Introduction

Ezekiel was the son of Buzi, and he was captured and taken to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar B. C. 598, Ezekiel 1:1-3.

In the Book of Ezekiel, we read about the vision of the valley of dry bones in which God brings a fascinating vision to Ezekiel in demonstration of the new life which Israel will have.

When it comes to the Book of Ezekiel, for many people, this is the only part of the book they know, which is a great pity. But what does it mean?

THE VISION OF DRY BONES

God 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 sees. 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 was the proper treatment of human corpses.’

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 prophecies 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 EXPLANATION

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 were 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 would 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.’

Matthew 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.’

Fulfilment

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.

Conclusion

The vision which Ezekiel had of the valley of dry bones reminds us that Israel were 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.