Ezekiel 37:1-14
1The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6I will lay sinews on 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.”
7So I prophesied as I had been commanded, and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” 10I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
11Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ 12Therefore prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13And you shall know that I am the Lord when I open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people. 14I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”
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This passage reminds us of God’s power to help us overcome even the most hopeless situations. It offers hope in our darkest moments.
Consider the difficult task given to the prophet Ezekiel. The Israelites, exiled in Babylon, had lost everything—their homeland, their king, their temple, and their faith. In the previous chapter, God told Ezekiel to prophesy of Israel’s rebirth, which must have seemed an unimaginable task given the peoples’ current condition of despair. God then presents Ezekiel with a vision of a valley of dry bones, telling him to prophesy and bring the bones to life. The bones come together, are covered with flesh, and come to life, symbolizing the rebirth of Israel which had long been considered dead.
Today, we find comfort in this passage, knowing that even in our own valleys of dry bones, we can look to God and the Holy Spirit for renewal and guidance. Yes, the seemingly impossible becomes possible through faith.
The well-known spiritual “Dem Bones,” based on this passage, has inspired a community that has long faced adversity, offering hope when we “hear the word of the Lord.” I encourage you to listen to it on YouTube or your favorite music source; I assure you; its melody will stick in your head the remainder of the day. And to Bruce, our beloved Music Director at Peace—I challenge you to let our choir bring this spiritual to life in an upcoming service!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we place our trust in Your mighty power to bring life and hope to even our most hopeless situations. Guide us through our darkest valleys, revive our faith, and renew our spirits through the power of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.
—Gene Cross