Dry Bones Come to Life

Lead Off Question

Have you ever had the air knocked out of you?

Illustration

Time I was riding my bike down the alley racing my brother when I wrecked and got the air knocked out of me!

Transition

When we lose our air, we feel as though we are choking. We begin gasping and trying to catch our breath, and while desperately trying we come back empty handed until FINALLY, whoosh, that first ounce of oxygen enters our lungs, and BANG we are alive again, life is okay, and we go back to taking our air for granted.

This morning, some of us has walked away from our pursuit of Jesus and we are now out in the dirt gasping for air, hoping, waiting for something to revitalize us. What we need is the renewal and refreshment of the Holy Spirit to come, fill our lungs with HIS LIFE. To live a life that is filled with His spirit and direction.

Bottom Line

Without the breath of God in our lives, we lack life.

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Bible Verse

Ezekiel 37:1–10 NIV

The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin 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 it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

Ezekiel 37:1–3 NIV

The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

Main Point

* Ezekiel had no hope in the bones, but he did have hope in God.

* Ezekiel did not presume to know what God wanted to do with the bones.

* Ezekiel was confident that God did know.

Breakdown

Right away in verses one and two Ezekiel begins describing what he sees in this vision.

KJV - "full of bones...they were very dry."

NKJV - "full of bones...they were very dry."

NIV - "full of bones...that were very dry."

NIRV - "full of bones...The bones were very dry."

NLT - "filled with bones...were completely dried out."

ESV - "full of bones...they were very dry."

BUT HERE IS THE TAKEAWAY, the bones were in mass quantity, not just a few bones here and there. BUT ALSO, the bones were completely dried up, which speaks to how long they had been without life, they had been completely rid of all of their nutrients.

Bottom Line

Without the breath of God in our lives, we lack life.

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Bible Verse

Ezekiel 37:4–8 NIV

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

Main Point

* Ezekiel’s focus was not on his words, but on the words of the Lord.

Breakdown

Ezekiel understood that his words may only stimulate emotion at best, but the Word of the Lord is supernatural. Ezekiel, knowing this, was told to proclaim that the dry bones would hear, "the word of the Lord."

Ezekiel spoke exactly as the Lord commanded of him, something that I am sure, from human perspective seemed hard to understand, yet he obeyed.

There was most certainly a process of the bones coming together:

the assembly of the bones

the tendons attaching

the tissue and skin covering

However, one thing lacked, the breath of God.

There were bones, there was structure, yet there was still no life. The modern church today can have the right number of deacons, the largest ministries, support the most missionaries, and even have a pastor that isn't from Ohio. BUT, if they are not actively seeking the renewing and refreshing breath of God that BRINGS FORTH LIFE, its only a structure.

Bottom Line

Without the breath of God in our lives, we lack life.

___________________________

Bible Verse

Ezekiel 37:9–10 NIV

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

Main Point

Life does not exist apart from the breath of God.

Breakdown

RUAH I want to go back real quick to verse 9 and go into a quick word study. Let's relook back at the word breath. In the English dictionary the word breath, means "the air taken into or expelled from the lungs; the power of breathing; a brief moment; the time required for one act of respiration; wind."

However, as it is read in the Hebrew text, the word breath is "ruah" or "ruach" which literally translated means "breath, wind or Spirit."

"At its root Ruah denotes the sense of 'air in motion', i.e. wind or breath. This can extend from a gentle breeze to a stormy wind, or from a breath that is breathed to a raging passion...It covers not only man's vital breath, given to him at birth and leaving his body in his dying gasp, but also the Spirit of God who imparts that breath." -Enduring Word Commentary

Ezekiel recognized that a mighty work had already begun in these bones, however he realized the work, and the amazement of life could not be complete with the Holy Spirit filling the bones with HIS BREATH, HIS SPIRIT! Now Ezekiel when he is prophesying here, I can only imagine that he must have been smiling ear-to-ear. He has already prophesied once, seen in verse 7, where he calls upon the bones to assemble, AND HE SAW THAT HAPPEN. So now, in verse 10, as he prophesies he is seeking that the prophesy will come to completion, that the bones WOULD HAVE LIFE, and this one surely was easier for Ezekiel seeing as how he had just witnessed a miracle moments before.

This Spirit of Life is referenced through other portions of Scripture as well!

NICODEMUS SECTION Take your Bible real quick and look at John 3:5-8

John 3:5–8 ESV

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.”

Apart from the Spirit and his breath, his wind/air moving into our bodies we are still dead. Apart from the Spirit of God we are dead.

In Genesis 2 this is also seen, flip to Genesis 2:7

Genesis 2:7 ESV

then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Adam was complete physically, but he had no life until the breath of God entered into him. -Wiersbe

JOHN 14:6 Jesus even tells us in John 14:6

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Apart from the Life that is found through Jesus, who is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, there is no way to life apart from a belief in the resurrection of Jesus, the one who is our King. (Foreshadowing to verses 11-14) that the body of Christ would all be united by one King, CHRIST!

MY JOURNALING ADVENTURE

Romans 12:2

Romans 12:2 ESV

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

I seek after the renewal, the refreshing of the Lord so that His spirit may fill me and so that I may actually find life, and share that life with all around me.

Bottom Line

Without the breath of God in our lives, we lack life.

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Application

Through the study of His Word.

Through the seeking of Him in prayer.

Through the calling upon of His Spirit.