Today, as I begin I have looked at verse after verse and the same thing keeps coming up and I am not sure why I am to write about it but here it goes. May the Lord use these words to bless you today.
As I began to read my Bible opened to Ezekiel 27, The Valley of Dry Bones. The Mennonite Men’s Chorus sang a I song that I really liked called Dry Bone.
Dry Bones
Ezekiel cried, “Dem dry bones!”
Ezekiel cried, “Dem dry bones!”
Ezekiel cried, “Dem dry bones!”
“Oh hear the word of the Lord.”
Today I read the scripture concerning those dry bones, the Lord is speaking to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 37: 1- 14
Ezekiel 37: 1 – 6 “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 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, ‘O 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.’”
Often times I lose heart when I see people that I think are a lost cause. They might as well be dry bones in the valley because they have rejected the LORD and His ways for so many years. They are most certainly dead in the Spirit. I begin to think there is no hope for them, God must have hardened their heart years ago and now it is over for them. But, as I read this scripture, I see that God is the only One who gets to decide when all hope is gone. Ezekiel is looking at a whole bunch of dry bones laying on the ground all disconnected. These are people who have rejected God time and time again. They rejected God and they are dead. Do you know anyone spiritually dead? Remember that Ezekiel was called to prophesy to the dry bones and we too need to tell others of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.
As the scripture goes on, these dry bones become connected but there is no breath in them.
Ezekiel 37: 7 – 10 “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.”
Are there people in your life who seem to have all the right parts, everything is put together so nicely but there is no spiritual breath in them. They are walking around dead in Christ but they need the breath of life through Christ Jesus our LORD. So many times we fail to think about these people who seem to have it all together. Are we ministering to them? Are we calling upon the LORD to bring breath into their lives? Have you ever stepped out from a stuffy room into a cooler area and took a deep breath and got some of that fresh air. Oh, it felt so good! That is the way it is with a life in Christ, you ask Him to breathe His Spirit into you and it a like a breath of fresh air, a hundred trillions times over! That must have been how the disciples felt in John 20:21-22 when Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection. (21) “Again, Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ (22) And with that He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.’”
The Israelites today are still fighting for their land. Many of them know the Bible better than many Christians in America. They believe Jesus has come to this earth and was a great teacher but most of them do not believe He is their Savior. Their eyes have been closed, they have been blinded. They do not have the hope and a future, or do they? God wants all of us to know Him, He wants all of us to recognize Him and the people of Israel are no exception. Because they rejected Him and the salvation through Jesus Christ does not mean that they will be dead forever but anyone who continues rejecting Him will be dead with no hope. Christ came that all may know Him which includes the Israelites and the Gentiles.
I have heard it said that the Jews are migrating back to their homeland even today. Is God calling them home? There is still fighting going on in the Middle East and battles over territory. This is nothing new; you can read about it throughout the Old Testament. But God is not done, He has a mighty plan and it is all about us recognizing Him as Lord. Peace in the Middle East, we pray for it and someday when His people recognize Him as Lord, that peace will come. Just like it comes to each individual who recognizes the LORD, the great I AM, and the breath of the spirit is breathed in.
Ezekiel 37:11- 14 “The He said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house 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: ‘ O 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.’
Miracles, are they there just to make our life better? Note, Ezekiel prophesied that these things would come to pass but so that they would recognize the LORD and His mighty hand. Do you ask for miracles to please you, to make life easier? Or do you pray for miracles in order for God to have the glory? It is clear in these scriptures that the LORD wants the people to recognize Him. Is your life just dried up bones, with no hope? Are you struggling to see any joy in life? Have you recognized the LORD? The breath of life comes from the LORD. Ask Him today to breathe the breath of life in you. The LORD will be glorified but you too will have a peace that can not be understood. Do you know someone who has a life of dried up bones? Be sure to share with them, the hope through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We should never give up and mark someone as a lost cause because God can take those bones, put them together and breathe new life.
Trusting that you will seek Him and know Him more as you seek Him with all your heart.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
No comments:
Post a Comment