Readings for today: Ezekiel 37-40
I have spent time in valleys full of dry bones. It may be a loveless marriage. It may be a broken family system. It may be a church that has lost any sense of mission beyond itself. It could be a community where tax revenues are declining and schools are shuttering and all hope seems lost. Walking into such valleys is hard. You can feel the crunch of the bones beneath your feet. You can hear the wind as it whistles through the graveyard. You can feel the presence of death all around. There is no joy in such places. There is only hopelessness and despair. Perhaps that’s why I love this particular text from Ezekiel so much.
“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” I cannot tell you how many times God has asked me this question. Can these bones live? Can this marriage be restored? Can this church be renewed? Can this community come back from the brink? Can our nation be saved? Initially, I would find myself telling God all the reasons why such things were impossible. I had all my human excuses for why we should simply cut bait and move on. But I’ve been at this long enough now to realize how little I know so I’ve started answering along with Ezekiel, “O Lord God, only you know.”
“Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” It’s a powerful thing God calls us to do. To declare hope in the face of hopelessness. To declare joy in the midst of sadness and mourning. To declare love when it feels like all love has been lost once and for all. To walk by faith in the midst of the mess we’ve made of our lives and our churches and our society, trusting God make the dry bones live again.
“So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them.” The first step is always obedience. To believe. To prophesy as God commands. To listen for the rattling. To watch as God begins to bring the dry bones together. To identity the muscles and sinews and skin as it appears. These are the first signs of hope. They are like the first buds in the spring. They signal something is about to happen. Someone is still at work. Despite what appears to be dead, there is life being renewed and restored. And yet, there is still something missing.
“Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.” It is the Spirit of God that breathes life into our weary souls. It is the Spirit of God that breathes love into loveless marriages. It is the Spirit of God who revives dying churches. It is the Spirit of God that blows fresh through struggling communities. It is the Spirit of God that restores a nation. The Spirit comes from the four winds. It blows across the earth. It comes from the most unlikely of places and at the most unexpected of times. Note our role in all of this. It’s simply to pray. To prophesy. To ask the Lord to pour out His Spirit on His people.
“Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:1-14)
I don’t know about you but I long for the day when the dry bones of our nation will rise once again. I long for the day when the dry bones of so many depressed and hurting communities across our country will rise again. I long for the day when the dry bones of so many of our churches will rise or the dry bones of so many marriages and families will rise. And when I look around at the bones that surround me, I often feel overwhelmed. But then I remember, my job is not to make the bones rise or even make the bones come back together. My job is simply to believe. To pray. To prophesy. To proclaim God’s Truth and point people to the One who holds the power to raise even the dead back to life!