Skeletons - Ezekiel 37:1-14

Introduction

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens. Teenage drivers are three times more likely to be involved with a fatal crash than drivers who are 20 and older. 29 percent of teens involved in a fatal crash were drinking alcohol. Yet, according to the CDC, even though teenagers are typically aware of the risk intellectually, 17 percent of those surveyed acknowledged that they had ridden with someone who had been drinking within the last 30 days. It is the adolescent reflex to believe that “it won’t happen to me,” isn’t it?

So, way back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was in high school, our school would do a demonstration in the week leading up to prom. They would bring a car that had been involved in a teenage fatality, and they would park it on the football field. The whole school would assemble around it to talk about exactly what I’ve just said to you. And, the intention was to move the danger from our intellect into our bones. They wanted us to see pictures, not just stats, so that by looking at the wreckage it might save our lives.

God’s Word

In Ezekiel 37, God takes Ezekiel on a walk through the wreckage of Israel. The difference is that this wasn’t someone else’s wreckage. It was theirs. The bones of those who had been decimated by the Babylon army scarred the earth, and it was a reminder of the grim reality of their current situation. But, the purpose wasn’t just to show what had happened, but to offer hope as to what will happen. And, we see How God Will Turn Death to Glory (Headline):

You see, you must first understand that.

“Sin” leads to “skeletons.”

After WWII, the allies recognized the need for the German citizenship to come to grips with the evil that had become normalized in their society. Certainly, there was an awareness of harm done to Jewish neighbors and a national prejudice, but the extent of suffering incurred was largely imperceptible to the average person. So, the allies marched all the German citizens they could to see the concentration camps themselves, to put a face with the smoke that had billowed from the furnaces where remains had burned. Others were compelled to watch a film that showed the atrocities faced by those who had been sentenced there. And, the point was clear enough: You share responsibility in allowing this to happen, and you share responsibility in ensuring it never happens again.

There’s something of that going on as God walks Ezekiel through the Valley of Dry Bones. God is showing his prophet the atrocities that has befallen his people as a result of the normalization of evil in their lives.

He sees the “consequences” of their “actions.”

Ezekiel 37:1–2 “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. 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.”

It isn’t just adolescents that believe “it won’t happen to me,” is it? Now, when it comes to reckless driving and cliff diving, most of us slow down. But, when it comes to sin and consequences, we’re tempted to believe that pornography or arrogance or gossip won’t have the consequences we’ve been warned of. That is, just like a teenager watching a school presentation on the dangers of drunk driving, we’re tempted to read God’s word or hear our pastor and believe that we’re the exception to the rule.

That’s part of the reason we have stories like Ezekiel 37. We’ve seen through the Big Story that God has sent prophets to them for generations warning them to turn back, or that their actions would destroy them. But, they just kept going believing that it was a bluff, believing that they could live without cause and effect, believing they could avoid the consequences of their actions. So, God takes Ezekiel through the old battle ground so that he could see firsthand the extent of the consequences. And, the extent is being punctuated. There were “very many,” and their bones were “very dry.” That is, a lot of people had been massacred, and the survivors were under such oppression that they couldn’t even care for their dead. A lot of sin had led to a lot of skeletons.

But, it’s not just that they should understand this as their personal consequences but as God’s judgment.

He sees the “judgment” of their “God.”

Ezekiel 37:1–2 “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. 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.”

That is, this isn’t just some Karma situation where you reap what you sow as though the universe is mechanical that way. This is the result of their forsaking of God and his just response as a result. When God entered into a covenant with his people, He told them that He would always provide for them, protect them, and prosper them so long as they depended upon them. But, He wouldn’t tolerate them spitting in his face by trying to find those things apart from him. If they did, God told them what would result from their breach of the covenant.

Deuteronomy 28:25–26 ““The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away.”

Ezekiel 37:11 “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.’”

So, as Ezekiel looked around the Valley to see skeletons picked clean by the vultures, the justice of God must’ve sat heavily upon him. God had told them, but they didn’t believe him. They believed they could breach God’s covenant without facing God’s wrath. That is, they had convinced themselves that God’s word was less true and their sin less serious than God has said it was.

