In this chapter, we read about the resurrection of Israel and reunion as one nation.
The vision of the valley of dry bones. The sign of the joining of the two sticks. God brings a fascinating vision to Ezekiel in demonstration of the new life which Israel will have. The visual image of dry bones.
God now lifts Ezekiel up by His Holy Spirit and transports him in a vision to the middle of a valley full of dry bones, Ezekiel 27:1 / Ezekiel 1:3 / Ezekiel 8:1 / Deuteronomy 28:25-26.
Valleys were commonplace for battles in Bible times, Genesis 14:1-16 / Joshua 7:1-3 / Joshua 8:1-29 / Judges 4:1-23 / Judges 5:1-23, and this valley is no exception, Ezekiel 37:1. The Spirit of the Lord takes Ezekiel to the middle of a valley.
I am sure as Ezekiel looked out, he saw mountains on both sides and a valley in between, but that’s not all he saw. As Ezekiel walks around and sees many dry bones in the valley, Ezekiel 37:2, representing all the Israelites who had been killed.
Block, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The bones lay on the surface of the valley, like the remains of corpses denied a proper burial and left for scavenging buzzards. As an Israelite and especially as a priest, Ezekiel knew how important the proper treatment of human corpses was.’
Here, the nation is given new life, for they are pictured as being dead, completely dead; you can’t get more dead than dry bones, they are ‘very dry’ bones, Ezekiel 37:2.
God now asks Ezekiel if the bones can live again, and he replies that only God knows, Ezekiel 37:3 / Revelation 7:14. He is asked to prophecy to the bones and to thereby make them come to life, Ezekiel 37:4. A strange request, perhaps, but by now this man would probably be ready to do anything.
God tells the bones that He would make breath, Ezekiel 37:5, the Hebrew word is ‘ruwach’, and it means wind, spirit, or Spirit, Ezekiel 37:5-6 / Ezekiel 37:8-10 / Ezekiel 37:9 / Ezekiel 37:1 / Ezekiel 37:14. God would breathe life into them, and they would come back to life, Ezekiel 37:5 / Hosea 6:2.
Obeying the Lord’s command, Ezekiel prophesies to the bones, and things start happening. He hears a rattling noise as the bones begin to come together, Ezekiel 37:7. He sees tendons, flesh, and skin come back on the skeletons, Job 10:11, but there was no breath in them, Ezekiel 37:8, meaning they weren’t alive yet.
Notice that he is told to prophesy to the breath, he is told what to say, My God, Ezekiel 37:9. God commands, ‘Come, breath, from the four winds, that is from every everywhere, from every direction, and give life to the bones, Ezekiel 37:9 / Isaiah 43:5-6 / Jeremiah 31:8.
Ezekiel does as he was commanded to do, and breath entered them; they came to life, Ezekiel 37:10 / Genesis 2:7 / Romans 8:1-17. They stood up on their feet, and there were so many, they looked like a vast army, Ezekiel 37:10.
Dummelow, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This prophecy does not refer to a literal resurrection of dead Israelites, but to a revival of the dead nation.’
Morgan, in his commentary, says the following.
‘There is no hope for humanity in man. But these dry bones can live. By the Word, and the Spirit of God, men can be reborn; and at last healed of their separations, and united under one King.’
The dry bones coming to life must bring a smile to Ezekiel’s face as he now relates the vision. Here is where the spiritual comes from. This is about the only well-known part of Ezekiel, which is a great pity. We are again witnessing a vision situation. The prophet clearly indicates that this is happening.
The bones represent the people of Israel in Babylon, Ezekiel 37:11 / Ezekiel 36:10. They are to be brought back to life by God. There is a clear likeness to a resurrection in this vision, which indicates the state of the nation.
The nation was saying, they were like the dry bones, they had been dead for a long time, they were dead for a long time, not just physically, but also spiritually. As a nation, they are beyond anything they can do for themselves, Ezekiel 37:11.
