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. 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, “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, breath, from the four winds 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.
Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’” (Ezekiel 37:1-14 NIV)
This is a cool story! Did you know the Bible had a story like this? It’s strange. It’s a little creepy. God with his hand lifted up his prophet Ezekiel and took him to a valley full of bones. Dry, dead bones. And God asked, “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel must have been thinking, “How am I supposed to know? You tell me!” So God had Ezekiel say, “Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!” And the bones started rattling together. It makes you shiver, doesn’t it? Then came tendons and skin. Can you imagine this? Finally, Ezekiel called for breath to come, and they became alive. A whole army. Cool! But what on earth does this mean and why is it in the Bible?
I’m going to do something dangerous. I’m going to talk about history. Don’t tune me out. Don’t get scared! We need to talk about history, because history is the story of God giving life to dead, dry bones. What one man did Israel’s history start with? Abraham. God chose Abraham and his family to be his people. When did Abraham live? It’s an easy date: 2000 B.C. After Abraham died and his family grew, God’s people ended up in Egypt. Someone had to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to the Promised Land. Who was that? Moses. When did Moses live? 1500 B.C. This isn’t so hard, is it? I know you can remember this: Abraham—2000 B.C. Moses—1500 B.C.
After a long time in the Promised Land of Israel, the Israelites asked for a king. Do you remember who the first king was? Saul. The second king was the most famous—David. Do you know when David lived? 1000 B.C. God set this up to make it easy to remember—2000, 1500, 1000… Under David and his son Solomon, the nation of Israel was at its height. After Solomon, though, Israel split into two different countries, each with their own king. The northern kingdom was called Israel. The southern kingdom—with the capital city of Jerusalem—was called Judah. Are you with me so far? You might not like history, but this is important. It’s God’s story!
Now we slow down a little bit. In this northern country of Israel, do you know how many good, God-fearing kings they had over the years? Zero. Not a single one. In over two hundred years, not a single king in Israel believed in God. It was that bad! In the southern country of Judah, things were a little better. There were a few good kings like Hezekiah and Josiah. Every few generations, a faithful king would call the people back to God. In general, though, God’s people rejected God and his Word. They wanted to be like the people around them. They sinned. A lot!
But sin is never okay. It doesn’t matter how many people are doing it! So God sent his prophets to Israel and Judah to encourage them to repent. He threatened destruction if they didn’t. Can you think of the names of some prophets? Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel… This was their message: “Turn back to God. Stop rejecting God’s Word. Repent and God will forgive you.” Did the people listen? Remember how many good kings there were in the north? Zero. They never listened. So God destroyed them. In 722 B.C., the Assyrians destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel. It was God’s judgment on their sin. It’s never okay to reject the Word of God.
So you’d think the people of Judah in the south would get it, right? Hear the Word of the Lord! Trust in him! But they didn’t. So then God did what he had promised. He destroyed them too. The Babylonians conquered the whole country and finally surrounded Jerusalem. They sat outside and waited for the people to starve. Thousands upon thousands died. Finally, in 586 B.C., the city fell. The few people who survived were carried off as captives to Babylon. Like Ezekiel. The prophet Ezekiel lived in exile. How do you think those exiles felt? Here’s what they said, “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.” Those people felt like dry bones.
We need to be clear about what the real problem was. It wasn’t just that the Israelites were captives in a foreign land. Three times in our lesson God explains his simple goal: “Then they will know that I am the Lord.” God wants us to know him. Real life is knowing the Lord—his love and forgiveness and will for our lives. Those Israelites didn’t know God. They were dead. Ezekiel describes the result of not knowing God: Violence, idols, treating parents with contempt, oppressing foreigners, mistreating widows, sexual sins, bribery, and to sum it all up, he says, “and you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign LORD” (Ezekiel 22:12). Sound familiar?
With all this—Israel’s sad history—in his mind, Ezekiel walks through this valley of dry bones. And God asks, “Can these bones live?” What was the obvious answer? No way! Have you ever seen dry bones come to life? I hope not! Can these bones live? The Israelites didn’t deserve it. They had been destroyed for good reason. “No, those bones can’t live!” Except Ezekiel knew the LORD, and he knew God’s grace. He knew God was up to something. So he said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.” What was God’s answer? God didn’t say it—he rattled the bones together and put tendons on them and flesh and breath inside them. “Can these bones live?” Yes!