But, what they learned is that sin always leads to skeletons. Sin promises you more freedom and greater happiness and deeper pleasure, but it’s a really a gas chamber camouflaged to look like a carnival. All the promises sin made led only to skeletons. Every skeleton in that field represents a lie they believed. That’s where our skeletons come from, too.

Is your life filled with skeletons? As you look at your relationship with your kids or with your parents or with your spouse, do you see a cemetery of bones because of your own decisions? Are you carrying so many secrets because of so much sin that you have to mask the stench of death with the diversion of alcohol and drugs? Is your reputation dead and your future seemingly hopeless because of a self-dug grave? Can you say with Israel: “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost”

Well, what you need is resurrection. Sin creates skeletons, and the only hope for skeletons is resurrection.

“Skeletons” require “resurrection.”

Ezekiel 37:3 “And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.””

There’s a poignant question asked by God in the midst of the devastation of the valley. “Can these bones live?” That is, do these bones long since picked over and dried up have any hope? And, that’s the question you’re probably asking about your life, too. “Can these bones live?” Does my cemetery of a life have any hope? Well, I love Zeke’s response. God has asked, “Can these bones live.” When God asks “Can,” the answer is always “Yes.” So, Zeke says, “O LORD, you know.” That is, I know you can if you’re willing. And, the very reason that God asked the question was so that He could say He was willing to bring life where there was only death.

What’s interesting is the means by which God brings these bones to life. It’s the same way He brings them back to life today. And, they are in a reversal of what led Israel (and us) this forsaken valley. What do dead bones need?

Dead bones need God’s “word.”

Ezekiel 37:4–7 “Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 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.” 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.”

God tells Ezekiel to go and preach to the dry bones. Now, think about that assignment. Every preacher knows what it feels like to have your music minister sleep through the sermon, but this is next level. He’s preaching to people who are deader than a backslidden Episcopalian. Two things stand out about this thought.

First, it was a neglect of God’s word that led Israel to this sad state. The valley was filled with dead bones that never would have died if they had trusted and obeyed God. Oh, that’s why so many of us today have skeletons too, isn’t it? That’s why many of us sense a deadness in our faith? That’s why we live with so much regret. That’s why our lives appear ruined, isn’t it? We thought we found a way better than God’s word, more fun than God’s word, more liberating than God’s word that led us to a valley of death. So, there’s a call to repentance here, a call to reverse course and find life in the place it has always been — God’s word.

That brings to the second point here. Over and over in the Bible, it is the power of God’s word that always creates life when it’s lacking. The reverberation of creation in Genesis 1 is “And God said...” There was nothingness, “and God said,” then there was light and life. Oh, we think, “What good is it to preach to dead bones? What good is it to share Jesus with my kids and family when they don’t want to hear it? What good is it to go to church when it feels like my life is falling apart just to hear the word? What good is it to open my Bible when I feel too busy to even survive another day?” Don’t you see that this is where life comes from? That’s what we need! We need the power of the word that flings galaxies into the sky. We need the power of the word that calls out to the dead, and says, “Lazarus, come forth!” We need life so we need the word! We need the power of the word that promsies: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

But, there’s something else we need. Ezekiel preaches and the bones rattle, and, suddenly, there’s fully formed bodies standing all around, but they’re not complete. It takes our minds to Genesis 2 when God formed the man out of the dust, but he was incomplete. What did God do? He breathed into him.

Dead bones need God’s “breath.”

Ezekiel 37:8–10 “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. 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.” 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.”

Now, remember the context is the New Covenant. Ezekiel 36 says that God will put his Spirit within his people. And, then we’re teleported to the valley of skeletons that make up his people. The Old Covenant had resulted in a field with dry bones, but the New Covenant was going to result in empty tombs and new life. Just as God had breathed into the nostrils of Adam the first breath of life, God would breathe into his people the breath of new life. “Wind” and “Spirit” are the same word in Hebrew. It comes up time and again in Ezekiel 36-37 because that’s the difference. The very Breath of God was going to enliven his people so that they would become an unconquerable army. The word must be preached, but the Spirit must do all the work. Before God had lived among his people, but now He would live within his people. They cannot be stopped, and they cannot die.

