Ezekiel 36:1 - 47:12
This is another woodcut by Gustavo Dore. More of these can be found at the http://catholic-resources.org/Art/Dore-Prophets.htm
The Valley of the Dry Bones is one of those interesting visions that Ezekiel had.
Ezekiel 37:2-5
"The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon 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."
Ezekiel 37:11 "The whole house of Israel says "our bones are dried up and our hope is gone, we are cut off"
It's the questions the world still has today,
"Can these dead bodies be made alive again?"
"Is there hope left in the world?"
"Are we cut off from God?"
And here is God's response: "Prophesy and Preach the Word of God to the dry bones"
When Ezekiel began to prophesy, the bones came back together and formed a body (37:7-8) It is the same today, when the Word of God is preached then the dead in faith begin stirring and the hopeless see that there is hope. There is no greater call to a believer than to preach the Word of God. Because the Word stirs the dead in faith.
Next, God gave them breath "And breath entered them and they came to life" (37:10) After the Word of God is preached, those that hear the Word and are stirred, God gives them life. And they stand on their feet made alive, full of hope, and connected to God.
This Valley of Dry Bones can be found in the New Testament also.
It is found in Ephesians 2:1, 4-8 "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."
May Ezekiel remind us of our responsibility to Preach and Prophesy the Word of God to a dying world. May it also remind us that because of God's mercy and kindness, He provided the breath of life throught faith in His Son, Jesus. So that we would no longer be a Valley of Dry Bones, but a vast army of Spirit-filled believers.
