The bones became bodies who become persons of no hope.
God then promises they will have hope; graves shall not remain closed, nor will our grave be shut forever; God shares to the OT prophet the promise of resurrection that His Son would later share as He did in the gospel reading of John 11. God promises the presence and indwelling of His Spirit as was promised by Jesus and as happened in Acts 2. Victory is ours.
PRAYER: Loving God, for the promises found in Your word, we are thankful and blessed. Help us live this journey of life filled with hope, the contagious one that we can share with others. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Receive God's hope for your life and live a life that blesses others!
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
