“The hand of the LORD was upon 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, “O 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 from the four winds, O breath, 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.”
Ezekiel 37:1-10
The Lord gave me these verses two weeks ago. This story is a refrence to the land of Isreal, but I see it as a message to the land of America. I heard this passage quoted in a song, and I went to check it out, and I must have read it three times when I actually begin to feel the message inside of me. The desperation of the bones called out to me. The dryness, the dead….the brokenness, the hopelessness screamed into my heart. These bones were the deadest of the dead (I know, horrible grammar). You could not get any drier than they were. They were D-E-A-D.
These bones, they were alive at one point. They existed. They had blood pumping through them, and spoke freely. They breathed like we breathe,laughed like we laugh, cried like we cry, but they died.Then God says it.
“Say 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.’”
These bones are us. These bones are our loved ones. These bones are the people who surround us. These bones are our enemies, these bones are the undeserving. These bones are the broken, and these bones are the social outcasts. These bones are in need of a savior, and they are in need of life, and restoration.
Switch tracks with me, fast forward many years to the time of Jesus.In John (chapter 5) Jesus asks the man who has been paralyzed for over 30 years “Do you want to be healed?” The man responds that he can’t be healed because no one is able to help him into the water. How typical. How like me. The man could only see his situation, and not the healing that was about to occur.
Back to the dead bones. The bones are all around. They cover everywhere you see. They are piled ontop of eachother. What do you think would be your first responce when God asks you if the bones can live? If it was me, I think I would have just laughed. ”But God, look at all those bones. There’s so many of them. They are so DRY. They are so lifeless.” We put God into the box of the impossible, and walk by them. Are you looking at the piles of bones around you (or are you the pile of bones) so hard that you’re missing the coming wind that will restore you, and the bones surrounding you?
Or, are you standing beside the pile of bones, holding the wind inside of you, knowing that you can bring them in life, but you stand wondering if they are too dead and dry for God to breathe life into? Do you stand wondering if the bones will ever live again?
I feel like a lot of us who call ourselves Christians in 2008 fall into these two categories. The bones, and the prophet. For the prophet-we’ve been given a mission, but for the bones-a lot of us have allowed time, and stress to eat away our flesh and we’ve become dry.
We all need a savior, and those of us who have placed our trust in our Lord and savior, Jesus, have a savior. Why is it that we look for other, temperary sources of life and breath to fill our lungs and try to raise us then depending on our father to bring us back to life?
You know, at the end of the story, the dry bones rise up, and they become a vast army.
Can you imagine being part of that army? Can you imagine the gratitude, and joy of bones who have just been raised to life? One moment you’re as dead as can be, the next, you are more alive then you’ve ever been. Praise swells in your heart, thankfulness overflowing out of you. New life. A new chance to right wrongs and live again.
I’m praying for that life. I’m praying for that thankfulness. I’m praying for that undying love and appreciation for the giver of life.
Rise up, hear the words of the Lord, and live, no really,live again.
. I’m going to take tonight off from any deep Passion posts, and continue with them later this week, or next week. There’s so many stories yet to be told. Francis’s sermon on Saturday, as well as Louie’s final sermon to recap, as well as a few more “God moments”. There’s more to come, BUT….my brain is on overload. I’m exausted, and I’m not really sure what’s going on anymore. So, for now, enjoy a few more pictures.
