Dry Bones — Part 2: April 9, 2024

Broadcast

                          Dry Bones - Part 2
                            Ezekiel 37:3-6
                              04/09/2024


        3    And he said to me, ``Son of man, can these bones
             live?'' And I answered, ``O Lord GOD, you know.''
        4    Then he said to me, ``Prophesy over these bones,
             and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the
             LORD.
        5    Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I
             will cause breath to enter you, and you shall
             live.
        6    And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause
             flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin,
             and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you
             shall know that I am the LORD.  (ESV)

        Ezekiel, a prophet who lived and worked while the children
   of Israel were exiled in Babylon, received a vision of a valley
   of dry bones.
        And [the Lord GOD] said to me, ``Son of man, can these
        bones live?'' And I answered, ``O Lord GOD, you know.''
        Then he said to me, ``Prophesy over these bones, and
        say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
        Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will
        cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.  And I
        will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come
        upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in
        you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am
        the LORD.


        Without the working of the Holy Spirit, all people are
   spiritually dead, spiritually dry bones lying bleached in the
   sun.  Faith in God, faith in Jesus Christ, comes from God as He
   causes His Word to be proclaimed over the lifeless bones.

        As God sends His prophets, His pastors, out into the world,
   He gives the promise that the dry bones will live.  Certainly
   Ezekiel is speaking of the restoration of the people to
   Jerusalem, and the restoration of their faith.  He is also
   talking about the Church throughout all the ages.  God gives His
   promise that the dead in faith will be resurrected spiritually,
   even as the resurrection of Jesus proves we will be resurrected
   physically.

        In the days where we despair that our Lord seems far away,
   may He comfort us with His promise of faith and eternal life.
   Amen.