Ezekiel: Them Dry Bones

Introduction

Open this evening to Ezekiel 37 and we will be looking at verse 1 - 14. That’s Ezekiel 37:1-14

I grew up with the mantra, scripture interprets scripture. This is not quite right

All of scripture interprets scripture.

We have a single author, as the revelation is consistent.

We can use the same methods we us to come to our doctrine concerning the trinity justification be faith ETC

Every text of scripture has one meaning and many applications.

One big clue we are not handling scripture correctly is when we need to use different methods of come to what we believe.

Example, justification be faith for all for all time, but promises to Israel are only for genetic Israel.

So with that in mind, we need to be careful to keep in mind what we talked about last Wednesday.

The now and not yet

The once text from all of scripture

Romans 9 “not all that are of is “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel” (Ro 9:6, ESV)

Romans 7 “What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened” (Ro 11:7, ESV)

Galatians 4:21–26 “But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.”

All of these context bares on our interpretation of chapter 37, God does not go from talking about something that is ultimately fulfilled in Christ to something that has little to do with Christs work.

Let’s Read

Ezekiel 37:1–14 ESV

1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

May God bless the Reading of His Holy, Infallible, and Sufficient Word

Let’s Pray

Transition

Notice the repeating themes in verse 1-6

Body

They Live

Ezekiel 37:1–6 ESV

1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

I Will, God give life and only God. Not a cooperation between God and mankind. Not God offers and the human accept.

Yet he uses Ezekiel, is not allowed to say more than what the Lord said or less.

See when asked “Son of man, can these bones live?”

“O Lord God, you know.”

When we preach the Gospel we have the same answer.

Will that person we have preached to for so long ever repent, ever see light, Lord you know.

Ephesians 2:1–10 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Romans 9 “not all that are of is “For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel” (Ro 9:6, ESV)

Romans 11:7 “What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened” (Ro 11:7, ESV)

Galatians 4:21–26 “But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.”

How does this happen, we are “made us alive together with Christ”

Verse 2 “And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.”

They were very dry, we were very dry, there was not even a spark, speck or fleck of life in them. Nothing, nothing, nothing in them in us that we would say look there is the part I contributed to this Resurrection.

Transition

The picture continues in verse 7-10.

Bone and Flesh and Breath

Ezekiel 37:7–10 ESV

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

Eph 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

he doesn't just regenerate bones, but the who being and stands them on on their feet.

There is some picture here of the continued nature of biblical prophesy, as in the preaching of the word, and the continued formation of the believe.

Also, noting that we may prophesy, proclaim the gospel, over and over before the life in the individual is completed.

The work is all of God, he uses humans.

The now,

This happened the returned Israelite were very much on the majority regenerated people, Ezra and Nehemiah and the whole congregation has a clear view of sin.

After the reading of the Law of God Ezra said, “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.”

“Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Ac 2:37–38, ESV)

The not yet

an exceedingly great army

Transition

There is much more not yet in verses 11-14

Your Own Land

Ezekiel 37:11–14 ESV

11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

“The whole house of Israel,” “Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved.” (Ro 11:25–26, ESV)

And I will bring you into the land of Israel.

You are telling me that a little script of land near the Mediterranean is the only land the people of God get? and who gets the rest?

Jesus said it, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”

Paul said it, our “28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.” (Ga 4:28–31, ESV)

We are the children of the free woman, we inherent not just a small strip of land by the Mediterranean but the whole earth.

“But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.” (Psa 37:11)

“He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.” (Psalm 25:9)

“The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.” (Is 29:19, ESV)

“But I will leave in your midst a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,” (Zeph 3:12)

“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (Eph 1:3–10, ESV)

There are many many more.

It just run throughout scripture, the Israel of God are the elect, and the promises of God go to them through Christ Jesus.

The now and not yet, types ‘Copies of heavenly” and the author of Hebrews calls them in 9:23.

All of these things are types of the one true archetype and this is Christ.

We have labor of over a year together now in this series.

Benediction

Hebrews 13:20–21 ESV

20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.