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September 7th

Our bible reading today is in Ezekiel 35-37.

“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.”

‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭37:1‬ ‭ESV‬

Over and over Ezekiel used the phrase, “the hand of the Lord was upon me...” That phrase was distinctive and meaningful in Israel. For example...“And the “hand of the Lord was on Elijah”, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.”

‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭18:46

The hand of the Lord gave Elijah extraordinary ability. He outran the horse-drawn chariot of King Ahab down Mt Carmel to Jezreel.

“And Elisha said, “As the Lord of hosts lives before whom I stand, were it not that I have regard for Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would neither look at you Jehoram nor see you. But now bring me a musician.” And when the musician played, the “hand of the Lord came upon Elisha”. And he said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I will make this dry streambed full of pools.’”

‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭3:14-16‬ ‭

God’s hand giving Elisha patience with the disobedient king of Israel in order to bless the king's men in battle.

“Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that “your hand might be with me”, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked.”

‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭4:10‬

So Jabez, a son of the promise in Judah, all the way to the Messiah, understood just how significant it was for the “hand of the Lord” to be upon him. So he asked God for it...and God granted it.

“...and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child John be?” For the “hand of the Lord was with him”.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭1:66‬ ‭

The hand of the Lord giving baby John, the forerunner of Jesus, a public expectation for God to mightily use him.

So the hand of the Lord came upon Ezekiel and brought him to a valley of war where he would sit in the midst of dry bones...the bones of fallen Israeli soldiers. It would be here, in a huge graveyard, that God would teach Ezekiel himself many faith lessons that he would then in turn teach Judeans in Babylonian captivity.

“And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.”

‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭37:3-4‬ ‭

Did you hear it...? God addressed Ezekiel as “son of man”. Though opposed by many, Ezekiel was blessed to have a special assignment from God and with God. It would have been easy for the prophet to get puffed up and prideful. So God was reminding him that he was from earth and God was from Heaven.

“Son of man, can these bones live?” “You know Lord.” Ezekiel answered the way we should...in faith that God knows and will do what fulfills his purposes.

“Can these bones live?” Ezekiel knew that in themselves, those dry bones would never live again. He also knew that if it depended upon him, those bones would never live again. No, this was something that only God could pull off. Ezekiel would have to trust God with this seeming impossibility...and so must we friends.

“Prophesy to these bones Ezekiel...tell them to hear the voice of God” Talk about a strange assignment...preaching to dead men’s dry bones.

But Ezekiel obeyed instantly. What makes a servant of God? One pretty obvious thing is his commitment to saying yes to God, even before he hears the assignment.

O Lord may your hand be upon us for that kind of commitment to serving You and your purposes, especially when the assignment is out of our comfort zone.

“So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them.

But there was no breath in them. Then God said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”

So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.”

‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭37:7-10‬ ‭

The picture? Why the Congregation of Israel of course. Exiled with no hope...a deadness in their hearts and minds that they cant resurrect.

But God can, and will. Just like these dry bones, you can live again with Him breathing into you His wind His life.

Awesome

Have a great day