Dry bones
Ezekiel sees a vision of dry bones
The prophet Ezekiel records for us in technicolor and wide-screen a chilling vision from the LORD — it’s recorded so vividly we can quite easily picture the scene in our mind’s eye. There’s a valley full of dry bones. As far as the eye can see there’s a jumbled mess of skulls, jaws, rib cages, and other bones. A disaster has occurred. We see the aftermath of a war. Land scavengers have picked the bones raw. The ravens have stopped circling long ago, leaving only the sun to scorch the bones white. Can you imagine the scene?
Israel in exile
I wonder what situation was so terrible that Ezekiel is given this picture to describe the people? A valley full of very dry bones…
Well, by piecing together the history from the Biblical accounts, we actually have a pretty good idea. See Ezekiel is given this vision of death and restoration as he sits in exile with his people in Babylon.
The Northern Kingdom has fallen to Assyria over a century ago, but the Southern Kingdom (including Jerusalem and the temple) has continued. King Josiah rediscovers “the book of the Law” (2 Kings 22), renovates the temple, and reinvigorates the worship life of the people. The people worship their God in the temple. They enjoy their yearly festivals and feasts: eating, drinking, dancing, laughing.
But then the new Babylonian empire rises. King Nebuchadnezzar defeats the Egyptians and Syrians, taking control of the vast lands now known as the Middle East. Jerusalem and the surrounds are allowed to continue under Babylonian rule, but they rebel against their new king (2 Kings 24:1—7).
In 598 BCE King Nebuchadnezzar leads his army to Jerusalem to restore order (2 Kings 24:11–16). They lay siege to the city. They breach the walls. The temple and palace treasury are looted and ransacked. All the leading men (officers, soldiers, priests,[1] skilled workers, artisans), plus the royal family, are captured and deported to Babylon — ten thousand men (not counting women and children) are sent into exile. Years later those left rebel again, so the Babylonians raze the city to the ground, her walls smashed and demolished.
Life as the Israelite people know has ended. The dwelling place of God on earth lies in ruins. The people have been crushed, left without land or livelihood or future. They cry out, “Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, we are cut off” (Ezekiel 37:11). They sit hopeless in the dust, lifeless, like a valley of bones.
Disciples in hiding
I wonder if the disciples in Jesus’ last days had a similar sort of feeling? They’ve been with Jesus for three years, hearing his talk of God’s kingdom coming near. They have visions of a King in the line of David finally kicking out their overlords. Since the Babylonians, their lands had been ruled by the Greeks and now the Romans. Jesus is at the height of his popularity, teaching and preaching in the rebuilt temple. But before they know what’s happening, he’s betrayed, crucified, dead, and buried. They huddle in locked rooms. Scared, confused, hopeless. Suddenly there’s reports people have seen Jesus alive. Some women first, then Peter, then the rest of the disciples, even Thomas. Yet these appearances are fleeting: one moment Jesus is here, the next he vanishes into thin air. This goes on for forty days, until they gather around him and outright ask, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). Jesus gives one of his cryptic answers, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” (Acts 1:7–8). Then Jesus vanishes again, this time for good, ascended to heaven. The disciples are left peering up into the sky, and go back to huddling in rooms, wondering what their future will hold.
Today
Have you ever felt like this? Have you had a time in your life when you felt like a valley of very dry bones? Perhaps life as you knew it was turned on it’s head? Your plans and dreams were thrown into disarray? Perhaps you feel like this now? Tired. Hopeless. Rock bottom.
Sometimes I look at the church and feel like this. Just look at some statistics. In 1911 96% of the Australian population identified as Christian. In 2016 only 52% ticked Christian on the census. In NSW/ACT in 1991 nearly 60,000 people identified as Lutheran. Twenty-five years later in 2016 there are only 23,000 Lutherans (that’s less than half!).
And I think we’ve shared this story here in Walla/Alma Park. Church attendance, choirs, and Sunday School — all decimated.
Are we like a valley of dry bones? Lifeless, hopeless, without a future? Do we sit in exile and cry out, “Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, we are cut off”?
