“1
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the
Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2And he
led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of
the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3And he said to me, “Son of man,
can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4Then he said to
me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of
the Lord. 5Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath
to enter you, and you shall live. 6And I will lay sinews upon 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.” 7So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I
prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came
together, bone to its bone. 8And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on
them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no
breath in them. 9Then 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.” 10So I prophesied as
he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on
their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11Then
he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold,
they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut
off.’ 12Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I
will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will
bring you into the land of Israel. 13And you shall know that I am the Lord,
when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14And I
will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your
own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do
it, declares the Lord.”
The
picture of hope for life in a valley of dry bones is beautiful! Each of us knows someone that is seemingly a
“lost cause” when it comes to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. They are steeped in a life of sin, fail to
see their need or maybe have never heard how Jesus’ death on the cross paid the
price necessary for us to enjoy eternal life free from the bondage of sin. How much more “dead” can one be, that just a
pile of bones, dried from the elements, and lacking any skin, vital organs or
the life blood and breath necessary to provide earthly presence. This miraculous event in the history of the
nation of Israel shows how God can give life to anyone, despite having all hope
lost.
Who
will you encounter today who has never heard?
What dear friend or loved one have you decided will never receive God’s
gift of salvation? These dry bones can
still receive the Spirit and they can live!
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