Dry Bones Are Given New Life
Book of Ezekiel
Chapter 37
As Christians we
already know that Christ Jesus is the only hope for this wicked and
evil world.
Rom 5:2 By whom
also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and
rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Gal 5:5 For we
through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
The three Christian
statements of our "faith" are built upon "our faith",
"our hope", "and our love" in all the promises of
Jehovah God.
1Co 13:13 And now
abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these
is charity.
Why is the greatest
of these, charity? What did Jesus say to us?
Mar 12:30 And thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the
first commandment.
Mar 12:31 And the
second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
To many people,
these are hard lessons. To the Church, we know these words as the
truth of God.
These things are the
difference between life and death!
The Christians will
certainly die, but this death is the doorway to eternal glory!
The lost world will
certainly die, but this death is followed with eternal death. A death
of eternal torment!
In our lesson today
we can see the power of the Almighty God in the valley of dry bones.
*****Eze 37:1 The
hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the
LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of
bones,
Eze 37:2 And caused
me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in
the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
This valley of dry
bones represents a place of death and destruction. A place where two
great armies had met and death and destruction followed, their bodies
left on the battlefield and never buried. Their bones so dry that
they were brittle and broken easily.
In reality this
passage represents the resurrection of the dead when the Lord returns
with the souls that are in Heaven.
1Th 4:13 But I
would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which
are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we
believe that Jesus died and rose again, "even so them also which
sleep in Jesus will God bring with him".
1Th 4:15 For this
we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and
remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are
asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ
shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we
which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in
the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with
the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore
comfort one another with these words.
The power of Jehovah
God is unlimited, and He has given all His power to His Son, Jesus
Christ!
Mat 28:18 And Jesus
came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth.
We have the example
of the resurrection:
Joh 11:25 Jesus
said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth
in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
Rom 6:5 For if we
have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be
also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rev 20:6 Blessed
and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the
second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of
Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
If there is a
resurrection of those when the Lord meets the Church in the air, then
there is another resurrection of the dead to new life after the
Church for those who are martyrs during the tribulation years, and
then an end time resurrect for all those who will face the Lord Jesus
at the White Throne of Judgment..
Rev 20:5 But the
rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were
finished. This is the first resurrection.
As Christians we now
have that hope of eternal glory but to the lost, they live in
hopelessness.
Rev 6:8 And I
looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was
Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over
the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger,
and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
Rev 6:9 And when he
had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them
"that were slain for the word of God", and for the
testimony which they held:
Rev 6:10 And they
cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true,
dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the
earth?
Rev 20:11 And I saw
a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the
earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for
them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw
the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were
opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and
the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the
books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the
sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered
up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man
according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death
and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the
lake of fire.
All those who know
the Lord will be raised to new life!
All those who reject
the Lord will be raised to eternal damnation, a terrible, terrible,
terrible thing that should cause us to reach out not only to our
loved ones but to all that do not know the Lord in a personal
relationship!
As we go along, we
will see that this valley of dry bones represents the nation of
Israel, who are dead to the truth of God, and dead to the reality of
salvation by Jesus Christ.
So in this case,
this passage represents a revival of the people of Israel that has
not taken place as of yet!
*****Eze 37:3 And
he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O
Lord GOD, thou knowest.
Today there is more
than half our world that do not believe in the resurrection of the
body, because they reject the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the time of
Christ there were influential, but very lost men known as Sadducee.
Mat 22:23 The same
day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no
resurrection, and asked him,
Jesus said stay away
from all who teach the sinful doctrine of the Sadducees and there are
many of these unbelievers around today!
Mat 16:6 Then Jesus
said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees
and of the Sadducees.
For Ezekiel. either
by vision or some other method, he would witness what the Lord calls
the resurrection of those who sleep in Jesus, but also all those who
will be resurrected from the dead to go to the White Throne Judgment.
Ezekiel replied, yes
Lord you are powerful enough to do anything you choose to do!
The Lord also has
the power to bring revival to a nation as we will witness in this
passage, but a revival that has not yet taken place.
Rom 11:25 For I
would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest
ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is
happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26 And so
all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of
Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27 For this
is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
We have to accept
the fact that Judah was a captured nation and had lost all hope, but
by Jeremiah they should have known that this captivity would only
last 70 years and the Almighty God would change the power structure
of this world once again, which He always has the power to do even in
our day.
They should never
have been hopeless, but we know they are still blind to the truth.
*****Eze 37:11 Then
he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of
Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost:
we are cut off for our parts.
The house of Israel
had been taken captive, and were being forced marched to Babylon to
be scattered all over the lands under the domain of the Babylon
Empire.
