Ezekiel 37
Vision of a valley of dry bones verse 1- 3
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
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
AND HE said to me
Son of man – can these bones live?
AND I answered
O Lord GOD – YOU know
Ezekiel told to prophecy to dry bones verse 4- 6
AGAIN HE said to me
Prophesy upon these bones
and say unto them
O you dry bones
hear the word of the LORD
Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones
BEHOLD – I will cause breath to enter into you
and you shall live
and I will lay sinews upon you
and will bring up flesh 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
Ezekiel saw dry bones coming to life verse 7- 8
So I prophesied as I was commanded
and as I prophesied – there was a noise
and BEHOLD a shaking
and the bones came together
bone to his bone
AND when I beheld – lo
the sinews and the flesh came up upon them
and the skin covered them above
BUT there was no breath in them
Ezekiel told to speak to wind verse 9
THEN said HE to me
Prophesy to the wind
prophesy – son of man – and say to the wind
Thus says the Lord GOD
Come from the four winds – O breath
and breathe upon these slain – that they may live
Life came to dry bones verse 10
SO I prophesied as HE commanded me
and the breath came into them
and they lived – and stood up upon their feet
an exceeding great army
Interpretation of vision of dry bones verse 11- 14
THEN HE said to 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
THEREFORE prophesy and say to them
Thus says 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
AND you SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD
when I have opened you graves – O MY people
and brought you up out of your graves
and put MY SPIRIT in you
and you shall live
and I shall place you in your own land
THEN shall you know that I the LORD have spoken it
and performed it – says the Lord
Vision regarding two pieces of wood verse 15- 20
The word of the LORD came again unto me
saying
Moreover – you son of man – take you one stick
and write upon it
FOR Judah – and for the children of Israel his companions
THEN take another stick and write upon it
FOR Joseph the stick of Ephraim and for all the house
of Israel his companions
AND join them one to another into one stick
and they shall become one in your hand
AND when the children of your people shall speak unto you
saying
Will you not show us what you mean by these?
Say unto them – thus say the Lord GOD
BEHOLD – I will take the stick of Joseph
which is in the hand of Ephraim
and the tribes of Israel his fellows
and will put them with him
even the stick of Judah
and make them one stick
and they shall be one in MINE hand
AND the sticks whereon you write shall be in your hand
before their eyes
Interpretation of vision verse 21- 23
And say to them
thus says 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
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
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 dwelling places
wherein they have sinned
AND will cleanse them
SO shall they be MY people – and I will be their God
One shepherd will rule in future restoration of Israel verse 24- 28
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
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 forever
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
MY tabernacle shall be with them – YEA – I will be their God
and they shall be MY people
And the heathen shall KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD
do sanctify Israel
WHEN MY sanctuary shall be
in the midst of them for evermore
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, you know. (6106 “bones” [‘etsem] means selfsame, body, life, strength, essence, substance, external body, self, or vigor)
DEVOTION: The LORD is asking Ezekiel a question that he can’t answer. It is a question regarding life. Can something that is dead come back to life? We know from the Old Testament that there were a few people who were raised from the dead by the prophets. They were few and far between.
However, this is a whole valley full of dead bones. Is it possible that that many people who were dead could come to life again? The New Testament in I Corinthians 15 explains that there is resurrection from the dead of those who believe. They are raised to newness of life. They were corrupted but then they will be uncorrupted.
It is hard to understand that there is life after death. Many people believe that once you die that is it. It is all over. There is no afterlife. The Bible disagrees with this group of people. Many of them don’t want a life after death because if and it is the Bible is true they will have to face God for judgment.
Everyone wants to avoid judgment. But judgment is coming. Christians will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ to receive their rewards for their actions here on this earth. Those who outside of Christ will stand before the Great White Throne Judgment to face the LORD regarding their relationship to HIS Son Jesus Christ. They have none and therefore will spend eternity in the lake of fire with the devil and his angels.
This passage is not talking about life after death for individuals it is giving Ezekiel a vision of the nation of Israel being restored to a place of promise again. God is giving a vision of future hope for Israel.
They are presently dead as a nation. God can breathe new life into their dead bones. HE can open the grave and give them breathe as a nation again. They are going to be restored to the Promised Land during the reign of the Medo-Persians. They will rebuild the Temple again. They will live in Jerusalem again.
