Valley of Dry Bones

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Can these bones live?

The Lexham English Bible (Chapter 37)

A Valley of Dried Bones; A Renewed Nation of Israel

37 The hand of Yahweh was upon me, and he brought me by the Spirit of Yahweh, and he ⌊let me rest⌋ in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones.

When we look at this first verse often times this is a statement declaring that the Lord has blessed you or called you for a purpose: his hand is upon you.

22 And the hand of Yahweh was on me there, and he said to me, “Rise up, go out to the valley, and there I will speak with you.” 23 And I rose up, and I went to the valley, and, look, there the glory of Yahweh was standing, like the glory that I saw near the ⌊Kebar River⌋, and I fell on my face. 24 And the Spirit came into me, and it made me stand on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Come, shut yourself ⌊inside your house⌋, 25 and you, son of man, look, they will place cords on you, and they will tie you up with them. Then you will not go out into the midst of them. 26 And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silenced, and you will not be a reproving man for them, for they ⌊are a rebellious house⌋. 27 And when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “The one hearing him, let him hear, and the one failing to hear, let him fail,” ’ for they ⌊are a rebellious house⌋.

I look at chapter 3 to remind us all that the vision of the dry bones, or at least of the valley seemed to be Ezekiel’s whole life experience. Again under the effect of the trance, Ezekiel goes out into the plain. The word means literally a ‘cleft’, and therefore an area between mountains: some would translate it a ‘valley-plain’. It may well refer to a specific site which Ezekiel frequented in his periods of solitude, and it was doubtless the place where he was to have his vision of the valley (same word) of dry bones (cf. 37:1).
John B. Taylor, Ezekiel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 22, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1969), 74.

3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I said, “Lord Yahweh, you know.” 4 And he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and you must say to them, to the dry bones, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh! 5 Thus says the Lord Yahweh to these bones: “Look! I am bringing into you breath, and you will live! 6 And I will lay on you sinews, and I will let flesh come upon you, and I will cover you over with skin, and I will put breath into you, and you will live, and you will know that I am Yahweh.” ’ ”

So, ask yourself what was the call in Ezekiel’s life? Was this vision simply about Ezekiel’s belief?

7 And I prophesied ⌊just as⌋ I had been commanded, and there was a sound at my prophesying, and look! A rattling, and they came together—the bones! Bone to its bone! 8 And I looked, and indeed, sinews were on them, and flesh went up, and skin covered over them ⌊upward⌋, but breath was not in them. 9 And he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and you must say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh ⌊from the four winds⌋, “Come, O spirit and breath, on these dead ones, so that they may live!” ’ ” 10 And I prophesied ⌊as⌋ he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they became alive, and they stood on their feet, a very, very large group.

What happens when you follow the commandments of God? In verse 3, life!

11 And he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all of the house of Israel; look! they are saying, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is destroyed; ⌊we are cut off as far as we are concerned⌋.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am opening your graves, and I will bring you up from your graves, my people, and I will bring you to the land of Israel! 13 And you will know that I am Yahweh when I open your graves when I bring you up from your graves, my people! 14 And I will put my breath into you so that you may live, and I will cause you to rest on your soil, and you will know that I, Yahweh, I have spoken, and I will act!” ’ ⌊declares⌋ Yahweh.”

The prophesy is about a lost people. A people who have lost their meaning or strength. Where does our strength come from? The Lord. When God raised Jesus from the grave what happened? 28 Now after the Sabbath, at the dawning on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to view the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came up and* rolled away the stone and sat down on it.
W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Mt 28:1–2.
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