They are said to be in the grave, the bones are very dry and dried up, Ezekiel 37:2, as a nation they are beyond anything they can do for themselves, Ezekiel 37:12.
God is going to open their graves and raise them back to life, and take them back to the Promised Land, Ezekiel 37:12. God must resurrect them if they are to have any hope. When God does this, then they will know that He is the LORD, Ezekiel 37:13.
Their undignified position as dry bones scattered throughout the land of Babylon is coming to an end. The God of Israel will cause them to stand once more upright, in their own land, once again with dignity, Ezekiel 37:13.
Notice once again, there is the promises to put His Spirit in them, Ezekiel 37:14. God will bring them back to life and they will settle in the land, then they will know that He is the LORD, Ezekiel 37:14.
Cooper, in his commentary, says the following.
‘There is no finer illustration of the life-changing power of the preached word than what the prophet saw in his vision. It has the power to transform those who are dead in trespasses and sins, Ephesians 2:1-22, and make them new, living creatures in Christ, 2 Corinthians 5:17.’
Henry, in his commentary, says the following.
‘No created power could restore human bones to life. God alone could cause them to live. Skin and flesh covered them, and the wind was then told to blow upon these bodies, and they were restored to life. The wind was an emblem of the Spirit of God and represented his quickening powers. The vision was to encourage the desponding Jews; to predict both their restoration after the captivity and also their recovery from their present and long-continued dispersion. It was also a clear intimation of the resurrection of the dead; and it represents the power and grace of God, in the conversion of the most hopeless sinners to himself. Let us look to Him who will at last open our graves, and bring us forth to judgment, that He may now deliver us from sin, and put his Spirit within us, and keep us by his power, through faith, unto salvation.’
There is no arguing that the vision was all about Israel as a nation and their restoration; however, when it comes to the fulfilment of the vision, many people have come to the wrong conclusion.
For example, many people believe that ‘this prophecy was fulfilled recently in 1948 when Israel was created by United Nations Resolution 181 which divided the territory of the British Mandate for Palestine into two states for Jews and Palestinian Arabs.’
However, God said that they would return after their seventy years of captivity in Babylon, Jeremiah 25:11-12 / Daniel 9:1-2, and God even named Cyrus as the king who would allow them to return, Isaiah 44:24-28.
History reveals that they did return way before 1948 and in three stages.
1. Stage 1 happened in 538 B.C. Ezra 1-6.
2. Stage 2 happened in 458 B.C. Ezra 7-10.
3. Stage 3 happened in 445/444 B.C. Nehemiah 1:1-13.
When the Persians conquered the Babylonians, Cyrus began changing things and allowed the people to go home to their own land. This was a guaranteed restoration that God was proclaiming.
The prophecy tells us that they would return home. And history tells us they did, returned home, rebuilt the temple and the city walls, and never again turned to idols, 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 / Ezra 1:1-4.
The vision which Ezekiel had of the valley of dry bones reminds us that Israel was in a hopeless and lifeless state. They could do nothing to save themselves or restore themselves back to life.
As Christians, we need to remind ourselves that we too were just like Israel, we too were powerless to save ourselves, Romans 5:6, and very much spiritually dead, Ephesians 2:1-3.
And just like Israel, as they were pictured in the valley of dry bones, only God can raise the dead back to life. God does the same with sinners today; they were dead in their sins and trespasses, but because of His great mercy and love for us, He made us alive with Christ, Ephesians 2:4-6.
Just as Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, John 11:38-44, and we look forward to the time when He will raise up our bodies on the last day, 1 Corinthians 15:20-23.
In the meantime, we need to ask ourselves, are we living like we are alive, or merely just giving the impression that we are? Outwardly, we may look great, but inwardly we may be rotting away just as the church in Sardis was, Revelation 3:1.
Another sign is to be shown to the people. Two sticks, one representing the Northern tribes and the other depicting the tribe of Judah, are to be held together to signify the reunification of the nation of Israel. This is followed by a messianic prophecy of the new kingdom to come.