The LORD warns the churches in the book of Revelation that some of them seem dead. HE informs them that HE can come and take their candlestick or life from them if they don’t repent.
The church of Sardis thinks it is alive but the LORD informs them that they are dead. Their works were not perfect before the LORD. What do they need to do? REPENT!! Repentance is necessary for any church that has drifted from the Word of God and is only preaching to “itching ears.” The message is plain: REPENT!!
CHALLENGE: Remember that nothing is impossible with God. HE can even restore the church with a revival even now. It may seem dead but the LORD can give it life. That should be our prayer.
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DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 10 So I prophesied as HE commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up on their feet, an exceeding great army. (7307 “breath” [ruwach] means air, vivacity, wind, intellectual frame of mind, spirit, courage, or air.)
DEVOTION: This verse is talking about the nation of Israel coming back to life. They were in captivity and though they had no hope for the future. They wanted to hear a message from the LORD.
Ezekiel brought the message of a valley full of dead bones and was asked if they could come back to life. The answer was that with the LORD all things are possible. The nation could come back from captivity.
To bring it to a personal level we can have what seems like a dead faith. Our Bible is not controlling our life. The church is not helping us in our growth. It seems like for all practical purposes we are going nowhere in our walk with the LORD.
What do we need? We need a fresh moving of the Holy Spirit in our life. How does this happen? It only happens through our prayer life. If we go to God honestly and ask HIM for help – HE will send it.
We then need to open our Bible and start reading and ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand the Bible and HE will do it.
If enough believers do this they can form an army of fresh witnesses for the LORD. There is nothing like a young believer telling others about the LORD working in their life.
Freshness is important to those who are trying to keep up with their world. We want fresh food. We want a new outlook on life. We want to have hope in a world that seems to lack hope.
Our future might look dim at the present moment but we know that the LORD can help us with a fresh understanding of the life we can have in Christ. We sometimes get in a rut and it is hard to get out of it.
The Word of God can give us a breath of fresh air. It can recharge our batteries. It can give us hope. This should be our prayer each day that we can have a fresh breath from the LORD through HIS Word the Bible.
CHALLENGE: Keep your faith fresh. Don’t let it get stale.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with the detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be MY people, and I will be their God. (2930 “defile” [tame’] means to make morally or ritually impure, to become ceremonially unclean, desecrate, pollute oneself, dishonor, impure, or make unclean)
DEVOTION: God wants us all to be individuals who keep short accounts with HIM regarding our sins. HE wants us to confess our sins, so that, HE can cleanse us for HIS use while we are here on this earth.
Too often even those who claim to be believers are not confessing their sins and allowing the LORD to cleanse them for use in HIS service. HE wants us to have a daily walk with HIM and that can only happen when we are willing to recognize our sins and confess genuinely to HIM that we are sorry for our sins and want HIM to cleanse us for HIS use in our world.
The children of Israel were trying to serve the LORD without confessing their sins and that was not the way that the LORD worked. HE wants to use clean vessels for HIS service and that only happens when we recognize that daily confession is necessary for proper fellowship with HIM.
We don’t usually have idols that we set up in our houses but sometimes some people can use the television to be their idol that keeps them for having a good relationship with the LORD. If we find this happening; we need to turn it off and open our Bible to use our time studying HIS word for our personal growth each day.
CHALLENGE: Only you can answer the question regarding whether you are keeping short accounts with God. The confession of our sins daily is necessary for a proper walk with HIM.
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: 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. (1285 “covenant” [b@riyth] means alliance, pledge, treaty, league, or agreement)
DEVOTION: Hope is important. Here we find the LORD giving a second vision to Ezekiel in this chapter. He is to take two sticks and call one of them Judah and the other Israel. These two sticks are to be joined together in his hand. In his hand they become one. The two nations that were scattered are going to be brought back together to serve the LORD again in the future
The LORD says that HE is going to bring the nations from captivity. HE wants Israel and the nations to realize that HE is LORD. HE is sovereign over creation. HE is sovereign over all nations. HE is the ONLY ONE who can bring true hope to a nation in captivity.
HE is also going to reunite the two kingdoms into one kingdom. The two will become one again. There is going to be ONE KING over this kingdom. There is going to be ONE SHEPHERD over this nation. The one king and one shepherd is the Messiah. The time period is the Millennium.
