Dry Bones Can Live: A Reflection on Ezekiel 37

Introduction to Ezekiel

Today, we're going to Ezekiel chapter 37. The title of our message today is "Dry Bones Can Live." Amen. Dry bones can live. Before we get into Ezekiel 37, Ezekiel, he was a prophet of God. Now, we've been reading about Jeremiah, and we just read Jeremiah and Lamentations, the two books right before Ezekiel in the Bible, right? Well, it's believed that Lamentations was written by Jeremiah under the inspiration of God. And it's kind of neat how it's ordered because Jeremiah was a prophet that was prophesying just right before, in the years before, Israel, Jerusalem, was conquered by Babylon, before they went into captivity. Well, Ezekiel was a prophet of God once he was in captivity. He was a prophet of God once he went to captivity in Babylon. So, Jeremiah was slightly before him, but not soon after was Ezekiel. 

He had a hard ministry. I mean, he was prophesying in a foreign land to Israel's had who had gone into captivity. And y'all remember why Jerusalem was conquered, right? We read about that in Jeremiah and in Lamentations. They were conquered because they were worshiping false gods. They were sinning against God. They weren't living for God. And God told Jeremiah many times to tell them, "Repent. Return to the Lord." And he gave Israel many chances to return. But they didn't. So God said, "I'm going to pour out my judgment." And God reserves the right to pour out judgment. And by the way, Israel, Jerusalem was conquered. And then Israel went into captivity. And one of the people in captivity was Ezekiel. So, when Ezekiel is prophesying, he's prophesying in a foreign land once they're in captivity, once Jerusalem has been conquered.

Ezekiel’s Visions and Ministry

Ezekiel 1 tells us he was at the river Shabbar, and this was five years into his captivity. Now, there was another full invasion of Jerusalem that completely conquered Jerusalem in 586 BC, but about 10 years before that was the first one. And Ezekiel went into captivity with that one. But five years into captivity, we know it's five years in because in Ezekiel 1 it says he had been in captivity five years or in the fifth year of captivity. But he gets a vision from God. Did anybody read Ezekiel 1? Well, in Ezekiel 1, we see the heavens are open to him. He sees the four living creatures, and then he sees a throne and an image of a man high above the throne, and he sees the glory of the Lord everywhere. What a beautiful thing to think about when you read Ezekiel 1. But all through Ezekiel, there are many times where we read that Ezekiel had a vision from God. Several times in Ezekiel, many times where he says the spirit of the Lord took him somewhere. The book of Ezekiel closes with a final vision from God to Ezekiel, and we know it's in the 25th year of his captivity. So, from chapter 1 to chapter 48, or wherever the final vision is shared, that's a period of 20 years.

Now, there's no way of knowing how old Ezekiel was for sure when he got his first vision that we read about in Ezekiel 1. In Numbers chapter 4, though, it tells us that priests' service to God was from ages 30 to 50. That's what it tells us in Numbers chapter 4. So, some scholars believe that since those visions from chapter 1 to the end of Ezekiel span out over 20 years, fifth year in captivity and 25th year in captivity, some scholars wonder. They say, "I wonder if Ezekiel might have been 30." In that final vision we read about, he was 50. By the way, Ezekiel was from the lineage of the priests. He was a priest of God and a prophet of God. And if so, that would fit in line with the service of the priests, which was from age 30 to 50. No way to know that for sure, but I did think it was a cool little thing to think about as you think about the prophecies that he's getting in captivity span out over those 20 years. But Ezekiel had a hard assignment. He was in a foreign land. Jerusalem had been conquered. God's people were in captivity. And he was prophesying to God's people in captivity, many of whom had already turned from God. A primary purpose of his ministry was to share the truth of the word so God's people would return to the Lord.

