Articles
Dry Bones Can Live!
So much death! As Ezekiel looks around him, the valley where he stands is filled with endless human bones--*dry* bones, as the Scripture says in Ezekiel 37. These were not recently rendered from their fleshly wrappings. Imagine the dust and sand that might have covered the brittle ivory parts. Whosever bones these were, they had been dead a good, long while.
It is in the midst of this gloomy scene that God asks His messenger a simple question: "Can these bones live?" They hadn't been encased in life in such a long time, the idea seems outlandish. But notice Ezekiel's response: "O Lord GOD, You know" (Ezekiel 37:3).
The LORD is using this scene and Ezekiel's actions that follow to demonstrate how He can take even His seemingly hopeless and corrupt people and bring them back to the land of the (spiritually) living. Because the prophet has confidence and trust in his God, his prophecy raises an army from the graves in this prophetic vision. This same bold obedience will be what drives Ezekiel to deliver the message of God's judgment and conditional mercy to the holy nation, and what drives some of them to respond in reverence and awe.
We are surrounded every day by so much death: yes, physical death, but even more so spiritual death. And to us, it seems that the bones are dry. We look at a person or a situation and think, "There's no way. They've been 'dead' too long. It's useless to even try."
But your God knows all, and He takes utter death and creates life. Where have you lost hope? Where have you given up, or resigned to thinking, "It will always be this way"? Wait on the Lord with hope, be ready to play your part like Ezekiel did in that valley, and pray to the God who makes dry bones live!