How long is this kingdom going to last?
Our verse tells us that the LORD is going to make a league of peace with the children of Israel. It is not only going to be a pledge of peace but an everlasting pledge of peace. HE is going to dwell with them. HE is going to sanctify Israel. How does HE sanctify Israel? HIS presence is going to be with them.
Do we believe the LORD knows the future?” If the answer is “yes” then we have to realize that Ezekiel was written after the children of Israel were in captivity. It was written after King David reigned over the children of Israel as one nation. This chapter must be talking about a future reign of David, the LORD’S servant.
Who is this David? When is the sanctuary going to be in the midst of Israel forever? Has it happened yet? The future shepherd that is going to reign over the united Israel is going to be a descendant of David. Who is a future descendant of David that is going to reign over a united Israel? Could it be the Messiah or Jesus Christ during a future time?
It is going to be a time of peace. Are we having peace in Israel today? It is going to be an everlasting covenant. How long is everlasting? The LORD has a plan for the future and HE is going to work HIS plan. What an awesome GOD we serve!!! AMEN!!! God says that the dead bones of Israel will rise again.
It is a belief of this ministry that churches that are dying can come back to life with a fresh vision of the faithfulness of God. This promise is to Israel in the future but we can have hope in the present because our God can do the impossible. Let us continue to pray for revival in our churches!
Unity is important to the LORD. This unity has to be based on the teachings of the Word of God alone. Our worship has to be placed on Jesus Christ alone.
Today we have a divided church. There seems to be no peace even in our churches. We are observing churches that are voting to allow people in the pulpit who are disobedient to the teachings of the Word of God.
CHALLENGE: We need to base our peace on our faithful preaching of the Word of God. We need to have faithful leaders who will not give in to society. We need to be Biblically correct to have Biblical peace. God promises those who are faithful that they can have a peace that passes all understanding.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Sanctuary verse 26
Tabernacle verse 27
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Word of the LORD verse 4, 15
Thus says the Lord GOD verse 5, 9, 12, 19, 21
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 4, 6, 13- 15, 28
Hand of the LORD verse 1
Lord – Adonai (Owner, Master) verse 3, 5, 9, 12, 14, 19, 21
GOD – Jehovah verse 3, 5, 9, 12, 19, 21
Lord GOD verse 3, 5, 9, 12, 19, 21
Knowledge of God verse 3
Word of the LORD verse 4, 15
I will cause breath to enter into you, and you
shall live and I will lay sinews on you,
and will bring up flesh on you, and
cover you with skin, and put
breath in you, and you shall
live; and you shall know that
I am the LORD verse 4-6
MY people verse 12, 23, 27
I will open your graves, and cause you to
come up out of your graves, and
bring you into the land of Israel
I am the LORD verse 13
I have opened your graves and cause you to
come up out of your graves and bring
you into the land of Israel
and shall put MY spirit in you, and
you shall live verse 13, 14
I shall place you in your own land: then shall
you know that I the LORD have spoken
it, and performed it verse 14
I will take the children of Israel form among
the heathen, whither they have gone,
and will gather them on every side, and
bring them into their own land verse 21
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: 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 verse 22, 23
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign, Plural name) verse 23, 27
I will be their God verse 23
Judgments verse 24
Statutes verse 24
I will make a covenant of peace verse 26
everlasting covenant
I will place them (Israel) and multiply them
and set MY sanctuary in the midst
of them for evermore verse 26
MY tabernacle shall be with them
I will be their God and they shall be
MY people verse 27
I the LORD do sanctify Israel when MY
sanctuary shall be in the midst of
them for evermore verse 28
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
One King verse 22, 24
One shepherd verse 24
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Carried …me out in the SPIRIT of the LORD verse 1
Put MY SPIRIT in you verse 14
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Heathen verse 21, 28
Heathen shall know that I am God verse 28
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Idols verse 23
Detestable things verse 23
Transgressions verse 23
Sinned verse 23
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Prophesy verse 4, 7, 9, 10, 12
Breath of God verse 5
Know the LORD verse 6, 13, 14
Obey command verse 7, 10
Hope verse 11
Indwelling of Holy Spirit verse 14
Save verse 23
Cleanse verse 23
Servant verse 24, 25
Walk in MY judgments verse 24
Observe MY statutes verse 24
Sanctify verse 28
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Son of man = Ezekiel verse 1- 4, 10, 11, 16-
Set me down in the midst of the valley
which is full of bones – they
were very dry
Asked: Can these bones live?
