“The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the
Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of
bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there
Were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry.
And He
said unto me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" So I answered, "O Lord
God, You know."“Again He said unto me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say unto them, "O
dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord to these bones:
'Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live . . .'“'So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a
noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone
. . . Also He said to me . . . "say to the breath"Thus says the Lord God
'come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they
may live.' So I prophesied . . . and breath came into them, and they
lived, and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. Then He said
unto me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They
indeed say, "Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut
off!'
Therefore, prophesy and say to them, "O my people, I will open your
graves and cause you to come forth from your graves, and bring you to the
land of Israel . . . I will put My Spirit in you and you shall live . .
."” (Ezekiel 37:1-14; New King James Bible).
We are living in an era of the fast fulfillment of biblical prophecy. I
recall being told as a young child by my father - a steadfast Christian
who knew the scriptures - that Israel one day would become a nation again.
He said this during a time when such an event appeared impossible of
fulfillment; yet in our era Israel already has been resurrected for
decades.
Since the scattering of Israel during the time of Jeremiah (who predicted
both the captivity and the re-gathering of the nation) in approximately
B.C 629, there were no lack of skeptics who doubted the nation would be
resurrected. Even Israel itself voiced doubts about it. Israel's estimate
of its return from oblivion may be found in Ezekiel 37:11: “Our bones are
dried, and our hope is lost: We are cut off for our parts.” In our
vernacular this may be rendered: “It's all over for us. We have been
totally dismembered.”
The condition of Israel's bones as seen by Ezekiel:
- They were completely open to the elements (verse 2).
- They were long dead, very dry and beyond human hope of life (verse 2).
- They were disassembled and in disarray. The Living Bible records that
the bones were very old and dry. They were scattered everywhere across the
ground (Read the entire account).
- There were an enormous number of bones (verse 2).
What God said the dry bones symbolized: ”Son of man these bones are the
whole house of Israel” (verse 11).
Those whom God blames for the dry bones of Israel: “'Woe to the shepherds
who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!' says the Lord,“Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel against the shepherds who feed
My people: "You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not
attended to them.Behold I will attend to you for the evils of your
doing," says the Lord . . .”
By whose authority the dry bones live again: “I will gather the remnant of
my flock out of all countries where I have driven them and bring them back
to their folds” [This already has been occurring in our era for several
generations [Jeremiah 23: 1-4; NKJ].
God's remedy for the dry bone of Israel: “'[Israel] shall be fruitful and
increase. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them: and they
shall fear no more, nor be dismayed nor shall they be lacking,' says the
Lord” [The Lord Himself has been gathering Israel, and He continues to do
so in our era (Jeremiah 23: 1-4; NKJ)].
God's judgment upon those who did not believe the dry bones could live
again: “The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, "Son of man,
prophecy and say, "Thus says the Lord God: "Wail, "Woe to the day!' For
the day is near, Even the day of the Lord is near; It will be a day of
clouds, the time of the gentiles. The sword will come upon Egypt, And
great anguish shall be upon Ethiopia, When the slain fall in Egypt, And
they take away her wealth, And her foundations are broken down. Ethiopia,
Libya, Lydia, all the mingled people. Chub, and the men of the lands who
are allied, shall fall with them by the sword'” (Ezekiel 30: 1-5; NKJ).
Ethiopia did not believe the dry bones could live again: Rendered “Cush”
in Hebrew, Ethiopia corresponds to what today is called the Sudan. The
Sudanese are a people of dark skin tone, and Moses was severely criticized
by his sister, Miriam, and his brother, Aaron, for his marriage to an
Ethiopian woman (Numbers 12:1-16; NKJ).
