The Valley of Dry Bones
--Dual Application--
"The prophet Ezekiel had a strange dream. Indeed one might call it a nightmare as he was confronted with a whole valley filled with dry bones. And they were VERY dry bones. What terrible, senseless battle, had taken place here that had left so many dead?
As the horror of it filled his mind, a voice asked:
Can these bones live?
Ezekiel doesn’t want to say “no” but neither does he say “yes”.I mean, to human logic, piles of disconnected, dried out bones are the very opposite of a living person. They speak of death, and defeat, not life. How could they possible live?
However, Ezekiel knows that God doesn’t always operate on human logic, so he simply says:God, You know the answer
Then Ezekiel is asked to do a strange thing-- He is asked to prophecy to these dead bones. He is told to tell the bones that God will make them come back together and will put new flesh and skin on them, and that God will breathe into them life and they will live. Then they would KNOW that God is God.
So Ezekiel starts prophesying to these dry, dead bones, telling them they will come to life.
All of those bones started rattling and moving about. Arm bones found shoulder bones, skulls leaped up on top of vertebras that were forming backbones, and soon the valley was filled with an army of skeletons....the skeletons began to received sinew and flesh and skin.
Then God spoke again to Ezekiel and asked him to prophecy once more to all of those dead bodies.
Prophesy again saying: “COME from the four winds, OH BREATH, and breathe ON THESE DEAD BODIES, THAT THEY CAN LIVE
As Ezekiel obeys a great wind blows over them and they began to breath-- and there in the valley that had been filled with dry bones, now stood a vast army of living people.
What does this strange dream mean?
Yes, 1) the final resurrection.
2) But ---------
Ezekiel was not prophesying to literally dead bones, but to the living dead who needed spiritual life....Paul says: in Ephesians 2:1
He says: You were dead. What type of death is Paul referring to?- You who were dead in trespasses and sins.
It is evident this is not speaking of about the death of the grave. Here he is speaking about living people who are spiritually dead....Paul, in another place (Romans 7:20) cries out O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death." Ulrike Unruh
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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,....and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
And he said unto me,
Son of man, can these bones live?
And I answered,
O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
Again he said unto me,
Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them,
O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. T
hus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones;
Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live...
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.
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.
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:...
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.
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...
Ezekiel 37:1-5,7-13