Background Story: Ezekiel was from the priestly line. During his time, Jerusalem was conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar, Solomon’s temple was destroyed (2 Kings 25:8-10), and Ezekiel was taken into captivity to live in Babylonia. Read more at https://biblehub.com/sum/ezekiel/.

Read Ezekiel 37:1-14

The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. ² He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. ³ He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath^[a] enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶ 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.’”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 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.

¹¹ Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: 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. ¹³ Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. ¹⁴ 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.’”

Big Idea: God is the Author of Life

In Ezekiel 37, we read this incredible story displaying God’s power. The prophet is brought to a valley full of dry, dead bones and the Lord asks him a question, “can these bones live?”

The answer to the obvious question is no. Of course not. These dry bones are completely without life or hope. And then God steps in. He says, “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!” and then God Himself breathes the life-giving breath of God into them. Before the prophet’s eyes, he witnesses the dry bones that were once scattered on the ground come back to life.

In Genesis 2:7, it says, “the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” The word “Lord” is the word, “YAHWEH” which means the “self-existent or eternal Jehovah.” God Himself is life and within Him is the power to speak forth life. He is the uncreated One who calls forth things into existence. He speaks and the night sky is formed (Gen 1:14-19), two fish become thousands (Mark 6:41-42), and the barren woman gives birth (Luke 1:36-37, Genesis 21:1-2).

Whenever our hearts are downcast within us and we lack hope, we must remember the God we serve. He is YAHWEH, the One who breathes and speaks life into dead and hopeless circumstances, people, and situations. Yes, it is impossible for the dead bones to come to life. But with God, our impossible is possible! He is the Author of life!!!

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