Ezekiel 37: The Valley of Dry Bones

Today, we're going to open up to chapter 37. This is a chapter that many are familiar with. Even if you don't know the chapter, when we read the passage, you might be familiar with this passage. The title is "Dry Bones Can Live." We're going to Ezekiel chapter 37. We're going to begin reading in verse one. I do invite anybody who would like and is able to stand with me in honor of the reading of the word of God. We're going to Ezekiel chapter 37, and we're going to begin reading in verse one there.

The word of God says, "The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. Then he caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and indeed they were very dry. And he said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' So I answered, 'Oh Lord God, you know.' Again, 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: Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.' So I prophesied as I was commanded, and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over, but there was no breath in them."

Verse nine: "Also he 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 breath came into them, and they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army."

Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, 'Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off.' Therefore, prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God, behold, oh my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves, oh my people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,' says the Lord."

God, thank you for your word. And God, I just thank you that as we read this passage, I know we can find encouragement and hope in it. Dry bones can live. Nothing is impossible with you, God. And God, today as we dig in this passage and as we continue to worship you through the preaching and teaching of the word of God, God, I pray you stir in hearts today for your purposes. We pray it all in Jesus' name. Amen.

Personal Reflections and God’s Revelation

You know, when I was reading through Ezekiel, actually, one thing I've really loved from a personal standpoint as we've been reading through the Bible on our own is that Crystal and I used to kind of have in the early mornings, I would have some quiet time, and she would have some quiet time before we got the day going. One cool thing that God's done for us is we've been reading through the books in the Bible together, and that's been really fun and really cool. And we were reading on the porch the other day, and Crystal, we hadn't even gotten to chapter 37, but that verse was on her heart, and she shared it, and I had been praying about where to go. You know, a lot of the sermons lately have been in line with what we're reading through the Bible. Not always, but a lot of times, whatever book we're in, we're taking a passage from there many times. And I said, "That's it." And I just know we're going to preach about dry bones.

Some of y'all might have heard a lot of sermons on Ezekiel 37. You might have heard a lot of sermons about this passage. It is a well-known passage. But one thing that hit me as I was reading through Ezekiel, really considering 37, but also considering chapter 1 and other places in Ezekiel where God, the spirit of the Lord, comes upon Ezekiel and kind of transports them. I was reminded that God can show his people things that this world doesn't see. God can show his people things that the world doesn't see. If you read through Ezekiel, you read about several times, I think at least five in different chapters, where Ezekiel gets some kind of vision. And it says there, as this passage opens up, "The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones."

So, Ezekiel, the way 37 abruptly changes gears from 36, all of a sudden we read that the spirit of the Lord, the hand of the Lord, the hand of the Lord is often referred to as the power of God when you read that in the Bible. But it says the spirit of the Lord just took him, and he took him to where God gave Ezekiel this vision, and he took him to this vision where he saw a vision of a valley. He was in a valley. Wherever God took him, he was in a valley, and he was in a valley that was filled with bones. You know, when we think about that, we're reminded, you know, God can take us somewhere and show us things that the world can't see. God, in a sense, transported Ezekiel in his mind or something. He took him to this area where he's in this valley, and he said dry bones. There were very many. There were a multitude of dry bones.

The Vision of Dry Bones

Now, when I think about Ezekiel being taken here to this valley where the spirit of the Lord took him, I just think about how, for one, maybe I wonder if that was kind of just sad. He sees this pile of bones, dry bones, and you get the feeling he knows that it's from people that have died. They died a lot of years back, the flesh eaten on them, the skin gone on them. It's dried out bones. And you're like, why in the world would God do this? Why would God show Ezekiel a valley filled up with multitudes of dry bones? Why would he do that? You know, when I think about that, I think about, has anybody ever had a time God showed you something? Something that maybe others didn't see, but God allowed you to see it. By the way, if you haven't, I don't get discouraged. I do believe now God could do it anytime for anybody, but I do believe when someone gives their life to the Lord, and they stay dedicated to the Lord, and they're day in, day out, week in, week out, month in, month out. This is just my opinion. I mean, you know, this is me talking. I'm not saying it's from the word of God, but I do believe the more dedicated we are and the more we follow the Lord, and the more we are in the word, and the more we're praying, and the more we're serving God, and the more we're living for God, we get moments where we get to hear from God. Amen. And we get moments where even God might even show us something really incredible that you don't normally hear about. And you think about it, it makes sense biblically. In the Bible, over and over, you're reminded God rewards obedience, right? But God's wrath can come out on disobedience. I mean, that's a big theme in the Old Testament.