1 John 20:21–22 “Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

This is a foreshadowing of Israel coming home to their Promised Land — Yes! But, it’s also a foreshadowing of what Christ will do for his disciples — us! In John 20, Jesus walks through the walls of a locked room after his resurrection. All of his disciples are cowered in the corner afraid of what people are going to do to them. They were alive, but they might as well have been dead. And, Jesus speaks to these cowardly, little disciples and says, “even so, I am sending you.” And, do you know what He does? He breathes on them, and the Holy Spirit came. And, they became an unconquerable army. The Sanhedrin would see their boldness and hear them preached, and they’d be astonished because they were “common, uneducated men.” These dying cowards would die the martyred heroes of Christendom.

Church, don’t you understand that’s who you are? We are the resurrected, Spirit-filled army of the living God. We’re unconquerable. We’re unstoppable. Why would we live like the dead? Why would go to all the places our dead neighbors go trying feel alive? Why would need to run to our wine glasses the way they do? Why would we need to use our credit cards the same way? We don’t don’t have to look for life. Life has found us! You see...

The “resurrected” live a “new life.”

One of the realities of the fallen condition is that we don’t fully appreciate what we have until it’s lost or nearly lost. That’s why near death experiences change the way a person sees their life. Before, it was just a day. It was just a Christmas to enjoy or a dance recital to endure. But, after the chemo or the surgery or the heart attack, you think: this isn’t JUST a day. It might be my last day. It’s like you have a new life that you want to savor. I know I think about it every day myself. I see my sleeping son, and think, “I almost never knew him.” My Sara snuggles into me on the couch, and I think “her daddy almost wasn’t here.” The nearness of death magnifies the sweetness of life.

This is something of a glimpse of how life with Christ is meant to be known. We were dead and hopeless, but now we’re resurrected and secured. It’s becomes the glasses through which we see all of our lives. The neutralized sting of death magnifies the sweetness of life. We’re able to savor now what we didn’t even see before. For we were dead, but now we’re alive. We were skeletons, but now we’re children. We were hopeless, but now we’re “more than conquerors.”

We have “experienced” God’s “power.”

Ezekiel 37:12–14 “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. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 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.””

I want to land today by pointing you to two phrases. The first is “I will.” God says in seven times in the first 14 verses of Ezekiel 37. Skeletons can’t self-rescue. Corpses can’t awaken themselves. God has to do it all. So, He says He will. But, God won’t just make them all alive, but He’ll restore to them their promises. Everything his people were supposed to be they will become. They will have hearts of flesh. They will dwell in his Promised Land. They will live the prosperous life He intended for them.

So, he says “you shall.” That is, since God has raised you from the dead and rescued your corpse to enjoy his promises. You should do it. You should live a new life.

We should “enjoy” God’s “plan.”

Oh, the sting of death has been neutralized for us, Christian. Shouldn’t we, of all people, enjoy the sweetness of life according to God’s design? We haven’t just survived surgery. We’ve survived death itself. Life with Jesus is sweet, and we should live like it. We don’t just live a different kind of life because we ‘HAVE TO.’ We live a different kind of life because we’re able to. You CAN be holy. God has done it. That’s at the forefront of what is happening here. He’s raising the dead to live differently than they way that killed them. He has raised us by his word and breathed into us his Spirit that we can LIVE IN THE WAY WE WERE DESIGNED TO LIVE — Perfect fellowship with him. “They shall KNOW…THEY SHALL LIVE”! Don’t tell yourself that your habitual sin is unconquerable. You’re “more than (a) conqueror!” Don’t let your flesh off the hook as if it’s been victorious. It’s been defanged. You CAN live the life that God has commanded you to live because God ‘HAS’ done it!”

And, here’s the irony: A holy life is a more a enjoyable life, not less. All of your life your flesh has sought to convince you that what kills you will bring you life, and what brings you life will kill you. But, the Spirit of God has come to tell you that Jesus’ way isn’t just right — IT’S better. Jesus’ life isn’t one to endure; Jesus’ life is one to enjoy.

Brothers and sisters, stop living like skeletons. Jesus has saved you for a better life than that. Savor the sweetness of life with him.