Dry Bones, New Year

Read Ezekiel 37

Ezekiel was a contemporary of Jeremiah and Daniel.  That is to say, the Babylonians had defeated Jerusalem and Judah and taken many captives and deported them to Babylon.  Daniel went in the first wave.  Ezekiel in the second.  Jeremiah prophesied in both locations.  Together they paint a more complete picture of these times when God’s people were humbled by their enemies.

All of these prophets note that it was the turning away from God and his laws and his righteousness that resulted in God lifting his protection from their enemies.  Collectively there were a whole mess of warnings, followed by “I told you so’s” followed by promises of restoration.

Today we focus on Ezekiel and one special pericope.  Ezekiel was unique in that he prophesied not only the removal of God’s glory from the temple and his people but the restoration of both.  God’s people would know God’s glory once again.

Ezekiel is unique in that he prophesied not only to God’s people but to Edom and Egypt, to mountains, and surely to God’s own people.

This 37^th chapter presents imagery of what might have been the aftermath of battles fought in a place once called Topath or Ben Hinnom but which the Lord told Jeremiah would henceforth be known as the Valley of Slaughter. 

This was a vision of a place that left God’s people desolate and void of joy.  Imagine our countryside covered not in wheat fields and hay bales, cattle and windmills, barns and farmhouses, but desert and dry bones.  Imagine that a battle was waged here, and the bodies of soldiers were too numerous to evacuate and give a proper burial.

Imagine defeat so tragic that we would not even bring our veteran’s bodies to a proper resting place.  Year after year the uniforms wear off, scavenger birds eat the flesh, and sun and wind bleach and wither the skeletal remains. 

You probably are thinking, “Hey! Enough of that.  We have a fellowship meal in a little bit.”

I doubt had Ezekiel planned his own day, he would have wanted to be brought to this place either, but he was.  He was brought there in the spirit—in a vision—that the Lord had given him. This was nothing new to Ezekiel, he prophesied time and again for the Lord, but this was a unique vision and conversation that followed.

The Lord says, “Son of man—speaking to Ezekiel—can these bones live?”

Ezekiel sort of knows that this is a trick question.  It’s like there is no way these bones have any future but dust, but then again, I am having this conversation with the Lord, so what can I say?

Oh Sovereign Lord, only you know!

The Lord doesn’t just say, “I got this.”  He instructs Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones.  He says tell these bones that I will put them back together and breath life back into them.

Ezekiel does what he is told and as he is speaking there is this rattling sound of bones coming back together.  You might be thinking that this chapter should be accompanied with the soundtrack to Thriller. 

But there is more to this than just skeletons coming back together.  Tendons and flesh and skin are reconstituting these once desolate bones.  Yet, these creatures are not alive.  There is no breath in them.

So the Lord instructs Ezekiel to prophesy to the breath.  Let it come from the four winds.  Ezekiel did as commanded and breath entered them and they stood and came to life.

Now that’s some stuff right there, but God was not just showing off.  He told Ezekiel that these bones were the whole house of Israel—not two kingdoms but one—who had given up hope.

God said that he would restore his people—people who were now captives or living among the rubble of their once proud lands.  To understand the imagery of the bones, we must turn back to the previous chapter.

Again, the Lord gives Ezekiel prophesies.  He says that he will gather his people from all over the world and restore them to the land promised them.  He will take out their hearts of stone and replace it with one of flesh.  These people will be receptive to the Lord’s ways.

None of this will be because the people earned restoration.  They did not.  The Lord said that they should be ashamed of their conduct.  The Lord will do this because he is the Lord and so that the people will have no doubt that he is the Lord.

The nations that scorned God’s people will also know that he is the Lord and he does what he says he will do.  The Lord does what he says he will do.

It’s a cool story that we should all know.  It helps us understand Israel’s history and prophecy.  It gives us insight into a time long ago, and…

Perhaps it gives us some hope for the year to come.  In the whole of my life, I have never seen such insanity as I have seen this year.  I have never seen such disdain for the one true God and his holy word.  Whether it is celebrating a right to kill a child or change your gender on a monthly basis or just ridicule someone who professes God’s word as a hater or racists or some other derogatory term yet to be conceived, the world is moving farther away from God. 

We are blessed to live where we do but we are not immune from the depravity of the world.  I don’t think that I have lived through a year that had as much hate, animosity, acrimony, and general discord as this one.

I don’t think I have known a year with as much narcissism, condemnation of others, and just general depravity as this one.  You might just want to throw in the towel on this whole living right business.

We might look around and see a world full of dried bones.  We might see ourselves as having already moved beyond the tipping point.  We might just say, the end is surely near.  The world is going to hell in a handbasket and we had just as well enjoy the ride.

Or…

We might prophesy to the dry bones.  What would we say?  Has the Lord given us words to say to these dry bones around us now?

He has.  What if we spoke his words to the dry bones of this age?  What if we spoke words of affirmation to each other?  What if…

The Lord will fight for you, you need only be still.

How about Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

No weapon formed against you shall prevail.  You will refute every false accusation made against you.

If you lack wisdom ask God, and he will give it to you without finding fault.

Submit to God.  Resist the Devil and he will flee from you!

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Here’s one that you might have heard a few, dozen, hundred times.  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

What if we challenged each other every week with this one? 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

    and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,

    and he will make your paths straight.

What if we encouraged each other with this one?

Perfect love casts out fear.

What if we proclaimed this one to the world—even a world of dry bones?

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

What if we reminded each other of this one?

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

What if we starting speaking the words given to us by God and did it on a regular basis?  What if we talked less about the Sooners and more about God is love?

What if we talked less about politics and more about the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

What if instead of ranting on the price of gasoline, we reminded each other that the Lord loves a cheerful giver.

How about when we need to encourage each other or are going through some stuff, we remind each other:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Or we remind each other of Joseph’s words to his brothers when we have been wronged by someone.

What was intended for evil, God used for good.

Or when we just can’t seem to hold on and be that overcomer that we want to be…

“What no eye has seen,

    what no ear has heard,

and what no human mind has conceived”—

    the things God has prepared for those who love him.

What if in 2019, we started speaking to the dead bones all around us.  What if we spoke to those living with apathy and ambivalence to the one true God?  What would we say?

The Lord that we know is not slow to come a second time.  He is patient desiring none to perish—that all come to repentance.  

Produce fruit worthy of repentance.

Jesus has come that we may have life and life lived to the full.

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

The world is a mess.  It is moving farther away from God.  We are a little better here than in some places, but the love of many is growing cold, even in our refuge.

We must speak the words of the Lord.  We have so many from which to choose.  We speak to each other to challenge and encourage and to the lost and disconnected in hopes that they will know the grace of God that we do.

But speaking the words is not enough.  We must have the breath.  We must have the Spirit of God leading us, guiding us, prompting us to speak his words.

The Holy Spirit must accompany our every word whether we are quoting scripture or not.  We must not only yield to the Spirit’s direction but embrace it as well.  As we look forward, let’s make more of those words that we speak, the words of the Lord.  Let us prophecy to the dead bones around us with words that we have already been given.

Let us encourage one another with affirmations found in the word of God.  

Let us speak the truth in love and thereby grow in his grace.

Where do we start?  Let’s go with this while you start putting your plan to speak God’s word more next year.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Happy New Year and Amen!