Keith's Page
“Them Dry Bones”
(Ezekiel 37:1-14)
Most people know this story. They may not know where to find it in the Bible, but they know the story, even if they are not sure what its message is. For the Jews in the time of Jesus their religion was all about tradition. This story was part of that tradition. By the time this story took place there was a long tradition stretching back to Abraham. Our holy book is the Bible with its Old Testament and New Testament. Sometimes we are tempted to ignore the content of the Old Testament but there are stories that have a meaning even for the 21st century.
The prophet, Ezekiel, has a vision in which God takes him to a large valley filled with thousands of bones. They represent Israelites from hundreds of years before that time. In the vision God asks, “Can these bones live?” Put on the spot, Ezekiel replies “Sovereign Lord, only you know.” Clearly, Ezekiel knows that this is something that only God can control. Next Ezekiel gets a role to play. He is told to prophesy to the bones, saying “Hear the word of the Lord.” This was the job of a prophet, to tell people to listen to the call of God. It is our job as preachers today to do the same.
Ezekiel does as instructed and prophesies to the bones, telling them that they will be coming to life. The bones start to knit together and acquire flesh and muscles, but they are not breathing because they are only part way to getting their lives back. They still need to breathe. His next instruction is to call upon the four winds to blow breath into these bodies. (The word translated as breath is also the word for wind.) This happens and the bones come alive. God, of course, knows that Israel feels defeated after all their battles and being taken prisoner over time.
The message now is that Israel is to stand on its own two feet and really live out a great life. God is saying that Ezekiel must preach positiveness and endurance to his people. “Pick yourself up, dust yourself down and start all over again” is the message. They are still God’s chosen people and they must live, in this knowledge. It was essential to look to God whose grace would support the house of Israel. Situations like this had arisen because they had disobeyed God or ignored him to follow other ways. You find this to be the Old Testament theme.
There is a message here for us in the modern world. We are called to love and obey God in how we live out our lives. With God’s support, we can make a real worthwhile difference to the lives of others. The word, love, comes short of the version we experience from God. So, we call it the grace of God. It is an expression that says we are loved by God regardless despite our failings or waywardness. We may not deserve it but we are assured of his grace. My final thought is a quote from the late Tommy Trinder: “You lucky people!”
