Bringing life to dry bones Ezekiel 37:1-14

37 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. ² 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. ³ He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath^[a] enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶ 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.’”                  Ezekiel 37:1-6


There is nothing as lifeless as bones that have been dried by the hot sun.   But this is the image that God gives to Ezekiel about the Spiritual condition of Israel.  Not a pretty picture is it.  This was not a good time in the life of the people of God.  But they weren't lifeless because their hearts didn't beat and brains did not think.  "Well the thinking part might have been questionable"   No, They were lifeless because the Spirit of God had departed from them.  They had turned from the Lord and turned to sin and they had turned so thoroughly that Spiritually they were dead.

At such a sight I wonder what Ezekiel was thinking?  But I'm sure it wasn't a surprise for he had witnessed their Spiritual condition first hand.   And today, if God were to take us to the valley we wouldn't be overly surprised to see the same comparison to the Spiritual condition of our nation either.  No we are not shocked by the lifeless bones.  Saddened, yes but not shocked.

However, what might shock us is what God intends to do with those lifeless bones.   You would think that barring the bones and leaving them would be the only thing you can do.  Just think if we were God. How many times would we have been tempted to leave us behind considering everything we've done.  

No the real blessing of this passage is two fold.  First, God is able to breath life into dry bones and second, God desires to breath life even when we abandon him.

But the choice is up to us.  God doesn't force himself on us.  We have to invite him in but the good news is Gods not far.  Just remember what Jesus said in Revelations 3:20.  "Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me."

To ponder:  If you're feeling a little dry Spiritually why don't you ask Jesus to come inside and quench your thirst.  Remember he is the living water and everyone who drinks of him will not thirst.   Make that your New Years resolution to drink in the water and breath in the Spirit.  God wants to renew your dry bones, and the promise of the Gospel is that he can!

Let us also pray that the dry bones of our nation would feel the breath of God's Spirit in 2015.