I answered, O Lord God, YOU know
HE told me: Prophesy upon these bones
and say to them
O you dry bones, hear the
word of the LORD
I prophesied as I was commanded
Take one stick, and write upon it, for
Judah, and for the children of Israel
his companions: then take another
stick, and write upon it, For Joseph
which is in the hand of Ephraim, and
the tribes of Israel his fellows, and
will put them with him, even with
the stick of Judah, and make them one
stick, and they shall be one in MINE hand
Breath came into them and they lived and stood
up upon their feet, and an exceeding great
army verse 10
House of Israel verse 11, 16
they say, “Our bones are dried, and
our hope is lost: we are cut
off from our parts
God’s people verse 12, 13
Land of Israel verse 12, 22
Judah verse 16
Children of Israel verse 16, 19, 21
Joseph verse 16, 19
Ephraim verse 16, 19
One nation verse 22
King verse 22
David – my servant
king verse 24, 25
One shepherd verse 24
Walk in MY judgments verse 24
Observe MY statutes and do them verse 24
Jacob – MY servant verse 25
Dwell in the land I gave Jacob – forever verse 25
Covenant of peace verse 26
Sanctify Israel verse 28
God’s sanctuary shall be in the midst of
them forevermore verse 28
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Everlasting covenant verse 26
Sanctuary with Israel forever verse 26, 28
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QUOTES regarding passage
7307 רוּחַ [ruwach /roo·akh/] n f. From 7306; TWOT 2131a; GK 8120; 378 occurrences; AV translates as “Spirit or spirit” 232 times, “wind” 92 times, “breath” 27 times, “side” six times, “mind” five times, “blast” four times, “vain” twice, “air” once, “anger” once, “cool” once, “courage” once, and translated miscellaneously six times. 1 wind, breath, mind, spirit. 1a breath. 1b wind. 1b1 of heaven. 1b2 quarter (of wind), side. 1b3 breath of air. 1b4 air, gas. 1b5 vain, empty thing. 1c spirit (as that which breathes quickly in animation or agitation). 1c1 spirit, animation, vivacity, vigour. 1c2 courage. 1c3 temper, anger. 1c4 impatience, patience. 1c5 spirit, disposition (as troubled, bitter, discontented). 1c6 disposition (of various kinds), unaccountable or uncontrollable impulse. 1c7 prophetic spirit. 1d spirit (of the living, breathing being in man and animals). 1d1 as gift, preserved by God, God’s spirit, departing at death, disembodied being. 1e spirit (as seat of emotion). 1e1 desire. 1e2 sorrow, trouble. 1f spirit. 1f1 as seat or organ of mental acts. 1f2 rarely of the will. 1f3 as seat especially of moral character. 1g spirit of God. 1g1 as inspiring ecstatic state of prophecy. 1g2 as impelling prophet to utter instruction or warning. 1g3 imparting warlike energy and executive and administrative power. 1g4 as endowing men with various gifts. 1g5 as energy of life. 1g6 ancient angel and later Shekinah. (Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.)