So, if you're here today, and you haven't ever had those moments where you just have a moment with God, don't let that discourage you. But I do feel with all my heart, when we're dedicated to the Lord, we keep living for the Lord, we get those moments we feel the presence of God. When we take time with God, you know, when I read this, I can't help but think about the fact that God can show his people things this world can't see. You know, when I read this, and I read Ezekiel 1. In Ezekiel 1, a lot of what Ezekiel 1 talks about is the heavens were open to Ezekiel. If you go back and read that, it talks about these four living creatures. But then, towards the end of Ezekiel 1, it talks about how Ezekiel then, in that vision, saw a throne, and then he saw an image of a man referring to the Lord high and lifted up. And it talked at the end of Ezekiel 1, being all around it, around the Lord, and around the throne.

A Personal Testimony

And you know, when I read that, it made me think, I can't read that passage and not think about that moment that I finally answered the call when I was in McDonald's in Leland, and God answered a prayer. I had cried out that morning. If you give me a sign, there's a ministry position, I promise you, I'll answer it. And that morning, the pastor I'd met with nearly every week for four years, he said, "Joshua, I don't know if you're called or not, but if you are, God will make a way for your family. And if you are, there's almost definitely a ministry position that's going to be opening up at our church." And all I can explain at that moment was something supernatural happened. Brilliance was everywhere. In Ezekiel 1, he says, "It was the glory of the Lord." And that's the only way I know to describe what I felt and what I saw that day was the glory of the Lord. And I just think, who am I to get a moment like that? Now, I believe God had a purpose in that. I believe God's purpose was for me to finally quit running from the call because, finally, after four years of running, it's like I was too weak to trust. It's like God did it for me. The moment after that, I answered the call. It's like I was in the presence of God like I'd never been. It's like the strength of God was with me. And for two days, I had supernatural peace. Then Joshua came back and started worrying. But then God healed me and all that. But my point is, when you get those moments where God shows you something that the world doesn't normally see, just remember when you know it's from God that there's a purpose. I mean, a lot of times, God does that, and there's a reason. And with Ezekiel in chapter 37, there was most certainly a reason that God allowed him to see these dry bones.

The One True God

And I want to speak to that for a minute. You know, one thing I think about when Ezekiel saw these dry bones, and he had this vision, one reminder about it is, I believe, it's a reminder to us that there is only one true God. It says, as we go on into that passage, verse two, "Then he caused me to pass by the bones, passed by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and indeed they were very dry. And he said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' So I answered, 'Oh Lord God, you know.' Again 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: 'Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.'"

God asked Ezekiel, "Can these bones live?" And of course, the answer is yes. He says, "I'll bring them back to life." But look what it says at the end. It says, "Then you shall know that I am the Lord." I think, for one, Ezekiel had to have moments of being discouraged. I mean, his people had been conquered. He was in captivity. He was a prophet of God during the captivity. And God was making it clear to him, there's only one true God. When you see what's about to happen, you'll be reminded there is only one true God. And, by the way, I can just imagine Ezekiel went back, and I can imagine when he was prophesying during the captivity, I can imagine he can share what God did with this vision that he saw dry bones live again, and he was reminded to tell those people there is only one true God. And, by the way, that'd be a fitting message for Israel because a big reason that Jerusalem went into captivity, and Jerusalem was conquered, was because they were worshiping false gods. God detests that. He detests if we're worshiping false gods. There is only one true God. Sometimes somebody might say, "Well, what about this God? What about that God?" There's only one true God. There's only one true God that created the heavens and the earth. There aren't 10 or 20 or 30 or 100. There's one. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, our triune God. Only one true God. It was God that created everything in the beginning. Those first 10 verses in Genesis 1, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Man, if you can believe those and have faith that God did that, you can believe anything in the word of God in everything. But if you don't believe those, you're gonna have a hard time believing anything. It's about faith in the one true God.

