Dem bones, Dem bones them Dry bones
Dem bones, Dem bones them Dry bones
Dem bones, Dem bones them Dry bones
Now Hear the Word of the Lord.
Then I started to think about all the crime drama shows on TV. There is one though that is a little different than the others. That is the show Bones on the Fox Network. It seems to have a little intellectual edge to as it emphasizes forensic anthropology and archeology. The main character "Bones" is logical and trusts her experience and observation. She thinks there is a rational reasons to everything in life. She might not get the pop culture when folks around her make references to slang, metaphors, or movie quotes. When that happens she utters her signature line, "I don't know what that means." Bones gets bones as they refer to crimes and what happened. But what if she were standing in the valley of dry bones describes in Ezekiel 37:1-14?1 The hand of the LORD was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 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. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you 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.’”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.’”
My guess is Bones would stand amid it all a little confused. She would probably taken aback as the bones came together in human form. Then she would utter her signature line, "I don't know what that means. " we might too as we stand there in that valley. The scene is weird, irrational and has no rational explanation. But this vision given to Ezekiel by God can inform us as individual Christ followers and the corporate Body of Christ.
This vision comes as the people of Israel are in exile after the Babylonians have scorched the earth and sacked Jerusalem. God warned them what would happen if they were unfaithful. After being displaced and even losing their faith, is it any wonder in an earlier chapter they cry out to Ezekiel, "How then can we live?" The way our world is sometimes we ask the same question, "How then can we live in this world?" Haven't we asked that question too? Maybe you have made these statements. "I feel spiritual dried up. I haven't heard from God in years. My prayers feel like they never leave the room." These fell hopeless. No God. No end in sight.
But even thought we may cry out feeling spiritually dead, these cries, these laments, are a sign of life in us.Real change comes in honesty and vulnerability before God. Read the Psalms or Lamentations and you too will read and hear how the great saints before us endured the dark nights of the soul. We find hope again by embracing our spiritual despair. Ezekiel had to see death before he could be shown new life. There is no rational answer. But only one that can come from God. In this place Ezekiel knew that answer could only come from God to bring life. Life literally came into death as He prophesied to the wind and the life entered the "dead" bodies before him.
The only way Ezekiel knew this was because what happened to the bones had first happened to him. What God does for us, God first of all did for Jesus. God overlooked the generations of Israel's dry and decaying spiritual life and provided undeserved blessings again. This is also know as grace. Life into death. We always have hope. There is no situation beyond God's reach. They need God's holy breath/Spirit to give us the new life.
I have a lot of favorite movies. One that I enjoy is Tommy Boy starting Davide Spade and Christ Farley. Chris plays Tommy Boy a "screw up" of a son seeking redemption from his past mistakes. Towards the end of the movie there is redemption. He loves to get out in his boat, onto the water and sail. He does that bit there is no wind. Nothing happens. That can happen to us too. We thing if I just do this something will happen. When it doesn't we get discouraged. But no matter what difficult, dry bone time we are in, we need to keep placing out boast in to the water, shove up and raise sail. All the while praying to God, begging God, lamenting in prayers with hope and faith, that God's Holy Breath will come into us, we willingly accept it and receive new life. But it does not end there for us as Christ followers. We have to then share that with others who see nothing but a dry, dusty valley of bones.What have been the dry bones times in your life?
How did God breathe life into death for you?
What gives you hope in the tough times?
Try just taking a deep breath...breathe in God's Spirit! Peace as we prepare for Holy Week!
Michael W. Smith's Breathe... http://youtu.be/XgUAvMyclbU
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