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| Abraham Rattner, Valley of Dried Bones. |
Ezekiel 37:1-14
The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and placed me in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. He made me walk all around among them. I realized there were a great many bones in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said to him, “Sovereign Lord, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and tell them: ‘Dry bones, listen to the Lord’s message. This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: Look, I am about to infuse breath into you and you will live. I will put tendons on you and muscles over you and will cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
So I prophesied as I was commanded. There was a sound when I prophesied— I heard a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. As I watched, I saw tendons on them, then muscles appeared, and skin covered over them from above, but there was no breath in them.
He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath,—prophesy, son of man—and say to the breath: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these corpses so that they may live.’” So I prophesied as I was commanded, and the breath came into them; they lived and stood on their feet, an extremely great army.
Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope has perished; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to open your graves and will raise you from your graves, my people. I will bring you to the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. I will place my breath in you and you will live; I will give you rest in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord—I have spoken and I will act, declares the Lord.’”
So I prophesied as I was commanded. There was a sound when I prophesied— I heard a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. As I watched, I saw tendons on them, then muscles appeared, and skin covered over them from above, but there was no breath in them.
He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath,—prophesy, son of man—and say to the breath: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these corpses so that they may live.’” So I prophesied as I was commanded, and the breath came into them; they lived and stood on their feet, an extremely great army.
Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Look, they are saying, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope has perished; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to open your graves and will raise you from your graves, my people. I will bring you to the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. I will place my breath in you and you will live; I will give you rest in your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord—I have spoken and I will act, declares the Lord.’”
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Dancing bones? Did you hear them rattle in your imagination? Dead things don't get up and dance. It is an entirely miraculous situation. Ezekiel is given a vision for Israel. It is one of utterly unbelievable resolution for a people in exile. The most direct meaning of the text is an end to the exile. God's people would be reunited and allowed to be together in their promised homeland. It did happen. This tremendously amazing resolution is part of the history of Israel. So, this seemingly crazy moment in prophetic imagination became a reality! Though, it wasn't as dramatic and pointed or fast and dance-filled. The exiles returned over a period of time. Yet, this makes sense. So often we expect God to work swiftly and God is always teaching us patience and perseverance. A large part of the delays are from human stubbornness and rebelliousness.
Hmmmm. Does this sound at all familiar? Yes. Yes, it does. I remember the first time I heard that the pandemic could be ended with just 6 weeks of careful behaviors. I was pretty mad then. Now, I think it has helped me to see the immeasurable worth of the Church. That is, we are a people working and repeating that the premium Way of Christ is to "love one another." This not only leads to life is also leads to more community. Selfishness and greediness lead to problems, brokenness and isolation.
We hear the Good News in this story because we know that God is the overcomer of even death. No one is lost to God. What might seem like a Halloween is an Easter story from our heritage. We look at sad and dry things, times, places and people saying, "Oh, there is no way..." "We are not going to be able to get through this."
God asks us what is going to happen. We should follow the faithfulness of Ezekiel. The real takeaway from this story is that the prophet says, "Sovereign Lord, you know." This is the empty center in the middle of the tomb. God did it. God does it. Who moved the stone? Who can make dead ones live? God.
Alleluia! Christ is risen! We no longer look for the living among the dead!
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I enjoyed this devotion!
ReplyDeleteMade me remember the song I learned as a child,
"Dem bones gonna rise again"!