Dry Bones – Live

“Again He said to me, “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 NKJV

Oh Glory To God! A New Year and Living Bones! I cannot tell you how excited I was to be able to share my thoughts on this common and exciting chapter! Everyone knows we are in a time of awakening, and for those asleep, it certainly feels like their dry bones are rattling awake with life! And during the celebration of God creating us – what could be better then Him waking us back up, and reassembling us, essentially creating us again… wait, that sounds a little mixed. Let’s dig in.

Dear Heavenly Father – As always, please open eye to see and our ears to hear what you are saying! Lord – open our understanding that we may know you and give us wisdom. Please do not let us miss out on what you want and need from us today. Lord, I pray that your word prepares us and not scares us! We forbid the works and influences of fear over your word. And please keep us and bless us and shine your face upon us and pour out grace over us and give us peace! Thank you! – In Jesus name we pray, Amen

Today’s reading is from the book of Ezekiel, chapters 35-37 (embedded below the image below for your convenience). Today’s reading starts with a few more judgements then… the restoration of Jerusalem.  At least in the judgments we could see the Lords justice = love. And now here is all sorts of glorious hope. Restoration symbols and prophecy that speaks to the literal time line of the Jews returning to Israel, and for every restoration, as well as prophesy that points to the New Jerusalem, which will be like the Garden of Eden and the place where heaven and earth overlap again and God can commune with those on earth – when Jesus reigns here on earth, after the rapture and after the tribulation and after all the things.  It is easy to extract what belongs to the Babylonian period of time – the rest belongs somewhere else in time.  AND SO much of it belongs to a time, to a generation in which many believe God marks time with. A generation found in camps, looking like dead piles of bones. And from those dead piles of bones at Auschwitz, and other camps and from hiding all over the world, from those bones God restored and created in one day the nation of Israel!!!

I know we have been sleeping – and we woke up parched and some of us woke up without enough supplies. I know if feels like we were dead. But we did not have death touch us like the bone people of the concentration camps.  Actually, most of us slept in lush beds of comfort because we were lulled asleep by our feelings of security and our bountiful blessings.  Here – let’s read this:

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
“Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” Matthew 25:1-13 NKJV

First of all they all slept, even the wise. Second, He said He will seem to be late and you will need to be prepared.  Third – this is literally sandwiched among all the end time discussions of Jesus.  Jesus Himself said this parable is for you and me right now. Is Jesus coming tomorrow? I wish, but I don’t think so. He could, we have all already fallen asleep. And now we are waking up. Are we dry dead bones being restored like the passage in today’s reading? No. We are just a bunch of sleepy brides – it is very late.

I want the dry bones passage to mean revival and healing and blessings – but now is not that time. On the day the Lord created us and we celebrate Rosh Hashanah, we are reminded that the dry bones in the horrors of camps and from all the corners of the world were used by God and He restored His nation. This one is for that Nation – this passage is surrounded by overwhelming prophecy for the Nation.  And it is important, because that generation will not pass away (Matt 24:34) before we see our Savior!  Ah – there it is! There is our promise!

We do need to get into the secret place with God to get our oil filled – get prepared.  This means spend time talking with God, reading, studying, memorizing, meditating on the word of God! This means maintaining an attitude of worship – praying without ceasing. This means walking in the spirit and not by flesh. Can someone really do it? YES! I tell you yes! But you have to put the time into your relationship with God. You will get there as fast as you surrender to His will and humble yourself.

RELATIONSHIP:
Do you already have a relationship with a powerful God who cares about your every need because He loves you? Did you know my God can communicate with you and protect you – He has a plan for you to prosper if you just submit to His will and let His plan play out in your life!!! God wants a relationship with you and has already made a plan for your life. He loves you so much He sent His son to this world, to die as a sacrifice for your sins and rise from death with victory over sin and the ability to have a personal relationship with you.
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10 NIV
Here is a prayer for you to pray:
Jesus, I believe you are the way, the truth, the life, and the only way to the Father. I believe you are the son of God, you came to Earth and lived. That you died on the cross as a sacrifice for my sins, and rose again so that I may be saved from my sins and be able to get to know you. I declare: Jesus, you are Lord!
Therefore, I confess that I am a sinner and I ask that you forgive me of my sins and come into my life. Help me to turn away from my sins and transform me into what you have lovingly created me to be. Help me through a real personal relationship grow and accept your will for my life – that I may live in your blessings. Please walk with me, and talk with me – I accept a relationship with you and with our Father God, through you. In the name of Jesus I pray ~ Amen

MEMORY WORK: This month we have another great verse to pick up and swing when you need a sword in your hand!