On two sticks, the prophet writes the name of Judah on one and Joseph, or perhaps Ephraim, on the other stick, Ezekiel 37:15-16 / Numbers 17:1-7. Why these two names?
It would seem that these represent the two kingdoms. Judah and Ephraim were the strongest tribes in both kingdoms after the division. It is also fair to say that most of the kings of the north came from Ephraim, and all in the south came from Judah. That the kings are in view here might be borne out by Ezekiel 37:24.
Block, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Joseph was the father of Ephraim and Manasseh, the two dominant tribes in the northern kingdom. Of these two, Ephraim, the younger son, dominated northern politics from the beginning.’
The prophet is to take these two sticks and join them together, making one, Ezekiel 37:17. Perhaps here are two sticks which he had picked up and had been one but broken in two, 1 Kings 12-14, so that they joined well together, Isaiah 11:13.
Bullinger, in his commentary, says the following concerning the Hebrew word for ‘one’.
‘Echad’ is so used because it does not mean absolute unity, but a compound unity. Always one of the others which make up the one. Its first occurrence is in Genesis 1:5, ‘The first day’, of seven. Genesis 2:11, ‘The name of the first is Pison’, i.e. one of four. Genesis 2:21, ‘He took one of his ribs.’ Genesis 2:24, ‘They two shall be one flesh.’ Hence, when it is used twice, the word being repeated, ‘one, one’, it is translated both one and the other, but it is always one where there are others. Hence, sometimes each, as in Numbers 7:85. Genesis 49:16, ‘as one of the (twelve) tribes of Israel’. Numbers 13:23, ‘A branch with one cluster of (many) grapes.’
Bullinger, in his commentary, continues and says the following.
‘Even have the plural ‘echadim’, like Elohim, ones. In speaking of the two sticks representing the houses of Israel and Judah, it says, Ezekiel 37:19 ‘they will become one in my hand’. Psalm 34:20 ‘he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.’ In all these and other places, echad is composite. It is one of the others, and hence it is the word used in Deuteronomy 6:4. Jehovah (the Father), Elohim (the Son), and Jehovah (the Spirit) are echad. One Triune God.’
If Ezekiel’s people asked him what this represented, Ezekiel 37:18, he was to tell them that God said He would combine the two parts of Israel into one whole nation, Ezekiel 37:19 / Isaiah 11:12-13 / Jeremiah 3:18 / Hosea 1:11. Here is a picture or a sign of national unity.
Ezekiel is told to hold the two sticks in front of them, Ezekiel 37:20, and explain that God promises to bring exiles back from both kingdoms into the land, Ezekiel 37:21.
He promises to make them one nation and promises there will be one king who rules over them, Ezekiel 37:22 / Genesis 12:1-3 / Genesis 12:7 / Genesis 16:10 / Genesis 17:7-9 / Genesis 22:17-18 / Genesis 28:4 / Genesis 28:13-15. In that way, they will cease to be two nations or divided, Ezekiel 37:22.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The meaning of the oracle is clear enough. It foretold the eventual reunion of Ephraim and Judah, the Northern Israel and the Southern Israel, Samaria, and Jerusalem under one king, thus healing the long breach that had begun in the days of Rehoboam, who succeeded Solomon.’
They would no longer defile themselves with idols, vile images or with any of their offences, Ezekiel 37:23. God will save them from their backsliding and sin, and He will cleanse them, Ezekiel 37:23 / Jeremiah 31:31-34. Then they will be God’s people, and He will be their God, Ezekiel 37:23.
According to Mormon theology, the Book of Mormon is a translation of a record telling of three relatively small groups that came to the Americas, by boat, from the ancient Middle East.
Two of these groups came from Jerusalem around the time of the Babylonian exile, 586/7 B.C.E., while the third, a non-Israelite group, appears to have come from Mesopotamia at least several hundred years before that.
Some of the records kept and written by these groups were passed down and were eventually edited into one volume by a prophet-historian named Mormon, who chose to preserve this record on metal plates instead of more perishable materials.
