DRY BONES



Again 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: I will cause breath to enter you so that you live. And I will lay sinews upon you and will grow back flesh upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you so that you live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 37: 4-6

The nation of Israel had been taken into captivity by the Babylonians, and Ezekiel, the son of a priest, had been given the charge by God, to give a message to the Jews. He was to tell them that the captivity would not be short lived, but that God would eventually bring restoration.

In a vision, Ezekiel saw a valley of dry bones. God connected the bones, added organs, muscles, and skin. Last, He breathed into these dry bones, life. This was to show the rebirth of the Israel nation. It was a message of hope.

Today, the dry bones reflect a message of hope for us. When we try to live a life, separated from God and His gift of salvation, through Jesus, we are as dead spiritually as that valley of dry bones. But, God in His mercy and love for us, wants to give us life. If we accept that gift He offers, He will bring us to life.

First, He makes us a new heart. In that heart, we have been purified and made clean by the washing away of all unrighteousness. He will squeeze all the darkness out of our heart until it begins to beat with His rhythm of bright life giving blood. Second, He will give us muscle. This is the strength we gain from knowing Him. Third, we get skin. Just like our skin protects our inward parts and holds us together, God will protect us and hold us together in Him for eternity. Fourth, He will breathe into us His Holy Spirit. His Spirit will guard, guide, and direct us.

When we give our dry-boned life over to God, He gives us a new life in Jesus Christ. But there is more to the story. In Ezekiel 34:25-26 God says, “I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.  I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. And I will cause showers to come down in their season; they will be showers of blessing.”

The woods represent the life we now live in this world and the beasts represents Satan. We must live in our wilderness; this world, surrounded by sin, death, pain, and sorrow, however, Satan can never penetrate our hearts once we have been made new in Christ. We are God’s new creation. He loves us and protects us from our enemy, Satan. God showers us with His many blessings. We are not guaranteed a life without trials, but we are guaranteed His love, His strength, His peace and His life everlasting.

Dear Savior,

Thank you for your gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. We give our dry-boned life to you. Make us alive in you.

Amen

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