From Dry Bones to a Vast Army of God
Ezekiel: 37:1-14
Key Verse: 37:10
“So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet-a vast army.”
1. What do you know about the Prophet Ezekiel and his time? What was his personal situation? What was the situation of his country and his people?
Ezekiel means “God will strengthen (harden).” His name appears in 1:3 and 24:24. Ezekiel was among the Jews first exiled to Babylon by King Nubuchadnezzar in 597 B.C., and there among exiles he received his call to become a prophet (Ezekiel 1:1-3). He was of a priestly family (1:3) (like Jeremiah and Zechariah were) and his father’s name was Buzi (1:3). He was eligible to serve as a priest, who was responsible for temple worship and sacrifice. As a prophet-priest called to minister to the exiles, separated from the temple in Jerusalem, his message had much to do with the temple. He was married and his wife died during his ministry (24:2, 15-18). It was a time of international upheaval when Ezekiel lived. The Assyrian empire which had been a dominant power in the Middle East for a while began to crumble by the resurgent Babylon Empire, who became a new master. Judah had a difficult time between two superpowers, the Egyptian Empire and the Babylonian Empire, and Jerusalem was captured in 597 B.C. by the Babylonian army. The king of Judah, Johaiachin and about 10,000 Jews including Ezekiel and Daniel were exiled to Babylon. Babylon placed Zedekiah as a puppet king of Judah at Jerusalem. It was a complete shock to God’s people that a gracious God would let this happen to them.
He had lived in Exile near Kebar river. His ministry started at 593 B.C. (1:2-3) and his last record was dated at 571 B.C (29:17). He started his ministry at the age of 30 (1:1). He ministered to the Jews in exile. In the early period of his exile, he had to suppress all natural expectations he or his fellow exiles may have had of an early return to an undamaged Jerusalem. He faithfully delivered to his fellow Jews the stern, heart-rending, hope-crushing word of divine judgment. He had to prophesy the fall of Jerusalem because of their sins. In 586 B.C., Judah again rebelled against Babylon and was in siege by the Babylonian army and on August 14, Jerusalem fell to the assault of the Babylonian army. The city and the temple were completely burned down. The reign of the house of David came to an end and the kingdom of Judah ceased to be an independent nation. All the noble and able men and women of Judah became prisoners and were sent to into exile, leaving only the poorest of the poor in Judea. Their hopes and expectations were crushed. The people of God were humiliated and suffered a lot with no signs of hope. After Jerusalem was crushed, Ezekiel’s message turned to the Lord’s consoling word of hope for his people—they would experience revival, restoration and a glorious future as the redeemed and perfected kingdom of God in the world. Is it possible for the exiles to have any hope to return and even if they could return, what would they do if there were no Jerusalem or temple?
3) Theme and message:
Ezekiel reminded the exiles of their unfaithfulness to the covenant and yet the faithfulness, holiness, and glory of Yahweh, their God. The Lord would judge, cleanse, and ultimately bless His people so that they and all people might come to appreciate His uniqueness and greatness. The purpose of the Exile was to turn God's people away from their sins and back to their Sovereign. The discipline they experienced was evidence of God's love. When it was over, a glorious future lay in store for them. A righteous ruler would eventually lead them back to a radically renovated land where they would enjoy peace, prosperity, and renewed worship.
2. Where did the Spirit of the Lord bring Ezekiel out to (1)? What did he see in the middle of the valley? (1) What was the condition of the bones (2)? What does the “very dry” indicate about their condition (2)?
1) The Spirit of the Lord brought Ezekiel to the middle of a valley.
2) The valley was full of bones. A great many bones on the floor of the valley.
3) They were very dry,
4) which means they were long dead, far beyond the reach of resuscitation.
This could symbolize the Jewish exiles who had lost all hope as God’s people.
3. What did God ask Ezekiel (3a)? How did Ezekiel answer the Lord’s question (3b)? How did his answer show his faith?
1) He asked Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
2) Ezekiel answered, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”
3) He believed God was the creator God, who can revive dry bones to life, something only He could do. Humanly there was no hope; only God had the answer.
4. What did God command Ezekiel to do to the dry bones (4)? What was the content of his prophecy (5-6)? Why might it have been difficult for Ezekiel to obey God’s command? Why did God ask Ezekiel to prophesy instead of commanding the bones himself?
1) He commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones. According to God’s command, he previously prophesied to inanimate objects, i.e., mountains (6:2, 36:1) and to the forest of the south land (20:47). This time, he was commanded to prophesy to the dry bones.
2) “Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”
3) Without God’s vision, who can imagine these dry bones being revived to life.
5. What happened when he obeyed God’s command absolutely (7-8)? Please describe the scene of bones coming together with rattling sounds, tendons and flesh appearing on them and skin covering them (7-8). How important is it for men of God to believe the Sovereign LORD and the power of his word? What was lacking in the newly formed bodies (8)?
1) As he was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. Tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
When we believe God’s word and its power absolutely, nothing is impossible. When we preach or teach the word of God, we have to believe it absolutely. Our reason may hinder our faith, which makes it impossible to see the work of God.
The breath (the Spirit) of God.
6. What was the next command to Ezekiel (9)? What happened when Ezekiel prophesied as God commanded (10)? Who were the bones in Ezekiel’s vision (11)?
God commanded to Ezekiel, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.”
As he prophesied to the breath according to God’s command, breath entered the formed bodies and they came to life and stood up on their feet-- a vast army (10).
They were the whole house of Israel, who died, were dried up and their hope was gone since they were cut off from God.
Why did the Israelites think their hope was completely gone and that they were cut off from God (11)? What was God’s promise to the people of Israel? Why would God do these things for the people of Israel (13-14)?
Jerusalem and its temple was burned down, their kingdom no longer existed and they were in exile without any hope of return.
“O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up form them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.”
God wanted his people to know that God is the Sovereign LORD.
Application:
Who is the Lord who made a vast army from the dry bones? What do you see when you are on a college campus? What is our hope in the Lord?
God is the Sovereign Lord who can make the dry bones come to life and make them into a vast army of God. He accomplished this in his history as we see the people of Israel who were scattered to the whole world for more than 2000 years and were persecuted, were killed, but eventually became a great nation of Israel and vast army after the World War II.
In this Sovereign God, there is no despair and even death cannot erase our hope. The only question is of our faith - to believe in Him to the end.
Some times, we do not see dry bones on campus. The students appear to be beautiful and full of life, but without the gospel, they are just like bodies without breath. They need the breath of God (Spirit of God). Without God’s hope and vision, we are just like dry bones laying down (spiritually), who need God’s Spirit and revival.
God is the Sovereign LORD, who raises dry bones into a great army of God. God wants to revive each of us to be in his army.
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