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Ezekiel’s primary purpose was not to teach a doctrine of the resurrection. The main purpose of the vision was the restoration of Israel. Yet the images of dead bones that were scattered, bleached dry by the sun, but revived and lived again as a “vast army” was startling and unexpected. Recent work by D. I. Block has shed additional light on understanding this passage. While acknowledging that the concept of life after death was prevalent in non-Hebrew cultures and that Ezekiel reflects a knowledge of afterlife images used outside Israel (without affirming their truth), Block believes there was sufficient basis in Hebrew teachings for the concepts found in Ezekiel’s vision of the Valley of Dry Bones. First, the idea of bodily resurrection could have developed as a natural corollary to Hebrew views of anthropology. Human beings were considered living souls (nepeš ḥayyâ). As such, a human being was a unity rather than a dichotomy or trichotomy (Gen 2:7). At death the physical body and the life-giving breath are separated (Job 34:14–15; Ps 104:29; Eccl 8–12; 12:7). Any hope of victory over death would require a reunion of the physical body and the life-giving breath. This is what Ezekiel saw in 37:1–14. (Cooper, L. E. (1994). Ezekiel (Vol. 17, p. 320). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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3–10 This apocalyptic vision has two distinct sections in the vision itself. First, Ezekiel recounted what he saw and did in vv.3–10. Then the vision closes with the interpretation in vv.11–14. As one reads an apocalyptic vision, he feels as if he is there, for the details are given in the first person by the recipient. The Lord asked Ezekiel whether these bones would live (v.3a). Ezekiel, acknowledging his lack of omniscience, replied that only the Lord knew (v.3b). A prophecy was then given to Ezekiel for the dry bones. The Lord would cause them to live. Tendons, flesh, skin, and breath would come on the bones so that live people would be formed. Then this “resurrected” people would know that God was the Lord (vv.4–6). So Ezekiel did exactly as the Lord commanded and proclaimed the Lord’s words to the dead, dry bones. While he was speaking, all the bones came together and took on themselves tendons, flesh, and skin. But no breath was found in them (vv.7–8).
Ezekiel was instructed to prophesy again, this time to the breath to come from the four winds—probably indicating the full power of the entering breath (i.e., from every direction) to renew the bodies—and to breathe on these slain ones so that they might live (v.9). On doing so, Ezekiel saw this army of people come alive! Such was the vision itself.
The recovery of the bones to form bodies pictured Israel’s ultimate national restoration (vv.4–8). Breath (wind or Spirit) entering these restored bodies portrayed spiritual renewal (vv.9–10). This imitated the sequence in chapter 36 (cf. John 3). (Alexander, R. H. (1986). Ezekiel. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, pp. 924–925). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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Most Israelites may have doubted God’s promise of restoration. Their present condition militated against the possibility of that being fulfilled. So God stressed the fact of His sovereign power and ability to carry out these remarkable promises. Their fulfillment depended on Him, not on circumstances. Ezekiel reported the vision (vv. 1–10) and then interpreted it (vv. 11–14).
37:1–10. God transported Ezekiel by the Spirit (cf. 3:14; 8:3; 11:1, 24; 43:5) to a valley … full of bones. There he noticed that the bones … were very dry, bleached and baked under the hot sun.
God asked the prophet a remarkable question: Son of man, can these bones live? Was there potential for life in these lifeless frames? Ezekiel knew that humanly speaking it was impossible, so his answer was somewhat guarded. O Sovereign Lord, You alone know. Only God can accomplish such a feat.
God then directed Ezekiel to prophesy to these bones. The content of his message was God’s promised restoration: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. “Breath” (rûaḥ) could also be translated “wind” or “spirit.” In 37:14 the same word is translated “Spirit.” Possibly God had in mind Genesis 2:7. In creating man, He transformed Adam into a living being by breathing into his nostrils “the breath of life.” Whether God was referring to wind, physical breath, the principle of life, or the Holy Spirit is uncertain. However, the results were obvious. God gave life to these dead bones. As Ezekiel was giving this prophecy, he saw a remarkable thing. The bones came together (Ezek. 37:7), flesh developed, skin covered them (v. 8), breath entered them, and they stood up (v. 10). (Dyer, C. H. (1985). Ezekiel. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1298). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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The living army (Ezek. 37:9–14). God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to the wind and told him what to say. In the Hebrew language, the word ruah can mean wind, breath, spirit, or Spirit. Jesus made use of this when He spoke to Nicodemus about the blowing of the wind and the new birth through the Spirit (John 3:5–8). There’s also a reference here to the creation of Adam in Genesis 2. At his creation, Adam was complete physically, but he had no life until the breath of God entered into him (v. 7). When Ezekiel spoke the living Word of God, the breath from God entered the dead bodies and they lived and stood to their feet.
The Lord then explained the meaning of the vision. The dead dry bones represent the whole Jewish nation, both Israel and Judah, a divided nation and a dead nation, like bleached bones on a battlefield. Israel’s situation seemed hopeless, but “with God, all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). There will come a day when God’s living Word of command will go forth and call His people from their “graves,” the nations to which they have been scattered across the world (Ezek. 37:21; Jer. 31:8; Matt. 24:31). The Children of Israel will come together, but the nation will not have spiritual life until they see their Messiah, believe on Him, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit of life (Ezek. 39:29; Zech. 12:9–13:1). The nation will be born—and born again—“in a day” (Isa. 66:7–9).
