Good day dear friends. Blessings to all of you. We lift up in prayer our sister Robin Brown who suffered a setback in her recovery from a stroke and she is in BAMC in San Antonio awaiting results of tests and MRIs.
Yesterday, I preached a sermon on Ezekiel 37 the famous "Valley of Dry Bones" passage and tied into it the idea that even in the midst of what seems final, God can bring in His sweetness of hope. Those who were present yesterday "tasted" that the Lord is good. Our thanks to the late arrival of lollipops we were going to hand out to our guests at our first Carnival for Christ.
Here's out study guide for today:
Monday: The idea in Ezekiel of “bones” is to show the finality of what was once a living being. Read Genesis 50:25 and read the vow required by someone regarding his bones. Then read Exodus 13:19 and see what happened to this oath.
Here is the Genesis 50 passage: "So Joseph made the Israelites swear, saying, 'When God comes to you, you shall carry up my bones from here.'" Here Joseph is asking for his final resting place to not be in Egypt but in the land promised to them by God. Even in death Joseph holds hope even for his remains.
Then we read in Exodus 13:19 "And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph who had required a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, "God will surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with you from here." So, it was Moses who leads the Israelites "home" to the promised land that carries with him the bones of Joseph.
The passage of Ezekiel is not so much about bones as it is the notion that God can still work with what we may think is hopeless. Even with nothing but bones left God can come in and make new what we thought was dead. The Psalmist knew those experiences as those when we can say, "O taste and see that the Lord is good."
Most of us could care less about what happens to our bones. But we should care about how we're letting God work in our bones while still functioning and living. Even if we're facing disease or decay due to aging, God is not through with us, we say, "We taste and we see that the Lord is good."
PRAYER: Come, Lord God and work even in the midst of this valley we're in. Come into those times we see as hopeless and bring new life, a life of hope and joy and peace. Bless those lives where bitterness or despair has set in and bring Your sweetness. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a blessed day!
e.v.