He passed this record on to his son Moroni, who in turn buried it in a particular hill, which Mormon tradition conflates with a hill named Cumorah in the Book of Mormon.
This occurred in 420 C.E. Fourteen hundred years later, Moroni, now resurrected, was sent by God as an angel to guide Joseph Smith to these buried plates and provide him with divine means by which to translate them. The resulting translation, first published in 1830, has become known as the Book of Mormon.
The Book of Mormon itself raises a series of questions that most Mormons won’t or can’t answer. Here are a few examples out of many which would be asked. The Book of Mormon teaches that black skin is a sign of God’s curse so that white-skinned people are considered morally and spiritually superior to black-skinned people, 2 Nephi 5:21.
In contrast, the Bible teaches that God ‘made of one blood all nations of men, Acts 17:26, KJV, that in Christ distinctions of ethnicity, gender and social class are erased, Galatians 3:28, and that God condemns favouritism, James 2:1.
The Book of Mormon people are said to have observed ‘all things according to the law of Moses’, 2 Nephi 5:10 / 2 Nephi 25:24. However, although they’re supposed to have been Hebrews, they were descendants of the tribe of Joseph, 1 Nephi 5:17 or Manasseh, Alma 10:3, not the tribe of Levi and family line of Aaron, as the Law of Moses dictates, Numbers 3:10 / Exodus 29:9 / Numbers 18:1-7, so they wouldn’t have had a legitimate priesthood.
During Jesus’ ministry, He spoke of His church as something in the future, Matthew 16:18. After Christ’s resurrection and the day of Pentecost, we read, ‘And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved,’ Acts 2:47.
However, the Book of Mormon claims the Christian church was established as early as 147 B.C. ‘And they were called the church of God, or the church of Christ, from that time forward.’ Mosiah 18:17
The Bible says believers were first called Christians after Paul’s ministry in Antioch, Acts 11:26. However, the Book of Mormon claims people were known by this title as early as 73 B.C. ‘…yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come,’ Alma 46:15. These are just a few examples of many examples from the Book of Mormon, which show us that the book is full of contradictions.
The Mormon church would have us believe that the Bible itself is actually prophesied about the Book of Mormon and therefore the Book of Mormon is just as inspired and authoritative as the Bible itself.
They claim that both books go hand in hand but whenever you study with them, all too often they will lean towards the teaching of Joseph Smith rather than the Bible.
The ‘proof’ text they use is Ezekiel 37:15-17. This passage of the Scripture, which they believe actually refers to the Book of Mormon, and many Mormons truly believe that the sticks mentioned in these verses actually speak of two books, one of which, they tell us, is the Bible, while the other is the Book of Mormon.
A Mormon leader named Apostle LeGrand Richards. On page 67 of his book ‘A Marvellous Work and A Wonder’, he quotes Ezekiel 37:15-20 and concludes, ‘In ancient times it was the custom to write on parchment and roll it on a stick. Therefore, when this command was given, it was the equivalent of directing that two books or records should be kept.’
The Hebrew word used by Ezekiel is the word ‘ets’, which means ‘wood, tree, stick’, and here its translated as stick, the word ‘ets’ is also used in Numbers 15:32 / 1 Kings 17:10 / 2 Kings 6:6 / Lamentations 4:8, and if God meant ‘scroll’ or ‘book’ here in Ezekiel, He would have used the word ‘cepher’, which appears in Joshua 1:8 / Isaiah 30:8 / Jeremiah 36:2 / Daniel 12:1 / Malachi 3:16.
And Ezekiel himself uses this very word in Ezekiel 2:9, of his book, so obviously we know he was aware of it and therefore could have used it here in Ezekiel 37 if God had wanted him to.
We need to understand that these Hebrew words aren’t used interchangeably in Scripture. It’s always important to understand a passage of Scripture in its full context and to interpret it in the plainest sense.
