The Lord led Ezekiel in the spirit into a valley full of dry bones and said to him in Ezekiel 37: 3-11, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, ‘O Lord GOD, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.”… I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude. Then he said to me, Mortal, these bones are the house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’
God showed Ezekiel the vision so he would be God’s messenger to the people. We pray that God will use us also as channels for his pure message of life to his people always. What did God intend Ezekiel to say to his people or to learn from God?
To show Ezekiel the basis of faith
Our faith must also be tested to show whether or not we are grounded and rooted in God through Christ Jesus. Ezekiel first deferred to God’s knowledge by saying O Lord God, you know. He did not rely on his own wisdom. Peter’s faith was tested when the storm arose on the sea whilst Jesus was asleep in the boat, Matthew 8: 24-26; Luke 8: 23-25; and when the cock crowed twice after he denied Jesus for fear, Matthew 26: 75; Mark 14: 72. Martha’s faith was tested when his brother Lazarus died and when she failed, Jesus wept, John 11: 32-34. God is asking us, will the dry bones in our lives live again? Jesus does not want our faith to be based on what we see but what he says, his word. In any circumstances, we must find out what God’s word says and that should be our compass to show us the way.
To show himself as God of possibilities
God wanted Ezekiel to know that he was and still is above all circumstances. Jesus said in Matthew 19: 26; Mark 10: 27, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” Jesus also said in Matthew 17: 20, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to the mountain, ‘Move from here to there; and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” Faith and righteousness can move God’s hands by grace. All things are possible if we rely on God. When God asked Ezekiel if the bones can live, he said God has the answer and God provided the answer. Do we seek God’s infinite knowledge? God said in Jeremiah 32: 27, See, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too hard for me? Jesus said in Matthew 19: 26; Mark 10: 27, for God, all things are possible.
To show Ezekiel the role of obedience
Without obedience, Ezekiel could not have prophesied to the dry bones to live. If we want to experience miracles in our lives, we must obey his word in all circumstances. Ezekiel prophesied to the bones as God commanded him. Although it appeared laughable by human reasoning, he nevertheless obeyed God’s instruction. 1 Samuel 15: 22 says to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10: 4-5, we destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. No argument of mortals can stand God’s wisdom and power. Obedience is all God wants from us. Do we obey God’s command always?
To glorify himself if Ezekiel obeyed
Upon obeying God’s command, the dry bone became alive with breath from all the corners of the earth. God owns and commands the entire universe including the earth. The people said in Matthew 8: 27; Mark 4: 41, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” Dead and lifeless bodies also obey God because Christ Jesus raised many dead people including Lazarus, John 11: 14, 43-44. God is glorified whenever by obedience, we allow God to inject life into our dead circumstances. Wherever we face any situation, we must know that God wants to glorify himself in our lives and so we must give him the chance by his word. For this reason Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5: 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. We must not complain any more.
To show that God is the source of life
God is life and so is his word designated to revive every dead situation in our lives. Jesus said in John 11: 25, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. If the dead bones were the house of Israel which God revived with life, then we as the house of God must also seek due revival in God as his spiritual people and nation. The house of God can be dead to righteousness or be inactive or dormant because of sin. It takes an obedient servant of God to begin the revival process based on God’s word. We must prophesy to our dry situations by the Holy Spirit on the word as Ezekiel prophesied in obedience. God’s house must not be dead but must be alive to save lives. This is God’s mission for us.
Is the church dead or alive today?
The church or body of Christ today appears to be dry bones without the resurrection power of God. Isaiah 26: 19 says, your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise. O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a radiant dew, and the earth will give birth to those long dead. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4: 16, For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead will rise first.
God’s clear call from heaven to the church is for revival globally. With God, there is no reason for despair. Every situation is an opportunity for God to demonstrate his resurrection power. Miracles begin with obedience to God in faith. For whatever dry bones that confront us in this life, in whatever corner of the globe, Jesus is the permanent answer. Let us begin reviving God’s people with truth, obedience and righteousness. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15: 22, for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. We need Jesus to bring the church back to life in righteousness. What role will we play?
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, like the dry bones, we have no life in us except if you revive us by your word of life. Mercifully command the word of life into us so we may live again to behold your glory. Revive us in the works of our calling as the end draws nigh. Only you have the answer to how we shall live again and we want to live again in you. Revive each and every dead situation in our lives with your renewal and freshness of the Holy Spirit. Rekindle our flame of commitment to the calling into which we have been called and make us loyal and faithful to you till the end in your holy name, Amen!!
