His relationship with God was a bit unusual. He only knew a couple of others like him that God spoke to directly. It was exhilarating at times and heartbreaking at times. It was also a heavy responsibility. God showed up on His own timing when He had something to say to His people. God’s timing didn’t always match up with his calendar, but Ezekiel had learned that when God spoke, he needed to drop everything and listen.
That day started normally. He left the house to take care of some business in town, while his wife washed clothes and his children played in the courtyard. In the midst of his errands he sat down on a short stone wall to rest a bit. And that’s when it happened. Out of the blue. Like always.
He felt the hand of the Lord on his shoulder, and in the blink of an eye the town disappeared. Ezekiel found himself in the midst of a valley he didn’t recognize. His eyes searched the top of the valley to see if he could identify any landmarks to get his bearing. He saw nothing familiar.
Then he looked down. He wished he hadn’t. The entire valley was full of bones. Human bones. He shuddered. He had seen death before, but never on this scale. What was God up to?
He felt the hand of the Lord on his shoulder again, and he seemed to float over the valley. He passed down one side of the valley, turned around at the end, and passed up the other side. He couldn’t take his eyes of the myriads of bones. As he stared at the bones while passing over them, Ezekiel came to the conclusion that the bones had been in the valley a long time because all the bones were very dry.
When he reached his starting point, God said, “Son of man, can these bones live?” (Ezekiel 37:3)
Ezekiel looked again at the hopeless mess of completely dry bones and thought how impossible it would be to reassemble all those bones, much less make the bones into living beings again. Rather than voicing his opinion to the Creator of the Universe he only replied, “O Lord God, You know.” (Ezekiel 37:3)
After a moment’s pause, the Lord spoke again:
“Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O 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.”’” (Ezekiel 37:4-6)
Ezekiel had faithfully passed along all the messages that God had given him up to this point. He had also done some things at God’s command that others thought were, well, a bit weird. But he had never spoken to a valley of dry bones – bones that would never hear what he had to say. That is until now.
Dutifully out of love and respect, Ezekiel obeyed. He stood at the head of the valley and prophesied over the dried bones just as God had asked. He didn’t know what he had really expected, but what he saw surpassed his expectations.
All of a sudden all the bones in the entire valley began to move – each one searching for the next connecting bone. As the bones moved they rattled. And that many bones rattling made a deafening sound. Ezekiel stood in amazement with his ears covered as whole skeletons began to appear out of the jumble of bones. But they weren’t finished yet. Muscles began to form on the skeletons in all the right places. Eyeballs appeared. Teeth filled in. At the very last, each body was wrapped in beautiful new skin with hair crowning the heads. Now the valley was filled with lifeless bodies instead of bones.
Once more God spoke, “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.”’” (Ezekiel 37:9)
Again Ezekiel obeyed and prophesied over the lifeless bodies. A gentle breeze began to stir. And then a mighty wind blew through the valley. Each body took in a deep breath, the eyes opened, and each one stood up. Where once there had been a valley of dry bones, there now stood a mighty army.
Ezekiel stood there trying to wrap his mind around what he just saw. He knew it was significant, but he was puzzled.
God put His hand on Ezekiel’s shoulder and smiled at him. The explanation was actually quite simple and beautifully profound. God’s people were like those extremely dry bones. They knew it, and they didn’t know how to change the dryness in their lives. They were full of despair and had lost all hope. What they needed was a resurrection, and Ezekiel now had just the message they so desperately needed.
“'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.’” (Ezekiel 37:14)
What about you? Are you feeling like a valley full of dry bones? Have you lost your joy and enthusiasm? Does it feel as though God is very far away? Have you lost your hope? You need a resurrection. The power of God's Word will do just that.
“Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert. The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen. This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.” (Isaiah 43:18-21)
This is why Binding Broken Hearts is passionate about getting God’s Word into prisons and into the hands of inmates who so desperately need the dry bones of their lives resurrected and instead filled with the living water of life. Because these are men and women who need Jesus most.
Perhaps you want to help spread the power of His Word to an inmate who desperately needs its power. If so, please consider becoming a financial partner with us. Click here to see how you can help.