Dry Bones

A couple of weeks ago, I was at Arlington Cemetery here in Atlanta. In the middle of the mausoleums, there's a covered Courtyard. It is a beautiful, peaceful place. It was just before noon on a Thursday. I was there on the concrete floor in a suit and tie, flat on my back, all by myself, laughing hysterically.

Does that cause you concern? Would you like an explanation, or would you like to draw your own conclusions? I was there for a funeral, and I was early. The only person in sight was my friend Larry. He's a concierge for Arlington, and he had just driven towards me on a golf cart.

I was sitting in a folding chair, and it collapsed. It was missing some screws, and it failed, and I went down like a bag of rocks. My immediate reaction was to laugh. I thought it was funny. I wasn't hurt. My friend Larry came running, very concerned, and there I was laughing.

Today our story takes us to another Cemetery or graveyard, not as fancy as Arlington, and no one is laughing. With Easter approaching, I want us to look at an Old Testament story found in the Book of Ezekiel. It will likely be familiar to you. It's found in chapter 37.

A bit of background first. We're talking about the 6th Century BC. Israel was in shambles. Jerusalem was destroyed in 587 BC. The people of Israel have been scattered, and you could argue that they deserved what they got. They turned on God. They were reaping what they had sown.

Ezekiel was sent as a prophet to point God's people back to him. Let me read a bit from chapter 2, verses 1 to 7. Ezekiel says, "He said to me, O Mortals, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you. And when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. He said to me, mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this very day. These descendants are impudent and stubborn. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, thus says the Lord God."

Tells in verse 5: "Whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house, they shall know that there has been a prophet among them. And you, O mortal, do not be afraid of them, and do not be afraid of their words, though Briars and Thorns surround you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words, and do not be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. You shall speak my words to them, and whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house."

Ezekiel's job is to preach to this rebellious house. Let me ask you this: is that a good definition for our country and for our world, a rebellious house? I think it is, and we'll talk more about that in a bit.

Ezekiel was dealing with a rotten situation. The government was against God. Most of the priests were crooked. The people were living against God's commands and expectations. Israel was taken over by conquerors, and its people were scattered all over. If you want a definition of a hopeless situation, I think this one might qualify.

Now on to the other cemetery. Is found in Ezekiel chapter 37. Verse 1 says, "The 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. He led me all around them. There were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry." I'll stop there.

This is a tragic scene. This Valley of Bones was perhaps a place of a great battle. Time had taken its toll, and there were now only dry bones. And God's about to ask Ezekiel a very interesting question. In verse 3, Ezekiel says, "He said to me, mortal, can these bones live?"

Now, how would you answer that question? Only through the lens of faith is the answer yes, and that has to be a lens of great faith. We have the advantage of living after the resurrection of Jesus, but this was long before those days. Can these bones live? I love Ezekiel's answer: "I answered, O Lord, you know."

Verse 4: "Then he said to me, prophesy to these bones, and say to them, Oh Dry Bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Abba calls breath to enter you, and you shall live. I 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."

Ezekiel had a choice. He could have argued, what's the use? I mean, this is not the best congregation. But Ezekiel was obedient. Verse 7: "So 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. I looked, and there were sinews on them, flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them, but there was no breath in them."

The word breath here is in verse 8 is the Hebrew word ruach. Do you know what when it was first used in Scripture? In Genesis chapter 1, verse 2. Let me read that to you: "The Earth was complete chaos, and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind, ruach, from God swept over the face of the waters."

Let me read you another use of the word ruach in Genesis. It's chapter 2, verse 7: "Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed ruach into his nostrils, the Breath of Life, and the Man became a living being." Ruak, it's a Hebrew word for the Holy Spirit.

Back to our story. Verse 9: "Then 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 the slain, that they may live." Verse 10: "I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, a vast multitude."

You may be asking, who is this? And that question is answered in the following verse, verse 11. Ezekiel says, "Then 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. Therefore prophesy and say to them, thus says the Lord God: I'm going to open your Graves and bring you up from your grave, so my people, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your Graves and bring you up from your Graves, O My People."

Verse 14: "I 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 has spoken and will act, says the Lord." Let me go, says the Lord, let me go to recent history. I will read a quote I've saved for a while about Israel.

It says, "The history of the Jewish people and their roots in the land of Israel spans 35 centuries. It is here that the culture and religious identity of the Jewish people was formed. Their history and their presence in this land has been continuous and Unbroken throughout the centuries." The quote continues: "Even after the majority of Jews were forced into Exile almost 2 500 years ago, with the establishment of the state of Israel on May the 14th, 1948, Jewish Independence was renewed."

You could argue, and I think successfully so, that Ezekiel 37 was ultimately fulfilled in 1948. But I think there are other lessons to be gleaned. Ezekiel 37 is an Easter message. It is about Resurrection, and I think there's a great spiritual lesson here about not giving up. Let me explain.

In our day and age, people have given up on the Young Generation known as Generation Z, born from 1997 to 2012. Do you know what I love about Generation Z? Revival has been breaking out on college campuses across this country. And what have we heard about college campuses over the past several years? They're horrible places of horrible indoctrination.

But it gets better. This all started a few weeks ago at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. What do people say about Kentucky and us people in the south? They say bad things. But I love Kentucky. My favorite daughter was born there.

And do you know what the nomination founded as Barry? The Methodist founded Asbury, and that denomination has been splitting for a while and having difficulty. So God is showing himself in Generation Z, on a college campus in Kentucky, in a Methodist institution, and dry bones are rattling, and I love it. This world is in need of the Breath of God, and that is exactly what is happening.

Do not give up. Do not talk down. Do not have low expectations. Keep praying. Keep believing. Do you know the meaning of the name Ezekiel? It being strengthened by God. Our God will strengthen. I encourage you to be an Ezekiel.

Several of you lately have donated to the ministry, and I appreciate that. You can do that through PayPal or through venmo. You can go to my website, davidshivers.com, and you can do it that way, or you can find an address there and you can mail a check. Several have done that, and I really appreciate that. That helps defray the cost of this production.

I look forward to the weeks ahead and the Easter message, and I pray that the Breath of God Will Will just permeate Our Lives. Pray with me. God, thank you for the way you show off in Ezekiel 37 and in recent history, in a world that desperately needs Revival. And this time we pray that you would revive us. In Jesus name we pray, amen. God bless. Thanks for joining me today.