1 John 4:4

NKJV – “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
NAS – “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”
ESV – “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
AMP – “Little children (believers, dear ones), you are of God and you belong to Him and have [already] overcome them [the agents of the antichrist]; because He who is in you is greater than he (Satan) who is in the world [of sinful mankind].”
NIV – “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

Thank you for reading.
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

BIBLE READING: Ezekiel 35-37 NKJV

Judgment on Mount Seir

35 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it, ³ and say to it, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, O Mount Seir, I am against you;
I will stretch out My hand against you,
And make you ^[a]most desolate;
⁴ I shall lay your cities waste,
And you shall be desolate.
Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

⁵ “Because you have had an ^[b]ancient hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, when their iniquity came to an end, ⁶ therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you have not hated ^[c]blood, therefore blood shall pursue you. ⁷ Thus I will make Mount Seir ^[d]most desolate, and cut off from it the one who leaves and the one who returns. ⁸ And I will fill its mountains with the slain; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those who are slain by the sword shall fall. ⁹ I will make you ^[e]perpetually desolate, and your cities shall be uninhabited; then you shall know that I am the Lord.

¹⁰ “Because you have said, ‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess them,’ although the Lord was there, ¹¹ therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will do according to your anger and according to the envy which you showed in your hatred against them; and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you. ¹² Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have heard all your blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are desolate; they are given to us to consume.’ ¹³ Thus with your mouth you have ^[f]boasted against Me and multiplied your words against Me; I have heard them.”

¹⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “The whole earth will rejoice when I make you desolate. ¹⁵ As you rejoiced because the inheritance of the house of Israel was desolate, so I will do to you; you shall be desolate, O Mount Seir, as well as all of Edom—all of it! Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’

Blessing on Israel

36 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord! ² Thus says the Lord God: “Because the enemy has said of you, ‘Aha! The ^[g]ancient heights have become our possession,’ ” ’ ³ therefore prophesy, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because they made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you are taken up by the lips of talkers and slandered by the people”— ⁴ therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, the hills, the ^[h]rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been forsaken, which became plunder and mockery to the rest of the nations all around— ⁵ therefore thus says the Lord God: “Surely I have spoken in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave My land to themselves as a possession, with wholehearted joy and ^[i]spiteful minds, in order to plunder its open country.” ’

⁶ “Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, and the valleys, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My fury, because you have borne the shame of the nations.” ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “I have raised My hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall bear their own shame. ⁸ But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come. ⁹ For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. ¹⁰ I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. ¹¹ I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and ^[j]bear young; I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do better for you than at your beginnings. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. ¹² Yes, I will cause men to walk on you, My people Israel; they shall take possession of you, and you shall be their inheritance; no more shall you bereave them of children.”

¹³ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because they say to you, ‘You devour men and bereave your nation of children,’ ¹⁴ therefore you shall devour men no more, nor bereave your nation anymore,” says the Lord God. ¹⁵ “Nor will I let you hear the taunts of the nations anymore, nor bear the reproach of the peoples anymore, nor shall you cause your nation to stumble anymore,” says the Lord God.’ ”

The Renewal of Israel

¹⁶ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ¹⁷ “Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds; to Me their way was like the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity. ¹⁸ Therefore I poured out My fury on them for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with which they had defiled it. ¹⁹ So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds. ²⁰ When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name—when they said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they have gone out of His land.’ ²¹ But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went.

²² “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. ²³ And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. ²⁴ For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. ²⁵ Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. ²⁸ Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. ³⁰ And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. ³¹ Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will ^[k]loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. ³² Not for your sake do I do this,” says the Lord God, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!”

³³ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will also enable you to dwell in the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt. ³⁴ The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. ³⁵ So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ ³⁶ Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken it, and I will do it.”

³⁷ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them: I will increase their men like a flock. ³⁸ Like a ^[l]flock offered as holy sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem on its ^[m]feast days, so shall the ruined cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

The Dry Bones Live

37 The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. ² Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. ³ And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”

⁴ Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. ⁶ 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.” ’ ”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the ^[n]breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and ^[o]breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

¹¹ Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. ¹⁴ 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.’ ”

One Kingdom, One King

¹⁵ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁶ “As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: ‘For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.’ ¹⁷ Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.

¹⁸ “And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not show us what you mean by these?’— ¹⁹ say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.” ’ ²⁰ And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.

²¹ “Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; ²² and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. ²³ They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

²⁴ “David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. ²⁵ Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. ²⁶ Moreover I will ^[p]make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. ²⁷ My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ²⁸ The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” ’ ”

Footnotes

1. Ezekiel 35:3 Lit. a desolation and a waste
2. Ezekiel 35:5 Or everlasting
3. Ezekiel 35:6 Or bloodshed
4. Ezekiel 35:7 Lit. a waste and a desolation
5. Ezekiel 35:9 Lit. desolated forever
6. Ezekiel 35:13 Lit. made yourself great
7. Ezekiel 36:2 Or everlasting
8. Ezekiel 36:4 Or ravines
9. Ezekiel 36:5 Lit. scorning souls
10. Ezekiel 36:11 Lit. be fruitful
11. Ezekiel 36:31 despise
12. Ezekiel 36:38 Lit. holy flock
13. Ezekiel 36:38 appointed feasts
14. Ezekiel 37:9 Breath of life
15. Ezekiel 37:10 Breath of life
16. Ezekiel 37:26 Lit. cut