The Lord spoke through a vision to Ezekiel about the condition of the Israelites and their dry bones. Praise God for His solution to man’s dry bones!
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 to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”
Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”’” Ezekiel 37:1-6
The Lord’s desire was to restore His people, and He used Ezekiel to speak through the visions He gave him. Ezekiel’s ministry was primarily to the exiled Jewish people who were under the control of the Babylonians. The Jewish people had become idolatrous over the years. God used Ezekiel to speak to His people about the curse of disobedience and the blessing of obedience.
Have you ever felt hopeless because of others’ disobedience and sin? It is very difficult to keep the faith in those kinds of situations and believe that things can change. A hopeless situation could be any number of cases such as: an unbelieving spouse, a wayward child not repentant of their lifestyle. a manipulative spiritual leader, a divided nation, or your own bad habits.
The Lord asked Ezekiel if there was any hope for the dry bones, and Ezekiel responded by saying that the Lord had the answer. Ezekiel could have complained or grumbled against the people of God, but he had not lost hope for the people of Israel. Ezekiel still believed that God had the power to perform miraculous work among His people.
To remain in a state of faith, we need to continually forgive those who sin against God or against us. We also need to surrender the situation to the Lord and ask for His intervention. Sometimes, God allows the situation to get to the point of dry bones before He intervenes. Many times, the situation is prolonged because the person/people have not admitted their sin and, therefore, have not repented.
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. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. Ezekiel 37:7-8
Surely the Lord God does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. Amos 3:7
God trusted His prophet and revealed his secret to Ezekiel. The Lord used His prophet to speak His Word over the people, and Ezekiel did what the Lord asked Him to do. Ezekiel remained in the position of faith and courage. He believed that by speaking to the dry bones, they would come back to life, and they did.
The Lord desires His people to be full of life and vitality. This was the reason that Jesus came to the world to give us life and give it more abundantly. We need to listen to God’s heart on behalf of our family, friends, church, and our nation. It is his desire to restore the dry bones, and the Lord uses His prophets to stand between life and death and proclaim the Word of the Lord.
What is God to speaking to you right now? Is God pleased with the division in your home, church, or your nation?
I will share in the next devotional God’s purpose for the restoration of the dry bones.