They certainly
thought they would never see their homeland again and were aware that
they could lose their own lives at any moment.
These things took
place because they had forsaken Jehovah and lived any way they wanted
to.
They had forsaken
the Laws of Moses and the statutes of God.
They had worshiped
false gods and they were seeing the results of their sin.
The Lord God Jehovah
showed Ezekiel in a vision or some other way, that restoring Israel
to a godly nation is always within His powers in that day and today
and at any time in the future as long as time last!
Hos 1:11 Then shall
the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered
together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out
of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.
Rom 11:26 And so
all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of
Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27 For this
is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Rom 11:28 As
concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as
touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.
Rom 11:29 For the
gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
As a child of
Jehovah God there is never a time, I should feel hopeless!
There is never a
time I should worry about my future because the promises of God are
real.
There is never a
time I should be afraid of what this world can do to me.
There is never a
time I should sink into depression because my God is all powerful.
Even when my bones
are lying in a grave or burnt to ashes while my soul is in Heaven,
that body of flesh can be restored, except this time it will be made
perfect and it will be a glorified body.
What did Ezekiel
witness?
*****Eze 37:12
Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come
up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
This is a
resurrection!
Job 19:25 For I
know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter
day upon the earth:
Job 19:26 And
though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I
see God:
Job 19:27 Whom I
shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another;
though my reins be consumed within me.
This is the great
revival of the House of Israel!
Rom 11:15 For if
the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall
the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
What did Israel need
to know on that miserable day? There was a promise of new life!
What should every
lost soul know about the "Gospel"? There is a promise of
new life and it is eternal!
I just wonder
sometimes when our Pastor is behind his pulpit, if he ever feels like
he is preaching to a valley of dry bones.
Ezekiel preached the
words God that gave him and all of a sudden, those old dry bones
began to come to life.
You see in the eyes
of God, we will never be in a situation of hopelessness, because the
worst thing that can happen is that we will go on home.
This place of earth
is not our home and we should never forget that we are just strangers
passing through this wicked and corrupt and evil place.
What is so great
about have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ?
*****Eze 37:14 And
shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you
in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it,
and performed it, saith the LORD.
We must never forget
it is the Spirit of Jehovah that gives life!
Psa 104:29 Thou
hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath,
they die, and return to their dust.
Psa 104:30 Thou
sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the
face of the earth.
Psa 104:31 The
glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in
his works.
Our Holy God has the
power to conquer death and the proof to the Church is the
resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Rom 5:10 For if,
when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his
Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
What had Moses
preached to the House of Israel?
Deu 30:19 I call
heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set
before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose
life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
To be honest, when
we choose to live a life of death, how can we complain when that time
comes, yet we have a merciful God who will even allow a death bed
confession.
As long as there is
life in our bodies and have not rejected the Holy Spirit to a point
that He will not convict us of our wrong, then we can still be
gloriously saved, but it is a foolish thing to test God because He
will not be tested. In fact today is the day of salvation for
everyone because tomorrow my not come to the wicked!
Pro 27:1 Boast not
thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring
forth.
2Co 6:2 (For he
saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of
salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.)
There is an accepted
time for each of us to ask the Lord to forgive us our sins and come
into our hearts and save us!
The Lord will never
forget those who love Him, and the Lord will never forget His chosen
people Israel.
For who is a true
Jew?
Rom 2:28 For he is
not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision,
which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 But he is
a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart,
in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but
of God.
God will bring every
child of Israel back home who wants to be there, for even they will
have to choose Jesus!
Joh 14:6 Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7 If ye had
known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye
know him, and have seen him.
This truth is the
same for all people!
*****Eze 37:21 And
say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the
children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and
will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
Eze 37:22 And I
will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel;
and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two
nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at
all:
Eze 37:23 Neither
shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with
their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I
will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have
sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will
be their God.
When Israel returned
after the Babylon captivity, they did not come back perfect, but they
were no longer idol worshipers!
They knew it was
Jehovah who had rescued them just as He had from Egypt!
They had spent 70
years in captivity and all those who worshiped idols just as in the
40 years in the wilderness, where those who doubted the truth of God
had died off.
In the time of Jesus
they again rebelled against the truth of God and that whole
generation was destroyed by Titus in 70 AD and Israel again has been
scattered throughout this world but again they are making their way
back home and one day soon their eyes will be opened to the truth of
the Messiah!
The words of Jesus:
Luk_11:50 That the
blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the
world, may be required of this generation;
Today Israel's
population is nearly 10 million people and they are growing by 10,000
each year since 1948.
