The Most Important Stories of the Bible by Christopher D. Hudson

Author:Christopher D. Hudson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biblical Studies;Bible stories;Bible—Theology;REL006000
ISBN: 9781493418664
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2019-05-14T00:00:00+00:00

Essential Truth

When people oppose God, they’re also likely to reject those who attempt to proclaim God’s word.

Ezekiel and the Valley of Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37:1–14

The Story Continues . . .

Ezekiel was a temple priest and prophet and among the first group of Israelites exiled to Babylon. From Babylon, he prophesied the fall of Jerusalem, yet after the destruction of the city he assured his people of God’s intent to see them through the ordeal and eventually release them.

The Essential Story

The Jewish captives in Babylon must have lost all hope as reports arrived from their homeland that the walls, city, and temple had all been destroyed. Ezekiel was called to ensure that they didn’t lose hope or faith in God.

Like Isaiah, Ezekiel had a specific calling from God, with visions of heavenly creatures and activities (Ezekiel 1:1–24). His visions continued throughout his ministry, both to encourage him personally and to demonstrate what God had in store for Israel. But for a group that tended to be glum and morose because of their circumstances (Psalm 137:1), probably nothing would have inspired them more than Ezekiel’s vision of a valley of dry bones.

God showed Ezekiel a valley filled with many bones, all of them “very dry,” and asked, “Can these bones live?” Anyone’s instinctive response would be, “No way!” but Ezekiel was tactful enough to reply, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know” (Ezekiel 37:2–3).

God instructed Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones, telling them to feel the breath of God, grow flesh and skin, and live. Ezekiel did as he was told, and sure enough, the bones rattled together into connected skeletons on which grew tendons, flesh, and skin. It was surely an amazing sight, yet they had no breath. God told Ezekiel to prophesy again, calling for breath to enter the bodies and enable them to live. Once more, Ezekiel followed instructions, and the “vast army” came to life and stood on their feet (v. 10).

God explained that the bones represented the people of Israel who thought they were beyond help and hope. Ezekiel was sent to encourage and comfort them. They were to prepare to receive the Spirit of God, find new life, and return to their own land. It seemed like an impossible feat, but when it happened, they would realize that God had spoken and acted.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.