Audio Download

Ezekiel 37:1–14 The Valley of Dry Bones

[Study Aired Nov 18, 2024]

INTRODUCTION

Today’s study focuses on the restoration of the people of Israel into a great army in spite of the deplorable situation that they found themselves in as a result of their rebellion against the Lord. As we are aware, the people of Israel represent us, the Lord’s elect. We are the ones who had rebelled against the Lord during our time in the churches of this world or Babylon and were therefore without hope.

Isa 1:2  Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Isa 1:3  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Isa 1:5  Why should ye be stricken anymore? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
Isa 1:6  From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
Isa 1:7  Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
Isa 1:8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.

This is what the Lord says about our rebellion from the New Testament perspective:

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

As we can see, we became spiritually dead and had no hope. In His life here on earth, the Lord physically raised the dead to show us who are given to understand the spiritual significance of His words, that He is in the business of raising us from the dead to become alive in Him. The story of Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by the Lord, is to remind us of what the Lord is doing today in the lives of His elect – raising us from the dead. Later, in an age to come, all humanity will also taste of His resurrection power in their lives.

Joh 11:14  Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
Joh 11:15  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.
Joh 11:16  Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

Joh 11:38  Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
Joh 11:39  Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
Joh 11:40  Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
Joh 11:41  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
Joh 11:42  And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
Joh 11:43  And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
Joh 11:44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

It is insightful to note that the stone which shielded the dead body of Lazarus from being seen by the people, was removed by those following Jesus after Jesus’ command for its removal. The stone in this case represents that which withholds us from seeing our deplorable situation. At the Lord’s command, the stone, or that which withholds us from seeing, is taken away by those following Jesus who represent the church of the firstborn.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Again, it was the people following Jesus who were asked to remove the graveclothes which bound Lazarus ‘hand and foot’, together with the napkin which covered the face. This is all to show us the key role the church plays in disentangling our hands and feet so that the work of our hands and our walk shall be pleasing to the Lord. It is the church that the Lord has empowered to remove the veil (the napkin covering the face of Lazarus) so that we can see and hear the mysteries of the kingdom.

2Co 3:13  And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
2Co 3:14  But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
2Co 3:15  But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
2Co 3:16  Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
2Co 3:17  Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

This story of Lazarus therefore show us the resurrection power that the Lord is availing to His elect to bring them from death to life. Today’s study shows us what the Lord is doing to make us alive in Him after we have come to see our spiritually deplorable state of dry bones in the valley.

The Dry Bones in the Valley

Eze 37:1  The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 
Eze 37:2  And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 

The hand of the Lord being upon Ezekiel is the same as Ezekiel being carried out in the spirit of the Lord. Ezekiel in this case represents the Lord’s elect. Being carried in the spirit is the same as being in the spirit and in many instances in the Bible, being carried in the spirit is followed by the Lord unveiling a mystery of the kingdom to His elect. For example, when Apostle John was on the island of Patmos, he was carried away by the spirit to understand what Babylon and the New Jerusalem represent.

Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

Rev 21:10  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

In verses 1 and 2 therefore, Ezekiel being carried in the spirit of the Lord is to show him the valley full of the dry bones of the people of Israel which represent the state of the Lord’s people in Babylon. In the Bible, bones represent our flesh. It also signifies our spiritually dead situation when we were in the world and in Babylon.

Gen 2:23  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.  

Gen 50:24  At last Joseph said to his brothers, “I‘m about to die. God will definitely take care of you and take you out of this land to the land he swore with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Gen 50:25 Joseph made Israel’s sons swear an oath. He said, “God will definitely take care of you. So be sure to carry my bones back with you.” (GW)

It is instructive to note that the bones that Ezekiel saw were dry. Anything that is dry is devoid of water. What this implies is that when we are lacking the word of the Lord, we become spiritually dead. The dry bones that Ezekiel saw therefore symbolize the spiritually dead state of the Lord’s elect when we were in Babylon. The dry nature of the bones therefore suggest that our spiritually dead state is because we were not receiving the truth of the word of the Lord.

Eze 37:3  Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I answered, “Only you know, Almighty LORD.”

This question was also asked by Job in another way and here in the Book of Job, we are provided an answer to the question. As indicated by Job, no man can bring a clean thing out of an unclean. Ezekiel responding to the Lord’s question here in verse 3 that it is only the Lord who knows, is another way of saying that it is only the Lord who can cause dry bones to become alive.

