A LESSON IN THE VALLEY PT: 3

Ezekiel 37:1–10 KJV 1900

1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. 4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon 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 up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

INTRODUCTION

This morning with are introduce to the prophet Ezekiel.

Ezekiel names means “May God strengthen or God is my Strength”.

Ezekiel is immensely admired and respected by three of the worlds religion: If you ever study Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all of them have a high regard for the Prophet Ezekiel.

It was Ezekiel who at the tender age of 13 experienced his first vision as a Prophet.

Ezekiel experienced what we seem experience everyday and that is the destruction of our nation.

Killings

Carjacks

highway shootings

Poor Political Parties and politicians, Ezekiel experienced harsh times like us as with saw the fall of a nation.

1. He Experienced the destruction of Jerusalem

2. He saw them carrying away the Jewish people into Babylon.

3. He saw the exile of King Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin.

4. He her the sound of the writer recording:

“By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion, we hung our harps upon the willows there of for they asked of us to sing the Lord’s song and the response returned, HOW CAN WE SING THE LORD’S SONG IN A STRANGE LAND,

Ezekiel said I saw!!!

But here he says to us in Chapter 37 that “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones”.

God brings Ezekiel to the valley of Dry Bones and and set him down in the midst of the valley causing him to pass by them . Ezekiel says there were many and they were very dry. These Dry Bones are the picture of the hopelessness of death.

1.

Ezekiel (King James Version) E. The Resurrection and Reunification of God’s People: Symbolized by a Vision of Dry Bones and a Visual of Joined Sticks, 37:1–28

The LORD’s solution to the hopelessness of death (dry bones)

1) First, the solution is the bones’ (people’s) hearing God’s Word: It gives the promise of new life & the resurrection of the dead, Is. 26:19

The foot bone's connected to the leg bone, The leg bone's connected to the knee bone, The knee bone's connected to the thigh bone,

The thigh bone's connected to the hip bone, The hip bone's connected to the backbone, The backbone's connected to the neck bone,

Ezekiel (King James Version) E. The Resurrection and Reunification of God’s People: Symbolized by a Vision of Dry Bones and a Visual of Joined Sticks, 37:1–28

He will put muscle & flesh on the bones & cover them with skin

• He will breathe life into them

• He has one purpose: That they know He is the LORD

2.

Ezekiel (King James Version) E. The Resurrection and Reunification of God’s People: Symbolized by a Vision of Dry Bones and a Visual of Joined Sticks, 37:1–28

Second, the solution is the prophet’s proclaiming God’s Word, His promise

• The bones of each body came together when Ezekiel preached

Ezekiel (King James Version) E. The Resurrection and Reunification of God’s People: Symbolized by a Vision of Dry Bones and a Visual of Joined Sticks, 37:1–28

The prophet watched as muscles, flesh, & skin formed over the bones: But they were still dead

3.

Ezekiel (King James Version) E. The Resurrection and Reunification of God’s People: Symbolized by a Vision of Dry Bones and a Visual of Joined Sticks, 37:1–28

The prophet was to proclaim God’s wonderful promise to the hopeless

• He would resurrect them from the grave (exile)

• He would return them to the promised land

Ezekiel (King James Version) E. The Resurrection and Reunification of God’s People: Symbolized by a Vision of Dry Bones and a Visual of Joined Sticks, 37:1–28

The LORD would use the resurrection of Israel to stir the people to know that He alone is the LORD

Ezekiel (King James Version) E. The Resurrection and Reunification of God’s People: Symbolized by a Vision of Dry Bones and a Visual of Joined Sticks, 37:1–28

The LORD would put His Spirit in the people

• They would return to the promised land

• They would then know that the LORD did exactly what His Word promised