Communion With the Christ:: The Valley of Dry Bones

“He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” Ezekiel: 37:3

In the Book of Ezekiel, which was inspired while the people of Israel were in captivity, the Levite Ezekiel who, due to being in captivity was unable to function in the Priesthood, but would rather, function as a Prophet of the One True God.

Around the year 593 BC Ezekiel while in his home in the city of Nippur near the River Chebar begins to receive visions from the Lord God of Israel concerning the people of Israel as well as other nations.

In one of the series of Apocalyptic visions which had been shown to Ezekiel the Prophet is taken “in the Spirit” to a deep valley full of “dry bones”.

“The hand of the Lord was on 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. 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. Ezk: 37:1-3a

After the Lord himself brings the Prophet to this deep valley and after bringing him “back and forth among them” the Lord then poses a question to Ezekiel.

“He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” (3b)

Ezekiel, after surveying the great number of the “dry bones”, quickly considers the Lord’s question and then responds.

“Sovereign Lord only you know” (3b)

Speak to the Bones

The Lord then gives the Prophet instructions as he stands in the deep valley amidst the dry lifeless bones.

“Then he said to me, “Speak to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 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.’” (4-6)

The Prophet follows the Lord’s words and there is a reaction among the bones.

“So I spoke as I was commanded. And as I was speaking, there was a great noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them” (7-8)

Even as the words are being uttered by Ezekiel there is a response, first he hears “a great noise” then the bones begin to assemble themselves “bone to bone” then he sees the joints bound together by tendons and flesh covered them, yet, “there was no life in them.”

Everything was now there they just were still dead.

Speak to the Wind

The Lord again, speaks to the Prophet giving him further instruction and Ezekiel obeys the words of the Lord.

“Then he said to me, “Speak to the wind; speak, son of man, and 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 spoke as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.” (9-10)

As the Prophet speaks to the wind or breath, it enters the lifeless army and brings restoration and life once again to them as they rise and stand before the Lord and Ezekiel.

The Lord then speaks again to Ezekiel concerning the army who have been given life and hope once again.

“Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore speaks and say to them: ‘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, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 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.’” (11-14)

You Know I Am the Lord

The reason the Lord had brought Ezekiel to this deep valley filled with lifeless “dry bones” was so “you will know that I am the Lord.” This was the Lord’s stated objective, to reveal himself as God and that he would be known as God by Ezekiel and the People of Israel, it was a vision of divine disclosure of who God is, that he restores life and hope.

Many have read this vision and have seen it as a vision of a general resurrection of Israel and of all humanity at the conclusion of human history or they interpret it as a vision of the restoration of the House of Israel into a proper practical relationship with their God in the years to come, and it may well be read in both of those ways.

For Christians Now

What, however, does this vision speak to us about, here and now in our Christian lives? What lessons are there in this vision for each and all of us.

“The Prophet tells us that it was the Lord himself who brought him into the valley and led him “back and forth among them”.

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. He led me back and forth among them,”

What can this say to us, we Christians, those who have come to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ?

In Valley of Bones

There are times in our lives when we find ourselves brought to a valley in our lives, that is a low point, where we find ourselves surrounded by the “dry bones” of dead hopes “there is no life in them” and it seems that we are led “back and forth among them.”

It seems that God himself brings us, on occasion, to these low points in our lives, these valleys filled the with the “dry bones” of dead hopes and desires, even as he led Ezekiel “by the Spirit” to this valley; but why would the Lord do this, that is bring us to such a place in our lives, and when we do find ourselves in a valley, that is , a low place in our lives wherein our hopes, dreams , relationships, finances or relationships are dead and littered about us and are as “dry bones” , how should we deal with these times?

Address the Bones

The Lord instructed Ezekiel to “speak” or “Prophesy” which means as the Spirit leads. Some Christians take that to mean to verbalizes our desired results and it will come to pass. There might be a principle of appliance here that it may be a good thing for us to speak what we might desire before the Lord, but let’s take these instructions to “speak” a little less literal.

Maybe, the best understanding for us, when we find ourselves in a valley of dead hopes, is not to “speak” but rather to address the “dry bones”, or for Christians, the dead situations in our lives. That is, address the problems through the lead of the Holy Spirit as revealed in the Holy Word of God, the Bible which is given through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

We should consider, how does the Word of God tell us to approach and address life’s challenges or when we are brought to a low point in our lives?

When we address or approach situations in life which are scattered about like “dry bones” according to the Word of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, there is a response from our God even as there was for Ezekiel.

“So I spoke as I was commanded. And as I was speaking, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them” (7-8)

Bone to Bone

As the Prophet spoke or addressed the “dry bones” as the Word of the Lord revealed to him, there was a noise, this “noise” is the same noise heard in the Upper Room where the Apostles gathered on the Day of Pentecost, it is the noise of the Holy Spirit working in our lives bringing things together and bringing restoration and setting things right “the bones came together, bone to bone.”.

This “bone to bone” tells us that when we address, even the dead situations in our lives according to the Word of God, the Holy Spirit responds and brings things together in an orderly and systematic way, “the bones came together, bone to bone”.

Now Potential of Life

After the bones are rejoined then there came “tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.” (8)

The Spirit now had brought everything together, yet they still remained dead, but what now did exist was the full potential for life and restoration to what otherwise would have been a dead and completely hopeless situation.

Speak to the Wind

God spoke to Ezekiel and gave more instructions as to how to address the now joined and covered bones so that life might be restored to them.

“Then he said to me, “Speak to the wind; speak, son of man, and 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 spoke as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.” (9-10)

Again, the Prophet address the lifeless in the valley and the breath of life returns to them, there is restoration of life. When we address the dead circumstance of our lives which seemed to be beyond hope, our God can in an orderly way of his choosing bring life and restoration even when it seems that all hope is lost.

Restored to Know the Lord

“Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore speak and say to them: ‘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, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 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.’ ” (11-14)

The Prophet Ezekiel is told that the reason for which he has been brought to this valley filled with “dry bones” is that there in that place the Lord would be revealed through the restoration of life to the people of Israel “Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord”.

This valley was a place of divine disclosure of the true God, the Lord. God had brought the Prophet to this place so that through the restoration of “dry bones” to life he might reveal himself as God.

There are times when we are in such a place as this, a low point in our lives surrounded by the “dry bones” of our hopes for the purpose of having a divine disclosure of the Great God in and through the person of Jesus.

When we address the “dry bones” of our lives through the Word of God and guided by his Spirit, God can bring full restoration and life to any dead situation and in so doing we gain a greater understanding of the Great God.

the Promised Land

God tells the restored Israel that he has done this so that they might know him as the Lord and be again in their Promised Land.

“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”

God brings life to our dead “dry bones” for each and all of us so that we might receive all the Promises of our “own land”, which is, all that our Lord Jesus shares and give to us.

The vision of the Valley of Dry Bones is not a vision for the distant past or only for the remote future alone, it is for us each and every day.

There are times when we find ourselves in low places in our lives so that we might through the Word of God and the lead of the Holy Spirit address the “dry bones” which litter each of our lives and see the working of the Holy Spirit to bring life and restoration that we might come to know our God and be settled in the Promised land that we have in Christ.

Benediction: May we each and all address the “dry bones” which we see in the valleys of our lives so that we might come to know our God and be settled in the Promised land which Jesus has made possible for us, today, tomorrow and forevermore. Amen.