Job 14:4  Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.

Job 14:7  For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
Job 14:8  Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;
Job 14:9  Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
Job 14:10  But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
Job 14:11  As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:
Job 14:12  So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
Job 14:13  O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
Job 14:14  If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
Job 14:15 Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.

As shown here in Job, in our spiritually dead state (the dry bones), all we could do was wait until ‘our change come’ from the Lord.

Eze 37:4  Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 
Eze 37:5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 

Prophesying to the dry bones to hear the word of the Lord is the same as the Lord coming to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness. As indicated in the Book of Job, it is through ‘the scent of water’ that the tree that was cut down will bud and bring forth boughs like a plant. That is to say that it is what we hear of the word of the Lord that makes us alive in Christ.

Job 14:7  For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
Job 14:8  Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;
Job 14:9  Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.

The Lord coming to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness is to ’cause breath to enter into us, so that we can live’, in verse 5.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

This coming of the Lord to us is what the Lord has promised us as follows:

Joh 14:18  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Joh 14:19  Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

Joh 14:25  These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Eze 37:6  And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 

What is described here in verse 6 is the coming of the new man, who is created in righteousness and true holiness within us as our old man is dying through the Lord’s coming with His judgement.

Eph 4:24  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Col 3:10  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

Eze 37:7  So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 
Eze 37:8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 

As stated in verse 7, the result of the prophesies was that there was noise and a shaking causing the bones to come together. This is to show us that it is through the Lord’s judgement (shaking) that the new man is formed within us as our old man commences his dying process.

Hag 2:6  For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
Hag 2:7  And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
Hag 2:8  The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
Hag 2:9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.

In verse 8, we are told that the sinews and the flesh came up upon the bones before the skin covered them. At this point, the bones did not have the breath of the Lord. That is to say that we did not have the Holy Spirit and our lives were just like the Lord’s disciples before the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Act 19:1  And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
Act 19:2  He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
Act 19:3  And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.
Act 19:4  Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
Act 19:5  When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Act 19:6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

Verse 8 therefore shows us that becoming alive in Christ is a process. We do not become spiritually mature all at once. We grow into maturity. It is the truth spoken to us in love that ensures that we grow up into Christ in all things. This truth is what every joint supplies within the body of Christ and as we assimilate the truth, we gradually become mature and are not tossed about by every wind of doctrine.

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

A Great Army is Formed

Eze 37:9  Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 
Eze 37:10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. 

The wind in verse 9 represents the Holy Spirit. The four winds therefore signifies the whole of the Spirit of God – the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

Isa 11:1  And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
Isa 11:2  And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
Isa 11:3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

As the Lord stated before His ascension, the Holy spirit is what gives us the power to live our lives here on earth as the children of God. That is what makes us alive in Him.

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Just as the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and made them a great army for the Lord, we are also being endued with power from the Holy Spirit to become a great army. This great army is not visible yet to the natural man but in the fullness of time, we shall appear as a great army riding on horses with the Lord.

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Eze 37:11  Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. 
Eze 37:12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 

Here in verse 11, we are being told that the dry bones signify the whole of the house of Israel. This house of Israel represents the Lord’s elect of every generation. All the Lord’s elect, must go to Babylon or the physical churches of this world before we are given to leave Babylon to become His elect. Our spiritual state in the churches of this world is what is described here in Ezekiel as dry bones without hope. However, in the fulness of time, the Lord delivers us from spiritual death by coming to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to make us a great army.  This restoration is also prophesied by the prophet Joel as follows:

Joe 2:25  And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
Joe 2:26  And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.
Joe 2:27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

Eze 37:13  And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, 
Eze 37:14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD. 

Verses 13 to 14 summarize all that have been said so far in this chapter. The Lord opening our graves means that we were spiritually dead in the churches of this world. However, in His mercy, He came to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness to makes us alive in Him. He also poured His spirit within us to empower us and to lead us into the truth of His word. Through the spirit that He has poured on us, we are able to know the Lord. Placing us in our own land in verse 14 means being given to overcome our flesh as we offer our bodies as living sacrifice to the Lord.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We are grateful to our Lord Jesus Christ for His mercy that He has shown towards us. Amen!!