Of course, there’s a spiritual application in this vision for any individual or ministry that is in need of new life from God. Too often God’s people are like that standing army, lifelike but not alive. How does the life come? Through the Holy Spirit using the faithful proclamation of the Word of God. Said Charles Spurgeon, “Decayed churches can most certainly be revived by the preaching of the Word, accompanied by the coming of the heavenly breath from the four winds.” From time to time, in response to His people’s prayers, the Lord has seen fit to send a new “breath of life” to His church and His servants, and for that blessing we should be praying today. (Wiersbe, W. W. (2000). Be reverent (pp. 166–167). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor/Cook Communications.)
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As Ezekiel proclaimed the word there was a noise as of thunder and a tremendous shaking of the earth; and then, before the prophet’s startled eyes, the bones came together, each one fitted to the other, until they formed complete human skeletons. In another moment sinews and flesh came upon them and skin covered them, and they became perfect human bodies, but there was no breath or life in them. Again the word of the Lord came to the prophet, saying, “Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” So far as I have been able to discern this is the only place in sacred Scripture where we have prayer addressed directly to the Holy Spirit. Ordinarily, as we see in Eph. 2:18, prayer is by or in the energy of the Spirit to the Father in the name of the Son; but here we have a definite case where one was commanded to speak directly to the Holy Spirit, for the term “wind” here can mean no other than He who is the blessed life-giving Spirit of God. It is He who quickens the dead; and in answer to this prayer, breath came into these resurrected bodies, and they stood up upon their feet an exceeding great army.
We need to remember that all this was in vision and is not to be taken as referring to a literal physical resurrection of the dead. That Scripture does teach such a resurrection—in fact, two resurrections: one of the just, and the other of the unjust—is perfectly clear; but that is not what is contemplated here. This is rather a fulfilment in vision of what is predicted in Daniel 12:2, “Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” These words might be applied to the two resurrections just referred to: the one before, and the other after the millennial reign of our Lord Jesus Christ, but the connection in which they are found in Daniel 12 makes it evident, in my judgment, that the resurrection there depicted is a national resuscitation, such as we have in our present chapter.
For long centuries Israel has been a dead nation, sleeping among the Gentiles. In the day of Jehovah’s power, they will be brought out from their graves, gathered from the countries into which they have been dispersed, and appear as an exceeding great host: those in whose hearts faith is found entering into everlasting life, and those who refuse to believe the message of that day given over to shame and everlasting contempt. (Ironside, H. A. (1949). Expository notes on Ezekiel, the prophet. (pp. 258–259). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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Ver. 9. Then said he unto me, prophesy unto the wind, &c.] Before he had been prophesying to the bones, and over them; and something was done, but not to purpose, breath being wanting; wherefore he is bid to prophesy a second time, and that not to bones, but to the wind, afterwards rendered breath; and may allude to the soul or breath of man re-entering the body, as at a resurrection, which causes it to live: it signifies the spirit, for the same word is used for the wind, for breath, and for the spirit; and in the mystical sense may be applied to the spirit of God: and if ever ministers prophesy or preach to purpose, it must be with a view to the spirit of God, both to assist them in their work, and to make their ministrations effectual; without which, how many formal professors soever may be made, not one dead sinner will be quickened. The Syriac and Arabic versions render it, concerning the spirit; and to discourse concerning the person, operations, and grace of the spirit, is one part of the Gospel ministry, and a means of the conversion of sinners. Prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind; ministers must not only preach, but they must pray for the spirit to accompany the word with his power, and make it the savour of life unto life: thus saith the Lord, come from the four winds, O breath; or spirit; because the Jews were to be brought from several parts where they were, as they will be at their conversion in the latter day; and so the Lord has a people in the several parts of the world, that lie dead in sin, and must be quickened by the spirit: and breathe upon these slain, that they may live; though not slain with the sword, yet being as dead men, who are slain by death, are so called: so in a spiritual sense men are slain by sin, and are slain by the words of the Lord’s mouth; killed with the law, the killing letter; and it is only the spirit of God that can give them life; and the breath or spirit here is applied to the spirit of the Messiah by the ancient Jews. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 6, p. 193). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
1 Kings 4
Solomon’s fame spreads throughout the world.