The breath of God
Ezekiel speaks the Word of God
Returning to the scene in Ezekiel, the LORD asks the prophet a very pointed question: “Son of man, can these bones live?” (Ezekiel 37:3). “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel is very wise in his answer: “Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”
Nothing is hopeless for our sovereign LORD and God. He is the creator of the universe. He spoke our very being into existence from nothing. From dust he formed humankind in his image, by Word alone.
And so it’s not surprising that God commands Ezekiel to preach to the bones. Imagine this! The bones don’t even have ears left to hear — the ravens have long ago picked them off. Yet Ezekiel is commanded to preach to the dead.
So he obeys. Can we learn something from his faith, I wonder? In the face of hopelessness he listens to the LORD and preaches the Word.
And what happens? As Ezekiel speaks the Word of God, breath and life enters the bones.
We can easily miss an important point here in our English translation. In Hebrew they have one word which means three things in English: “breath,” “Spirit,” and “wind” are all the same Hebrew word. All of these things — “breath,” “Spirit,” “wind” — happen when God speaks his Word. Ezekiel speaks God’s Word and God breathes our his Spirit, blowing his wind through the bones.
Then God said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet — a vast army. (Ezekiel 37:9–10)
When God speaks his Word, when he breathes out his Spirit, there is life and hope and a future.
Israel returns home
This was the message that Ezekiel was given to proclaim to the exiled Israelites in Babylon. They would one day possess their land. They would return and rebuild the temple. They have hope and a future. But not in their own strength — this is a lesson we all must learn. Nothing is accomplished except by the power of God’s Word alone, by His breath/wind/Spirit.
This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 37:12–13)
Disciples given power
The disciples were huddling in the upper room on the Jewish festival of Pentecost when a violent wind comes from heaven and fills the entire house. It’s no coincidence these events start with a wind. For the wind is God’s breath, the Holy Spirit of Jesus. It fills the entire house. Peter, now full of power and boldness, stands up and preaches the first Christian sermon. He proclaims the Word of God, speaking anew the promise that “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21).
Today
The Word of God has not lost any of it’s power today. The Word of God takes things which look dead and hopeless, and brings new life. Always. Without fail.
This is what has already happened with you. You were dead in sin. A valley of very dry bones. Without even ears to hear. Yet in your baptism God spoke his Word into your life. He breathed his Spirit into you. And what happened? You, who were once dead and buried with Christ in the tomb, were raised to new life. You are raised from the grave.
Wherever the Word of God is spoken, wherever his breath is breathed, there is hope and a future. So that is our calling: to hear his Word everyday, to proclaim God’s Word in the midst of a valley of dry bones, to speak his promise that brings life and hope.
Challenge
How will we respond to his calling today? I think God is issuing us a Pentecost challenge: to hear and read his Word everyday. Are you up for this challenge? Are you ready to have God’s breath of life breathe over you every day? Are you waiting to be raised from the grave, and given new life through Jesus every morning?
In your bulletin you’ll notice an insert with ideas for hearing God’s Word. If you don’t have a practice of hearing God’s Word regularly, then I challenge you to pick one of the ideas and give it a shot. Try it yourself, or try it with your household. For the past few years I’ve been listening to the “Pray as you go” podcast. We do this as a family as everyone is eating breakfast. To be honest I strive to do this everyday, but we probably manage 3 or 4 times a week. But it’s a start. If your not regularly hearing God’s Word, or you’ve recently dropped off, why not try again? Why not let God’s breath raise you from the grave every day?!
Blessing
May the breath of God blow through you again today. May his Word raise you from the grave. May these very dry bones come to life and stand on their feet — a vast army of workers for the Kingdom of God. May you follow Ezekiel’s lead as you hear and speak God’s Word every day. May the death and resurrection of Jesus bring life and hope to the dead and hopeless, now and forever. Amen.
[1] Ezekiel is a priest who is deported (Ezekiel 1:3). His wife was killed in the siege of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 24:15–18).
