Ezekiel 37:11 then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. 12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, 14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
When God asked Ezekiel a question, his reply was “O Lord GOD, thou knowest.” We should know better than to tell the Lord he can’t do something. Ezekiel was in this valley of bones; he knew they were the children of Israel. While God’s people were captives in Babylon, God showed Ezekiel a valley, and all he saw were bones, quiet and still, corpses turned to near dust, scattered and disjointed. Ezekiel told the Lord “our bones are dried and our hope is lost.”
Is that how you secretly feel? If so, why is it? God’s people felt that way because they found themselves with no country, no identification, and captives who had lost about everything they had. Are you asking “is it too late for me?” Do you feel all the good is gone and you’re just like flesh off a corpse? Sometimes you can lose life and not be dead. You can lose your joy? How? Sin can do it. You can feel defeated and the devil beats you down boring a hole into your happiness until it breaks you apart. The harshness of the elements made the skeletons fall apart. There are many hopeless feelings these days. Satan will tell you that you cannot get it back.
I’m not sure how the world will get as far as our living here, but God tells us things don’t have to get worse in our heart. Have things got you down? Hopelessness is like the flu. Others suffer because it is contagious. Smiles leave faces. You think all is lost. Are you now a captive? What has captured you? Do you feel like spiritual skin and bones? Are you dried up? Do you feel there is no hope? Even Ezekiel thought it couldn’t get worse. Right in the middle of this grave yard was the Lord God Almighty. Ezekiel was not alone; neither are we. Don’t give up on life not even in this kind of valley.
Remember the innocence before you realized sin and became accountable to God. It was safe. Life was wonderful. Can it be so again? Ezekiel admitted he didn’t know, but he knew that God knew. The solutions can be brought to life by the Lord. God gave life and identification to a pile of dry bones. He said, “I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.” No matter how deep our grave seems or how dry our bones feel, God can still turn it around.
The bones didn’t hear Ezekiel but they heard word of the Lord spoken through Ezekiel. Toes connected to feet which connected to ankles which connected to leg which connected to hip which connected to…. God told Ezekiel “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.” Life came back into the bones.
We don’t have to go another day without hope. We’ve been in the graveyard too long. God wants us to live. Sure there are many things that make us think differently, but listen to the word of the Lord. Come out and live. This grave doesn’t have to be your final resting place. We must put our trust in the Lord. The devil is not the Lord of all. Our problems are not the Lord of all. Jesus is the Lord of all! Obey and your dry bones will come together, live again. Let’s believe God and be what he has made us.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 