Read Ezekiel 37:1-14
37 I felt the
powerful presence of the Lord, and
his spirit took me and set me down in a valley where the ground was covered
with bones. 2He led me all round the valley, and I could see that
there were very many bones and that they were very dry. 3He said to
me, “Mortal man, can these bones come back to life?”
I replied, “Sovereign Lord,
only you can answer that!”
4 He said, “Prophesy to the bones. Tell these dry bones
to listen to the word of the Lord.
5Tell them that I, the Sovereign Lord,
am saying to them: I am going to put breath into you and bring you back to
life. 6I will give you sinews and muscles, and cover you with skin.
I will put breath into you and bring you back to life. Then you will know that
I am the Lord.”
7 So I prophesied as I had been told. While I was
speaking, I heard a rattling noise, and the bones began to join together. 8While
I watched, the bones were covered with sinews and muscles, and then with skin.
But there was no breath in the bodies.
9 God said to me, “Mortal man, prophesy to the wind.i
Tell the wind that the Sovereign Lord
commands it to come from every direction, to breathe into these dead bodies,
and to bring them back to life.”
10 So I prophesied as I had been told. Breath
entered the bodies, and they came to life and stood up. There were enough of
them to form an army.
11 God said to me, “Mortal man, the people of Israel
are like these bones. They say that they are dried up, without any hope and
with no future. 12So prophesy to my people Israel and tell them that
I, the Sovereign Lord, am going to
open their graves. I am going to take them out and bring them back to the land
of Israel. 13When I open the graves where my people are buried and
bring them out, they will know that I am the Lord.
14I will put my breath in them, bring them back to life, and let
them live in their own land. Then they will know that I am the Lord. I have promised that I would do
this—and I will. I, the Lord, have
spoken.”
Think
The nation of Israel feels completely defeated; like a
valley of dry bones. They have been in
exile; they have been returned to the promised land. Even though all the structures are in place –
there is no life. Ezekiel is reminded in
his vision, that with the breath of God’s Spirit; life can be restored.
Pray
Sometimes everything around me looks like dry bones. I can’t see any hope; all I see is despair
and defeat. Help me to remember – with
your life; dry bones can live.
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