We must remember the
nation of Israel is home to all sorts of people and then there are
the legitimate children of Israel.
God loves this
nation He has delivered them from idolatry.
He has delivered
them from false worship.
He has delivered
them from wicked behavior.
God is striving for
a personal relationship with these people just as He does with all
unbelievers!
Jehovah loves
personal relationships!
Jehovah has been
dealing with Israel as a nation, but His intention now, is to get to
know each of them in a personal relationship!
Just as He did with
David, and Moses, and Abraham, and Sarah, and all His prophets in the
Old Testament. Just as He did Adam and Eve who He walked with in the
cool of the day.
Jer 30:24 The
fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have done it, and
until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days
ye shall consider it.
Jer 31:1 At the
same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of
Israel, and they shall be my people.
Jer 32:37 Behold, I
will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in
mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them
again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:
Jer 32:38 And they
shall be my people, and I will be their God:
Zec 13:9 And I will
bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver
is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my
name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they
shall say, The LORD is my God.
Psa 68:18 Thou hast
ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received
gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might
dwell among them.
Psa 68:19 Blessed
be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our
salvation. Selah.
Psa 68:20 He that
is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the
issues from death.
Now remember our
study of Chapter 34 of David.
Rev 22:16 I Jesus
have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the
churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright
and morning star.
David will certainly
be resurrected as will all the children of God who are asleep in
Jesus, but he will not be king because we have only one king and that
is King Jesus!
*****Eze 37:24 And
David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one
shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my
statutes, and do them.
Eze 37:25 And they
shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant,
wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even
they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and
my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
All the covenants of
Jehovah are everlasting covenants, but they all have a fulfillment in
the Lord Jesus Christ. When King Jesus sits upon the throne as
absolute King and Ruler of Israel, He will also be the absolute King
and Ruler of this entire planet because He already is. It will be at
this time that the entire world will recognize our Lord as the Master
of the Universe, in fact Master of the Cosmos!
King Jesus will also
be that Great Shepherd of the souls of all His people.
1Pe 2:25 For ye
were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd
and Bishop of your souls.
These things will be
eternal when we reach the New Jerusalem!
As one bone is
connected to the next bone all the children of Israel will come to
their respective families and respective tribes just 7 or more years
after the Church is taken out of this world and is in Heaven.
True peace will come
to this world and to Jerusalem the city of peace that has never
before seen peace!
*****Eze 37:26
Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an
everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply
them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
What are the steps
of this great event?
The people of Israel
will be gathered.
All the tribes of
Israel will be united.
All of Israel will
be purified.
The nation of Israel
will be established under the rule of the Messiah.
Jehovah will make a
covenant of "Grace" with the "Apple of His eye".
This will be and
everlasting, eternal covenant.
The Lord will place
them and give them to the land He promised to Abraham.
The Lord will
multiply them.
The Lord will set
His sanctuary in the midst of them.
Where is God's
sanctuary?
Psa 102:19 For he
hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did
the LORD behold the earth;
Psa 102:20 To hear
the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to
death;
Psa 102:21 To
declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;
Psa 102:22 When the
people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
Remember the Church
is with the Lord during all these things and the Church and the saved
Israel, will be with the Lord throughout eternity!
*****Eze 37:27 My
tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and
they shall be my people.
Eze 37:28 And the
heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my
sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
The fathers of the
nation of Israel had a tabernacle built after they escaped from Egypt
(type of the world of sin) a place of worship that they carried with
them as they traveled in this wilderness of sin, but our Messiah, the
Lord Jesus Christ has brought with Him a better tabernacle, a
Spiritual tabernacle, and a heavenly tabernacle so they can leave a
world of sin and become holy, a people serving a holy God, and they
will come to know the Joy of the Lord and become a blessed people
forever!
Today the heathen
are still mocking God because they have no fear of Him, but when our
Savior appears in that Heavenly Sky returning to this earth in full
view, they will see how foolish they have been and they will first
try to destroy Him and next they will try to hide from Him and both
these things are impossible.
Rev 6:14 And the
heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every
mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15 And the
kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the
chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free
man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16 And said
to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of
him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17 For the
great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
We live in a foolish
world that keeps denying our Creator, but on this day, they will not
be able to deny Him!
The nation of Israel
shall feel the full force of the Holy Spirit, and they will accept
all the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, and will be sanctified to
serve our Holy God just as the Church!
1Jn 5:19 And we
know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
This lost world will
feel the wrath of our Heavenly Father, when they did not have to!
Amen
Let's Pray
