Day 24: Ezekiel 37:1-14

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.

Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

Inherent in the narrative of the Scriptures is God calling humanity to participate in the story of redemption. Not only is God in pursuit of us as he brings about salvation, but he calls us to partner with him in the redemption and reclamation of his creation. In his vision, God asks Ezekiel, “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel responds, “God, you know.” God calls Ezekiel to prophesy to the death that surrounds him. He invites Ezekiel to participate in the life-giving activity of redemption, to breathe new life into what was once dead, to call people out of their graves.

Just as God called Ezekiel then, he still calls his people to participate in the redemptive act of breathing life into the dead bones that surround us. We are being called to be a prophetic people that call the dead out of their graves. We have been called to partner with God in establishing his Kingdom in our midst.

Wes Reece | Associate Worship Pastor