And when we think about that, that he said, "Then you shall know that I am the Lord." I don't know if you're here today, and you're struggling to believe in the one true God. I hope you're reminded today there's only one true God. And there's only one true God that sent his son, Jesus Christ, down to this earth. And there's only one true God, Jesus, our Lord and Savior, that went to the cross and suffered and died and rose on the third day so that you and I could be forgiven. And there's only one way to heaven through believing in our Lord, our one true God. Believing that he died and believing that he rose on the third day. We've got to believe. Over and over in the scripture, it says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." We can make ourselves sick trying to logic it all out, trying to reason it all out, trying to say, "What about this? What about this?" It's about faith in the one true God. And if you're here today and you're struggling, I pray that you'll just have that freedom of just saying, "I'm trusting in you, God. I'm believing in you, God, and I'm giving my life to you or I'm returning to you or whatever it might be."

God Can Do Anything

Another purpose, I believe, of this vision, it's a reminder to us that God can do anything. Amen. God can do anything. It says in verse 7, "So I prophesied as I was commanded, and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling." I think there's a worship song Scott led today with the choir before that talks about rattling, talking about this passage here. There was a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over, but there was no breath in them. Also, he 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.'" Verse 10: "So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army."

You know, in this vision that God gave Ezekiel, there was all these bones, all these dry bones. Then there was this noise, there was this rattling, and just a multitude of bones came together. They came together, and it turned into humans, and they had flesh on them, and skin on them. Their breath came back. It had been a field of dry bones. Now these dry bones, God caused them to live in this vision that God gave Ezekiel. Dry bones can live with the power of God. And I hope that as we read this, we're reminded, yeah, this is a vision that God gave Ezekiel, but I hope we're reminded God can do anything. There's nothing impossible with God. I love what it says in Ephesians 3:20: "Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us." There's nothing God can't do. And today, if you are feeling hopeless, I hope you'll call out to God. You know, there's times when we have to bear things, but praise God, God is with us through them. Amen. Praise God. And praise God, if we're going through a tough season, I know the ladies started, Brenda and Anne started teaching today in the ladies' class about embracing this season, and the key verses from Ecclesiastes. There are tough seasons, but praise God, we've got God through them. Amen. But I'll tell you what else. God can do anything. God can do it. God can cause dry bones to live. God can do anything.

Have you ever had times where God's answered big prayers, and you just sat back, and you were surprised, but you really weren't because you know he is God, and God can do anything?

God Can Revive His People

And I just want to close with this. You know, I think a key takeaway in this passage is that God can revive his people. God can revive his people. This is a vision that God gave to Ezekiel where he allowed him to see this in this vision. Watch what it says in verse 11. After the dry bones came to life, then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel." In other words, he's saying this vision that I just showed you of these dry bones being dead but coming back to life, this represents the whole house of Israel. And they indeed say, "Our bones are dry. Our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off." Think about it. They were in captivity. Many of them would have been killed before. Many weren't taken. Many were killed by famine or by the sword or by pestilence. But these saw all that, and they saw their city conquered, and now they're in captivity. I mean, sure, they would have felt like all hope is lost, right? They indeed say, "Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off." Talking about being cut off from God.

Therefore, prophesy and say to them, "Thus says the Lord God, behold, oh my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know, there it is again, that I am the Lord. When I have opened your graves, oh my people, and brought you up from your graves, I will put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it," says the Lord.

