Ezekiel 37

 THE DRY BONES LIVE

This is a great chapter with more promises of hope for Israel's future.

God gave Ezekiel a vision of a valley full of dry bones and told him to prophesy to the bones that God will cause breath to enter into them and they shall live. "He will put sinews on them and bring flesh upon them, cover them with skin and put breath in them." 

Ezekiel did as commanded and he heard the noise of the bones coming together. He saw the sinews and flesh come upon them and skin cover them. Then God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the breath and tell it to breathe on the slain that they may live; and Ezekiel did as commanded, and he saw "breath come into them and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army."

God described the bones as the whole house of Israel. They were hopeless and cut off, but God said:

Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up...and bring you into the land of Israel...I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land."

God also told Ezekiel to take two sticks, and upon one write Ephraim and the other Joseph, and join them together. Not only will God take the children of Israel from among the nations and bring them into their own land, but Israel shall never be two nations, but one, and they shall live in the land under one King, who is JESUS!!! (It does not say the name Jesus, and rather it says David; however, it is to be understood as Jesus.)

Even better, they will be cleansed of all unrighteousness, walking in the Lord's judgments and observing His statues. They will be able to obey the Lord. Furthermore, God will make an everlasting covenant with them and will dwell with them forever. 

My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.

COMMENTARY

It is important to note that the reference to the dry bones coming to life represents the future resurrection of the nation of Israel -- a spiritual revival or restoration -- not individual resurrection or a resurrection of the dead saints of the Christian church. This was a vision that God gave to Ezekiel, in which he literally moved the prophet, "carried" him out in the spirit of the Lord, to a valley of dead, dry bones. 

God is the One who will give life to the spiritually dead, but was through Ezekiel who spoke God's words to the hearers, much like a preacher does. When Ezekiel obeyed God and spoke to the scattered, dead bones, they obeyed and came together. But they were still without a spiritual life.

God then spoke (through Ezekiel) the life-giving breath into the spiritually dead bodies. First, they were scattered bones, then they came together and were bodies, but still dead; finally they were made alive. All three of these stages represent what must happen to the nation of Israel before it is restored. 

Today, Israel is not restored to God, but they are not hopeless. Before 1948, they were as the dry, scattered bones. Since 1948, they have been brought together under a flag and constitution and even a prime minister. However, they are still without spiritual life. 

One day, God is going to make the nation of Israel spiritually alive again. He will bring together all twelve tribes from both the northern and southern kingdoms, and they shall never be two nations again. They will have one Shepherd, which is Jesus Christ. McGee believe David will serve as a regent under Jesus for both the Millennial and the eternal kingdoms. 

Finally, God's sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore. The Nation of Israel and an eternal temple will be here on this earth.

There are two kinds of people on earth: living people and dead people. Those who have Jesus have life and those who do not have the Son, do not have life (John 3:36) and are dead in their sins. You can come to life. Know Jesus as your Savior and live.