"There is none so blind as those who will not see."
Matthew Henry
The Valley of Dry Bones
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man, can these dry bones live?"
I said, "O Sovereign Lord, you alone know."
Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, "Dry bones, hear the WORD of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lords says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon your and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.' " Ezekiel 37: 1-6
Bible notes: This vision illustrates the promise of chapter 36- new life and a nation restored, both physically and spiritually. The dry bones are a picture of the Jews in captivity--scattered and dead. The prophet Ezekiel felt like he was speaking to the dead as he preached to the exiles because they rarely responded to his message. But these bones responded! And just as God brought life to the dead bones, he would bring life again to his spiritually dead people.
The dry bones represent the people's spiritual dead condition. Your church may seem like a heap of dry bones to you, spiritually dead with no hope of vitality. But just as God promised to restore his nation, he can restore any church no matter how dry or dead it may be. Rather than give up, pray for renewal for God can restore it to life. The hope and prayer of every church should be that God will put his Spirit into it (Ez 37:14).
I said, "O Sovereign Lord, you alone know."
Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, "Dry bones, hear the WORD of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lords says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon your and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.' " Ezekiel 37: 1-6
Bible notes: This vision illustrates the promise of chapter 36- new life and a nation restored, both physically and spiritually. The dry bones are a picture of the Jews in captivity--scattered and dead. The prophet Ezekiel felt like he was speaking to the dead as he preached to the exiles because they rarely responded to his message. But these bones responded! And just as God brought life to the dead bones, he would bring life again to his spiritually dead people.
The dry bones represent the people's spiritual dead condition. Your church may seem like a heap of dry bones to you, spiritually dead with no hope of vitality. But just as God promised to restore his nation, he can restore any church no matter how dry or dead it may be. Rather than give up, pray for renewal for God can restore it to life. The hope and prayer of every church should be that God will put his Spirit into it (Ez 37:14).
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Take Away Points To Consider
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"The Holy Spirit is composer and conductor. He gives each member of the worshiping congregation sounds--which HE weaves, together in heavenly harmony." Fr. John Harper
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"Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the SPIRIT, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit." Galatians 6:7-8
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"I am immortal until the will of God for me is accomplished." David Livingstone
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"The wicked have a never-dying worm and the godly a never-fading crown." Thomas Watson
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Westminister Collection of Christian Quotes complied by Martin H. Manser, JKP, ISBN #0-664-22258-7 and NIV Life Application Study Bible notes Ezekiel 37: 1-6, Zondervan Press
Westminister Collection of Christian Quotes complied by Martin H. Manser, JKP, ISBN #0-664-22258-7 and NIV Life Application Study Bible notes Ezekiel 37: 1-6, Zondervan Press
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