God tells Ezekiel, "These bones that were dry, that were in this valley, that have just come together, and you've seen skin put on them, and you've seen a great army raised up. This represents my people." And God says, "Just like I had those bones come back to life, just like dry bones can live again, I can revive my people." God says, "There is hope for Israel. They will return. There is hope on this earth, and there is hope for eternity." Amen. God says, "Nothing is impossible with me. Even my people who feel hopeless, there's always hope with me." And God says, "I can revive my people."

A Call to Revival

You know, when I think about what we take away from this today in 2025, I believe it relates to us as believers and us as the church. God can revive his people spiritually. Amen. God can spiritually revive us. I wonder today, for those that are believers, do you need to be revived? Do you feel a little lukewarm? Maybe you even feel dead? Or maybe you just know you're not living out your Christian faith to the fullest. God can revive you. God can shake you. God can rattle you. God can raise you up. God can raise you up and do exceedingly abundantly more than you and I could think of. "Call to me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things that you do not know." God can revive his people.

So, one challenge I just say today, take it to God. Do you need to be revived? Do you want to be more on fire for God? God can cause dry bones to live, representing Israel to have hope again. God can revive you. God can work through you and his people in mighty ways. Now, I do believe we start to see it when we commit to him. We make that decision first to fully surrender our lives to Jesus. It's full abandonment. It's saying, "I believe in you." It's saying, "I know I'm a sinner. I'm flawed, and I know I can't be good enough to get to heaven. I need you, Lord. I'm abandoning all. I'm shutting out all those questions. I'm trusting you completely as Lord and Savior." And then, as a believer, it's that commitment to being dedicated to God. Sure, we're human still, and we're flesh still, and we're going to have moments we struggle, but we've also got the spirit of God living inside of us. And we're making that decision to say, "I'm going to be, as much as I can, with the Lord's help, I'm going to strive to live for the Lord. I'm going to strive to be a person calling out in prayer. Be a person in the word. Be at church. Be at worship. Be serving God. Honor God with the things he asks me to do in the word of God." And again, none of us do this perfectly. I'm not trying to say that. But when we start living for God day in, day out, week in, week out, month in, month out, year in, year out, God revives us.

So, maybe today you're here, and you just need to be revived. And another challenge I just close with is, maybe today, you know, today, as I think about this passage, in addition to us as believers, I just want to challenge our church family to remember that God can revive his people. Amen. God can revive his church. God can breathe new breath to his people and give new life. Amen. Do y'all want to see revival? Do y'all want to see revival? Man, I pray God that, and I know it's not going to be what I do in my strength or what you do in your strength. It's going to be God's people being dedicated to the Lord and being a people that call out in prayer. And when we call out in prayer, God will start putting revival in our own hearts. And, by the way, we are the church. Amen.

The Power of Prayer

You know, I want to see, and I would love to see God work in such mighty ways. I would love to see the Lord work in such mightier ways than any of us have ever seen in our life. I would love my kids to see God work in mightier ways than they have ever seen in their life. Than someone that's 80 or 90 today that's been in church 50 or 60 or 70 years. I would love for you to get to see God work mightier than you've ever seen in your life. And I believe with every fiber in me, God is faithful. I believe with every fiber in me, when God's people are dedicated, when we're dedicated, when we're saying, "Alright, God, what would you have me to do? How can I grow? God, how can I live for you more?" And when God's church is doing that, God is going to work. And if God can cause dry bones to live, God can revive his church.

And a big part is about prayer. And we have a lot of opportunities to come together with other believers to pray. Man, we've seen God answer prayers. As we've been calling out in prayer, we have seen God work. There is power in prayer. I would encourage everyone that's able, come out to those times of prayer where you're praying with the saints. Today, this morning, I just want to praise God. Two specific prayer requests I had, I saw answered this morning in church. God can do anything. We got to have faith, and we got to believe.

Closing with a Call to Prayer

And I just want to close today. You know, Psalm 143 says, "Revive me, oh Lord, for your name's sake." Psalm 85:6 says, "Will you not revive us again that your people may rejoice in you?" Right now, I just want to close with a time of invitation, a time to come and pray.