Ezekiel 37: 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.
Ezekiel was a prophet to Israel in Babylon. Because of sin, Israel was captive in Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar. It’s much like today. The people of Israel were scattered. There was no temple and no real land of Israel. They were under the slavery and influence of the wickedness and evil of Babylon. Many of Israel thought what’s the use to go on? However, many did. Among those who stood true were Daniel and the other prophets as well as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
We’re in a Babylon today. We may think the people of Babylon don’t need God but they do just as they did in Ezekiel’s day. Those faithful to God were an influence. Remember this is where the Tower of Babel was built. The people thought they didn’t need God and began to erect a monument to themselves. Babel means confusion and that’s what God did—confused them in their language. It’s the land of Iran, Iraq, Persia and Syria as has always been the seat of Satan’s working. I’m sure God looks down on the U.S. today and calls us Babylon 2 because we’ve taken the ways of Satan. While we’re not Israel, we are the people of God and are practically captive in the land. Society wants to make Babylonians out of us.
In Ezekiel’s day those who wanted to serve God had a hard time. They were overwhelmed as we are. God took Ezekiel on a trip to the graveyard. Cemeteries are necessary places. Most of us take our loved ones there when they die. They remind us of our own mortality. We should go more than we do not only to the graves of our relatives, but it prompts us to think of the resurrection. It can teach us a lot if we let it.
More and more are giving up on God. They quit going to church and become synthetic Christians. Many have fallen away and are part of the graveyard. When God looks down does he see Adwolfe FWB Cemetery? It’s time to wake up to what’s going on around us. King Nebuchadnezzar made a law and at the sound of the music everyone was supposed to bow to his image and worship it—so typical of what we see happening around us today. Many of Israel bowed but not all. Let’s not bow down today. If you’re more Babylonian than Christian remember you can’t be both.
Many of Israel had died spiritually. Their strength was gone. Their connectivity was gone. They were just dry bones. The devil is trying to disconnect us today. Without the tendons and ligaments we’d be nothing but a bag of bones. Where is our power? Why don’t people get along? Why don’t they study the Word of God? Why are we so worldly minded? The Lord knows if we’re alive and moving forward or if we’re dead and don’t know it. All the bones that Ezekiel saw in the graveyard used to be alive. This was a picture of God’s people. Ezekiel didn’t know what bone went with what. They were dry and exposed to the elements, unrecognizable to anyone.
Are we alive for God; does he recognize us? It’s time to call on the name of the Lord. Heed the call to repentance. God said if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Do we still believe that? God will take care of his people if they turn back to him. Are you dried up? Is hope lost? Israel couldn’t do anything because they felt hopeless. God doesn’t need huge armies to assist him. We’re the forces of God. There is no power in us but there is power in the blood, in the Book, and in the House of God. We all have to be connected and be in our place.
God put these bones back together and they didn’t just lie there in the sun. We don’t have to lie a moment longer. We need God and he can use us. Why be a waste? If everyone else dries up spiritually, it doesn’t mean you and I have to. It is a dry time and if we’re not careful we will dry up. We know many who have. Let’s purpose not to do it ourselves.
A corpse decomposes. Nature takes its course. Bones can’t keep bones together. They’re held by muscles and sinews. Only God can put a person back together. When you got saved, you brought your dry bones to the Lord. He covered the bones as only he can. Hear the Word and obey it. As our skin is the covering for our bones, God is our covering. Don’t let him be whittled away.
Ezekiel was asked if the bones could live again. He didn’t know but he knew that God did. He was told to prophesy to the bones and when he did a noise and a shaking took place. The bones came together with a new spirit and a new heart. The breath of life came in and they stood again. They could be somebody for the Lord.
We’re in the graveyard. Hear the Word. Let God take care of the rest.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 