INSIGHT
To understand the significance of Solomon’s wealth, power, and wisdom, we must go back to Deuteronomy 28, where God outlined the consequences for Israel’s obedience and disobedience. During the latter part of David’s reign and the early part of Solomon’s reign, Israel follows the Lord in righteousness for a longer period of time than any other. The results are a greater blessing than at any other time in Israel’s history.It is a glaring and tragic reality that shortly after Solomon’s reign, Israel follows her kings in unrighteousness, and the curses in Deuteronomy begin to come about. The welfare of Israel is always related to her righteousness. (Quiet Walk)
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IS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST CENTRAL?
In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Ephesians 1:7
If the Lord Jesus Christ is not crucial, central, vital, and occupying the very center of our meditation and our living, thinking, and praying, we have no right to look for revival. And yet, if you go and talk to many people, even in the church, about religion, you will find that they will talk to you at great length without ever mentioning the Lord Jesus Christ. I am never tired of putting it like this, because it is something that I am so familiar with in my experience as a pastor. People come and talk to me about these things, and I put my question to them. I say, “If you had to die tonight, how would you feel?”
“Oh,” they say, “I believe in God.”
“All right,” I reply, “what will you say when you stand in the presence of God? What are you relying on?”
“Well,” they say, “I have always tried to live a good life, I have done my best, I have tried to do good.”
“But nevertheless you have sinned, haven’t you?”
“Oh yes, I have sinned.”
“So,” I ask, “what do you do about your sin? What will you say to God, in the presence of God, about your sin?”
“Well,” they say, “I believe God is a God of love.”
“And how does that help you?”
“Well,” they say, “I believe that if I acknowledge my sin to God and then ask Him to forgive me, He does forgive me, and I am relying upon that.”
The point I am making is that they do not even mention the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They seem to think that they can go to God directly without the Lord Jesus Christ at all. There is a great deal of so-called Christianity that is quite Christ-less.
A Thought to Ponder
If the Lord Jesus Christ is not occupying the very center of our meditation, we have no right to look for revival. (From Revival, pp. 45-46, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Jesus and the Study of Scripture
“And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” (John 7:15)
In the midst of the annual Feast of Tabernacles, “Jesus went up into the temple, and taught” (John 7:14), and the unique caliber of His teaching (literally “indoctrinating”) caused the Jewish scholars there to “marvel.”
Their question on this occasion was how an uneducated man, who had never been taught by the scribes and rabbis, could have acquired such a remarkable understanding of the Holy Scriptures. He had never had formal training in the Word; yet, when He taught, “he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Matthew 7:29).
His answer to their question was amazing: “My doctrine [or ‘teaching’] is not mine, but his that sent me” (John 7:16).
There are two factors at work here. First of all, His working knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures was encyclopedic, acquired in the same way any other student of the Word can acquire it—by diligent and prayerful personal study thereof. He had done this all His life from the time He was a small boy. Remember how He had “asked questions” of the astonished doctors in the temple, and then how He was “subject unto” His parents, and how He “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man” (Luke 2:46; 51-52). In all of this, He is a perfect human example to us as we also seek to learn the Scriptures and to grow in wisdom and in favor with God.
But beyond His human understanding of the Word, of course, was His own innate divine wisdom and authority. He was eternal God, as well as perfect man. Thus, He not only has authenticated the former Scriptures and given us an example in their study and use, but has also conveyed perfectly to us, through His holy apostles and prophets, the Scriptures of the New Covenant as well. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
________________________________________________________________________Any approach to “spiritual formation” that encourages Christians to listen for the voice of God inside their heads or anywhere else outside of Scripture undermines the authority, sufficiency, and God-breathed uniqueness of the written Word. (p. 181)
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It’s staggering how many false doctrines and erroneous practices in the church today are the direct result of compromising the authority and sufficiency of Scripture. (p. 182)
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A renewed commitment to the authority, sufficiency, and clarity of Scripture is the starting place to purge the church of many of its most pernicious impurities, and p
rovide significant protection from Satan’s corrupting influence. (p. 183)
(Christ’s Call TO REFORM the Church by John MacArthur)
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