Ezekiel 37 vs 1-28

Ezekiel Chapter 37 Verse 1
•Man did this start out well! The hand of the Lord was upon Him and he was brought out in the Spirit of the Lord…both of those things are right where you want to be…but then God sits him down in the midst of a valley? And that valley was like a scene out of a low-budget monster movie! A valley of dry bones! You might be walking hand in hand with the Lord, filled with His Spirit, and yet you may find yourself in an awful situation…
•The crazy thing is that many times when you are walking uprightly in the Lord, that’s when you find the valleys! Why? Well, its like this. You don’t take note of the housing prices until you’re in the market to buy. You don’t notice the gas prices until you’re ready to fill up. And when you are walking in the flesh, man the dry bones are just everyday life. It’s when you begin to walk in the Spirit that you see these things and what yesterday was no big deal is today entirely concerning.
•The key is not where you are, the key is who’s you are. This valley of dry bones is hopeless if its just Ezekiel…but what we see next is because of the Word of God and the action on the part of God Himself. So, you’re in a tough spot? Keep the faith, man! Stay the course! Stay kind, stay loving, stay joyful, stay peaceful, stay with the Lord! Perhaps that valley needs a tool like you to find new life!
Ezekiel Chapter 37 Verses 2 – 3
•Probably the best response possible! It’s like God saying, “Where do you want to go eat?” And Ezekiel answering, “Where do you want to go eat?” HA! Do you know why we hate to hear that so much from our spouses? Because it’s a trap. Because I’m going to say where I want to go and then she is going to say what? “Hmmmmm!” If you’re going to answer that way then whatever he or she says back should be where you go! Problem solved! HA! That’s how it is right here with the Lord!
•Ezekiel is perplexed. He is uncomfortable. He is out of place. He is horrified! In his culture, law and upbringing, being near a dead body is dangerous business because if he happened to touch anything, he is unclean! A very big deal for him. And so, in this tough spot, he turns to God and says, “I don’t know. You lead.” Perfect response.
•Now, this valley isn’t just filled with bones. The bones are dry and it says here that as Ezekiel inspects further, he discovers that indeed they were very dry. That means not only the absence of life, the presence of death, but that means that its been a long time…a long time since there was life. Even to the point that no remnant or remembrance of life remains.
•This is prophetical towards Israel yes, but this is also the condition of the fallen state of man. And we will see that in application as we continue…
Ezekiel Chapter 37 Verses 4 – 10
•Certainly, a prophecy of Israel is given here as we will find out in the next verse but notice a few truths also revealed in what we just read. I just want to make this statement, on the part of Ezekiel, this is almost a foolish confidence in God’s Word… You want me to do what? Speak to bones? And something will happen? There wasn’t even that discussion. Ezekiel just simply received the Word of God and acted upon the Word of God…and look at the result! LIFE!
•One important element is repeated seven times in these seven verses…and that element is the breath. The bones come together and yet there is no life. The sinews, the muscle, the flesh and the skin, and yet there is no life. It is not until the breath of God is breathed into man that there is life.
•That is a significant truth for us to consider. That word breath is used 378 times throughout the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi and 232 times the same word is translated spirit. The application here, the clear point to make here is that without the breath of God, the Spirit of God, first in our hearts but also in our situations and moments, there’s just simply no life. God is life Himself. The Originator. The Inventor. He is the Source and therefore if you desire death, leave God out of it. Now we see why the world is going the way it is…
•And notice, how is it that that these bones begin to assemble, come together and come alive? God’s command to these bones is, “Hear the Word of the Lord.” We know from 2 Timothy 3:16 that the Word of God is God breathed…and therefore it is the breath of God in and of itself. Read the Word, hear the Word and keep the Word and what you are doing is sowing life into your life!!
•They hear the Word of the Lord and notice first, the bones go into order. Things go into their proper order when the Word of God is obeyed. Then the flesh and the muscle begins to come. Strength upon the order. And then the Holy Spirit begins to work…and love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, self-control bring fullness of life. Slain by sin, but now alive in Christ! Standing upright as it says there in verse 10, and you become a force as an army. Strong and exceedingly great in character, purpose, usefulness and faith. How? How was it all enable? Hear the Word of the Lord!!
Ezekiel Chapter 37 Verses 11 – 14
•As a nation, Israel did indeed come out of the grave on May 14, 1948. No other nation in the history of the world has lost its homeland and remained a people. Preserved not only the blood line but also the culture, the history, the traditions, the language…. All other nations in history disperse, they blend, not Israel. Israel just died. But then in a moment of global sympathy, in a night, the nation was reborn, just as God promised here in this prophetic chapter, 2,500 years ago!
•Now, this has only been partially fulfilled as today much of the nation remains just bones and flesh…but there is coming a day yet ahead where, as Paul writes in Romans 11:26, “And so all Israel will be saved,” when the Lord returns to rule and to reign the entire world from Israel during the Millennial Kingdom period.
Ezekiel Chapter 37 Verses 15 – 20
•This is a prophecy of the unity of the Jewish people in the coming Kingdom. Not like the times before. The Northern Tribes and the Southern Tribes, the Northern Kingdom of Israel led by the tribe of Ephraim and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
Ezekiel Chapter 37 Verses 21 – 23
•It’s a fantastic promise of God. That not only will He bring them back, and this is applicable in the Spirit for us and our circumstance today, not only will it be Him that brings them back, but it is also His work and promise to fix ‘em (make them one), teach them, show them and have them no longer to defile themselves, He will deliver them and ultimately He will cleanse them. Then He lays claim to them…like steps back and looks at His good work.
•That’s a fantastic promise of God. Because the religion of man says that I need to do all of those things for myself and then I will be acceptable to God. But the Bible knows nothing of that religion. We are simply to come to Him at His call. Trust Him at His Word. Follow Him at His lead. All of these other things…they are just a benefit and result of being near to God.
•That is a fantastic weight off of my shoulders. Because I cannot do those things although I feel a tearing in my heart that they need to be done…but I cannot do them. But…I can, at my own free will, deny myself, take up my cross and follow Jesus. That I CAN do…and that activates God’s promises in my life!
Ezekiel Chapter 37 Verse 24
•We are squarely in the Millennial Kingdom now. As we discussed last week, many believe, and I see no reason to reject, that David himself, resurrected at the time of the rapture (the dead in Christ shall rise first, 1 Thessalonians 4:16 (the rest of the dead do not rise until after the Millennial Period, Revelation 20:5)), this is David himself restored as king over all of Israel and one Shepherd…Jesus Christ. And new heart, new Spirit, the whole world walking in the judgments and statutes of God.
Ezekiel Chapter 37 Verses 25 – 28
•This is the fulfillment of the prophetic Jewish feast, the Feast of Tabernacles. That feast was instituted by God in Leviticus 23:42 in which God instructed the Jews to live in tents for seven days. Leave their homes and live in a tent for seven days as a reminder of when God led the Israelites by His divine presence in the wilderness and how God provided for their every need then.
•But, as with each of the seven feasts of the Jews, there is also a prophetic fulfillment for this feast in which God would again “tabernacle” with His people. This is that time. It is the final feast…after Passover…the Feast of Pentecost, then the Feast of Trumpets, then the Feast of Atonement (Israel fully restored as we read of in this chapter), then the Feast of Tabernacles….and we lived happily ever after!