In other words, using the historical-grammatical method, we need to attempt to see how the people who received the original document in the historical setting would have understood it. The context of any passage and the definitions of any word must be as they were at the time the text was written for it to be understood correctly.
People need to be careful not to ‘interpret’ the Bible in an attempt to make it say what they want it to say so as to advance their own teachings. To correctly approach this passage from Ezekiel, we need to remember that just as the English language has different words for a book or a stick, so also does the Hebrew. And this would be true for most known languages as well.
Ask yourself this question: Is the widow mentioned in 1 Kings 17:12 gathering scrolls or books? In 2 Kings 6:6, did Elisha cut down a book or a scroll and then throw it into the water?
The obvious answer to both of these questions is no, and so, it would only make sense to understand this passage of Scripture in Ezekiel 37 to simply mean sticks as well because this same Hebrew word ‘ets’ is used in each case.
The logical conclusion is that Ezekiel 37:15-17 is to be understood literally, the Lord told Ezekiel to take one stick and carve on it, ‘Belonging to Judah’, etc., and then to take another stick and carve into it, ‘Belonging to Joseph’, etc.
This was all Ezekiel was to write on these sticks and then join them together, and anyone have any respect for the Bible could ever come to the conclusion it’s referring to the Book of Mormon.
The explanation is not that the Bible and the Book of Mormon will one day be used side by side. On that ludicrous interpretation, we say no more. It clearly is said to refer to a United Kingdom in Palestine again. This they had lost many years before, and it was the perfect picture of a restored kingdom. Not only dignified again but also unified.
The one king mentioned earlier, Ezekiel 37:22, is now identified as God’s servant David, Ezekiel 37:24 / Ezekiel 34:24 / 2 Samuel 7:13 / 2 Samuel 7:16 / Jeremiah 30:9 / Hosea 3:5.
He will be their shepherd, Ezekiel 37:24 / Ezekiel 34:23 / Exodus 19:5-6 / Leviticus 26:12 / Deuteronomy 7:6 / Deuteronomy 14:2 / Deuteronomy 14:21 / Deuteronomy 26:18-19 / Deuteronomy 27:9 / Jeremiah 30:22 / Jeremiah 31:33 / Jeremiah 32:38.
They will follow God’s laws and His decrees, Ezekiel 37:24, and they will live in the Promised Land, the land God had given to His servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived, Ezekiel 37:25.
Gill, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Abraham and Isaac are not mentioned, because they had other children, who did not inherit the land; only Jacob, because the land was given to him, and his seed after him.’
They and their children’s children will live in the land forever, Ezekiel 37:25.
Coffman, in his commentary, asks the following question.
‘Is it still going to happen? Why should it? Read Jeremiah 18:7-10 for the correct answer.
David will be their prince, that is, king, forever, Ezekiel 37:25 / Isaiah 55:3-4 / Jeremiah 30:8-9 / Hosea 3:5. In view of God’s promise to David, this must refer to the Son of David, the Messiah, Luke 1:33.
Only one king will suffice under these circumstances, David, who is clearly speaking about the Messiah and His reign, 2 Samuel 7:12-13. Not Solomon, for he caused the kingdom to be divided, but David, under whom the nation would become glorious again.
God, once more, promises to make a covenant of peace, Ezekiel 37:26 / Ezekiel 16:62 / Ezekiel 20:37 / Ezekiel 34:25 / Isaiah 54:10. It will be an everlasting covenant, Ezekiel 37:26 / Jeremiah 31:31-34.
He will establish them and increase their numbers, Ezekiel 37:26 / Genesis 22:17-18, and put His sanctuary among them forever, Ezekiel 37:26 / Ezekiel 20:40 / Ezekiel 40:5-43:9 / Zechariah 6:12-13 / John 1:1-2 / John 1:14.
His dwelling place will be with them, He will be their God, and they will be His people, Ezekiel 37:27. This is all speaking of a close, intimate relationship with Him. Then the nations will know that He is the LORD who made Israel holy, Ezekiel 37:28 / Exodus 19:5-6.