Even after all their sins, God wasn’t done with his people! He gave Ezekiel this message: “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord.” Despite all that they had done, they were still God’s people. God was going to put his Spirit in their hearts. God was going to let them return to their land of Israel. God was going to give those people life and hope again. What an encouragement to those people! Can these dry bones live? Yes! “I will put my Spirit in you and you will live.” The Spirit makes dead bones live.
Now fast forward to the day we’re celebrating today: Pentecost. Filled with Holy Spirit, Peter gave a big speech about Jesus. He told the people in Jerusalem, “You, with the help of wicked men, put Jesus to death by nailing him to the cross” (Acts 2:23). Those people had crucified Jesus! Maybe they hadn’t driven the nails into his hands, but many had joined in the shouts of “Crucify him!” You talk about dry bones. Those people had crucified Jesus! They were dead.
“Can these bones live?” Could there be hope even for the people who crucified Jesus? What would seem like the obvious answer? “No way!” But those people realized their sin and said to the disciples, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37-38). Was there hope even for the people who killed Jesus? Yes! Was there forgiveness even for people who had sinned in a big way? Yes! That’s grace. “Repent and be baptized…and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit makes dead bones live.
Can he do that for you too? Of course! You have a story too. What’s your story? Does it sound at all like the stories we’ve talked about? Are you tempted—like those Israelites—to live like the people around you instead of being the people of God? Are there sins—like the Israelites—that you’ve held on to instead of Jesus, that you haven’t wanted to give up? If our country were to be destroyed, I don’t think we’d have any right to complain! Maybe, like those people on Pentecost, there was one big sin that you so wish you could take back. Maybe there have been times when you have denied Jesus. Turned your back on Jesus. Crucified Jesus. Do you feel like dry bones? You don’t use those exact words. But how often don’t we feel used, damaged, guilty, worthless?
That’s the truth. Without God, we are dead sinners—dried up and hopeless. Now, you can argue with that, of course, but I think your life has taught you very well that that’s the case. We can’t come to faith on our own. We can’t make a decision for Jesus. We can’t try a little harder and everything will be alright. We’re dead. Do you know what the most incurable sickness is? The one that you don’t know you have. The most dangerous sickness is the one that you don’t know you have. How often do we go through life in denial? Trusting in ourselves but feeling dry and hopeless and used up. Because we really can’t do it. We’re nothing but a pile of bones.
I bet you’ve had days when you’ve said what those hopeless people said long ago, “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.” “Can these bones lives?” What does God say to you today? “Yes! Yes, they can! I will put my Spirit in you and you will live!” When those people on Pentecost were cut to the heart, Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37-38). The Holy Spirit gives us new life in Christ. The Bible says, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4).
History is the story of God giving life to dead, dry bones. When you feel guilty—“Can these bones live?” The answer is, “Yes! Jesus died to forgive you. He gives you new life by his grace.” When you feel hopeless—“Can these bones live?” The answer is, “Yes! You are God’s people. He’s not done with you. There’s hope!” When you feel old and frail—“Can these bones live?” The answer is, “Yes! They will live forever with Jesus in heaven!” He’s going to open up our graves and make our bodies come out new. God makes dead bones live! Who does all this? The Holy Spirit. The Spirit breathes new life into dry bones with his forgiveness and hope and grace.
Here’s how: It’s so important for us to know how the Holy Spirit works. What was the first thing Ezekiel said to those bones? “Dry bones, hear the Word of the LORD!” If you want the Spirit to work in your heart, what should you do? Hear the Word of the Lord! Sometimes I meet with people and they want to talk about this and that, and talking is all fine and good, but the Spirit does not enter into your heart when you talk. You’ve got to stop talking and stop working and stop playing and hear the Word of the Lord! Then, “I will put my Spirit in you and you will live.”
I once heard a Christian musician tell his story. This man grew up an atheist. He never believed in God. He got divorced. He was an alcoholic. What changed his life? His neighbor—a WELS pastor in Alaska—invited him to study the Bible together. The man agreed because he liked a good argument! But there was no argument. For every question, the pastor read another Bible passage. Until one day this musician realized that he believed it. What changed this man’s heart? The Spirit used the Word to give him life. Now this former atheist has played concerts at over 700 different churches. History is the story of God giving life to dead, dry bones. The Holy Spirit loves to give life. “Can these bones live?” Yes! “Dry bones, hear the Word of the LORD!”
Comments