The power of the Lord came over me. The Lord brought me out by his Spirit and put me down in the middle of a valley. The valley was filled with bones. He led me all around them. I saw that there were very many bones at the bottom of the valley, and they were very dry.
Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I answered, “Only you know, Almighty Lord.”
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones. Tell them, ‘Dry bones, listen to the Lord’s word. This is what the Almighty Lord says to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you will live. I will put ligaments on you, place muscles on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”
So I prophesied as I was commanded. While I was prophesying, suddenly there was a rattling noise, and the bones came together, one bone ⌞attaching itself⌟ to another. As I looked, I saw that ligaments were on them, muscles were on them, and skin covered them. Yet, there was no breath in them.
Then the Lord said to me, “Prophesy to the breath! Prophesy, son of man. Tell the breath, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: Come from the four winds, Breath, and breathe on these people who were killed so that they will live.’ ”
So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath entered them. Then they came to life and stood on their feet. There were enough of them to form a very large army.
The Lord also said to me, “Son of man, all the people of Israel are like these bones. The people say, ‘Our bones are dry, and our hope has vanished. We are completely destroyed.’ So prophesy. Tell them, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: My people, I will open your graves and take you out of them. I will bring you to Israel. Then, my people, you will know that I am the Lord, because I will open your graves and bring you out of your graves. I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live. I will place you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’ ” (God’s Word Translation)
Dry. It might be good for humor or a martini. Dry, however, doesn’t feel good when it’s a time of spiritual dryness.
Perhaps you are dry. It seems the entire world is dry. Wars, conflict, death, violence, uncertainty, unrest, and upset people everywhere is evidence that there is dryness across the earth. Many institutions, organizations, companies, and faith communities have become so withered and dry, that they have folded and died.
The hard circumstances of our world, stress in our families, and challenging personal lives may easily create anxiety, and, so, parch our souls and leave our spirits bone dry. There is, however, a God who can breathe new life into us and move us from old-worn ruts in our thinking, feeling, and behaving, to renewed ways of being in the world.
The prophet Ezekiel’s vision is a promise and a hope of resurrection, revival, and new life. Regardless of who we are and the situations in front of us, we are all displaced people – cast out of Eden and in need of restoration.
We, along with the ancient Israelites, are in exile and long to return to our true home with God. Along with St. Augustine we declare that our “hearts are forever restless until they find their rest in God.”
There are dry bones lying around – parched places in need of being reinvigorated.
Maybe you are presently experiencing the dry bones of hopelessness and despondency. Perhaps you are in a dark night of the soul where all of life seems like one huge rut. It could be you are wondering if God is really listening, or is even there at all, because of the dry bones surrounding you.
In my work as a hospital chaplain I often encounter patients who are, ironically, bone dry from too much drinking. Their alcoholism is like a massive desert littered with thousands of dry bones. Attempting to reanimate themselves while dulling the pain of incredibly hard dry circumstances, they drink liter after liter of “spirits” to replace the dead spirit inside them. Some become so dry and dead inside their immaterial selves, that they seek to end their material lives through suicide.
But it need not be this way. We might believe we will be able to live life and pursue God better without danger or hardship – that somehow difficulty is not to be part of life. The dry bones exist, however, as an opportunity for God to give life. That’s why Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s reaction to his exile in a Soviet labor camp in Siberia was to bless it, because it was there he said:
“I discovered that the meaning of earthly existence lies not, as we have grown used to thinking, in prospering, but in the development of the soul.”
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
God not only gives life; God restores life. And this is an important truth to know and remember in the inevitable dry times of our lives. God is not only a helper; the Lord reanimates us from spiritual rigor mortis to lively resurrection through breathing on us. And this is done for a reason. Jesus came to his disciples after his resurrection and said:
“Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Jesus (John 20:20-21)
God resuscitates us for a purpose, so that we might be a blessing to the world. Faith is not only a possession to keep, but a gift to give. We glorify God in loving one another and loving the world as Jesus did. God could have resurrected the bones without Ezekiel. Instead, the Lord used Ezekiel and had him participate in the revival by speaking to the bones.
Such a challenge to speak to the dry bones can seem overwhelming to us. What do you do when your life is upended, even shattered – when such a profound change comes to you that it is impossible for your life to be as it was?
The questions and commands of God seemed totally absurd to Ezekiel, speaking to dead dry bones. Yet methinks we ought to operate more in the realm of the absurd than in the realm of the safe routine.
Perhaps we ought to expect our faith to be exercised and look for God to breathe new life into the dead and decaying. To believe that something, someone, or even myself can change is to have internalized this amazing story of dry bones living again.
Our self-imposed graves cannot hold us because God is among us.
We need a genuine heaven-sent, Spirit-breathed, glorious reanimation in which God sends reviving grace and raises the dead.
Lord of Resurrection, please be attentive to our prayers; and make what is impossible possible:
For those without hope – feeling dried up and cut off from you – open their graves and bring them back to the land of the living.
For those spiritually oppressed – held captive by sin – release them from their chains and let them go! For those who weep – lost and lifeless in a tomb of fear and shame – give them the peace of your presence, and show them what your love can do.
For those complacent – withering on the vine, and living a dull dry existence without any spiritual vigor – awaken them, O Lord! Breathe into them new life!
Pour out your Spirit, gracious God, and awaken all kinds of people to a revival of obedience, love, and courage.
May your people be so full of your Spirit that life comes rolling off our tongues and the strength of life empowers our hands for service. Amen.
