The Valley of Dry Bones
Notes
Transcript
We are about to walk through one of the most magnificent pictures of God’s supernatural power in all of the Bible. We are about to see a display of God life giving power and the future hope of God’s promise of salvation, sanctification, and glorification for His people. This story of Ezekiel’s vision and prophesy in the Valley of Dry bones points us to Jesus Christ the first fruits of our Resurrection and His eternal kingship over His people!
This narrative took place long before Christ was born but will continue to be proven true until the day Christ returns and we as God’s people spend eternity with Him in the New Heavens and the New Earth!
Let’s get into the story, the first thing I want you to see is,
I. God’s Promise (1-6)
I. God’s Promise (1-6)
In verse 1-6 the first thing we need to recognize is,
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. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 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.
Ezekiel 37:
A. The Place of God’s Promise (1-2)
A. The Place of God’s Promise (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.
Notice first, Ezekiel the prophet was in the Spirit of the LORD, and the LORD’s hand was upon Him. As the prophet of God Ezekiel recieved direct revelation from the LORD, it was God’s prophets who spoke to God’s people for the LORD.
Ezekiel
Next we see that, the LORD set Ezekiel down in the midst of this valley that was full of bones, not just bones but very dry bones…In other words a place of death, a place where there was not life, no hope.
Why would God bring Ezekiel here? What was God about to show Ezekiel?
B. The Purpose of God’s Promise. (3-5)
B. The Purpose of God’s Promise. (3-5)
And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 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.
Ezekiel
Do you think God is about to show Ezekiel something amazing? He is about to do something that only God can do. The LORD tells Ezekiel, that I am about to breath my supernatural breath into these bones, so that when you speak they will live. These dead bones are going to come to life and see that I am the one true God, the LORD over heaven and earth and all that is in it?
Do you want to hear what happens next? Next we are going to see,
II. God’s Prophesies Through Ezekiel (7-14)
II. God’s Prophesies Through Ezekiel (7-14)
God has gotten Ezekiel’s attention! He is about to speak through his prophet and do something that is going to teach God’s people an eternal lesson, point them to their future King and their physical and spiritual restoration as God’s chosen people.
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. 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. 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.’ 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.”
First we see Ezekiel,
Ezekiel 37:7-
A. Prophesy Over the Bones (7)
A. Prophesy Over the Bones (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.
Ezekiel
Ezekiel speaks, preaches, and prophesies to these dry bones. These bones that were lifeless, had been picked on by the animals, and were laying in a pile without hope. Ezekiel does just as the LORD tells him and what starts happening?
These dry bones start to rattle, they start to move, the begin to come together, not just in a pile but bone to it’s bone. The foot bone connecting to the leg bone, the leg bone connecting to the hip bone, the hip bone connecting to the back bone…Do you get the picture?
But something is still messing, bones are connecting but the bodies are still not breathing. So God calls Ezekiel to,
B. Prophesy to the Breath (8-10)
B. Prophesy to the Breath (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.
Ezekiel
The bones were joined together with tendons, flesh had covered the bones, but they were still just dead bodies. “There was no breath in them.” Next God tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the breath. He says tell the breath to come from the four winds and bring these dead bones to life. What happens?
These dead bodies receive life and become “an exceedingly great army.”
Does this language sound familiar to you the wind bringing life?
Remember the words of Jesus in,
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
John 3:
God not only breathed life in these dry bones through the wind, through His Spirit, He breathes life into our spiritually dead bodies through His Spirit.
In verses 11-14 we see Ezekiel,
C. Prophesy to the House of Israel (11-14)
C. Prophesy to the House of Israel (11-14)
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.’ 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.”
This prophesy is for God’s people. They are in exile, they spiritually without life, without hope. But God says, “I will open up your graves and raise you from your graves.” God is the giver of life to His people, He wants them to know He is LORD! He is going to put His Spirit within in them.
God’s supernatural life giving work will finally result in,
III. God’s People Gathered (15-28)
III. God’s People Gathered (15-28)
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, take a stick and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?’ say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand. When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”
A. The Gathering of Sticks (15-20)
A. The Gathering of Sticks (15-20)
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, take a stick and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what you mean by these?’ say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand. When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes,
Ezekiel
God begins with an illustration through Ezekiel. He tells him to gather two sticks and right on them the names of the divided kingdoms. Then he is to join these two sticks together in order that they might be united again.
This imagery is to display,
B. The Gathering of the People of Israel (21-23)
B. The Gathering of the People of Israel (21-23)
then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
God promises that he is going to bring his people back together to be united as never before. That once they come to life they will be a different, undivided, unified nation. Not only will they be unified they will be sanctified. See what God says, They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and detestable things. God is going to save his people, cleanse his people, and they will be His!
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
How ill all of this take place? Finally God explains through Ezekiel,
C. The Shepherding of the People of Israel (24-28)
C. The Shepherding of the People of Israel (24-28)
“My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”
Ezekiel
Wait a minute, David is dead during this time. How is he going to be shepherd and king over God’s people? He is not speaking of David, but of the Son of David, the one who is to fulfill the role of Prophet, Priest, King, and Good Shepherd, JESUS CHRIST! This entire vision is to point us to the future hope of God’s people, Jew and Gentile.
The confident hope that God will bring his people to life by His Spirit, through the preached Word of God, proclaiming the Gospel of the LORD JESUS CHRIST!