37:3 - God, in a vision, takes Ezekiel back and forth across a valley of dry bones. It is clear that there is nothing living...these bodies are not recently dead, they are brittle bones...there is no life in this valley. And God asks Ezekiel, "Will these bones live?" Ezekiel is unsure...he has seen first hand God's wrath...he has seen God pour out His judgment on the people of Israel because of their sin - he cannot answer definitively, so he says, "Only you know what is going to happen here God." Ezekiel knows that God may choose not to give the bones life, but also that God has the power to bring new life no matter how thick the stench of death is. Ezekiel faithfully understands that God has the power to do anything, but realistically knows that sometimes God chooses not miraculously act. Can we be faithful to God no matter how He answers our prayers? No matter what His will for out lives is?
37:5-12 - God tells Ezekiel to preach to the dry bones and he does. As he is prophesying to the bones, they begin to rattle together and muscle and sinew wraps itself around the bones...then skin is stretched across the bodies in the valley. After Ezekiel finishes preaching there are newly formed bodies everywhere, but they are not alive. The resurrection is a two step process, like the creation of man in Genesis, where God forms Adam and then breathes life into Him. This tells us that redemption is difficult...it is a battle...it does not comes easy, and the only way for it to bring new life is if the Spirit is intricately involved. God instructs Ezekiel to preach again - to call the "ruach" - the Spirit, the breath, the wind...to enter into the bodies in the valley. And the bodies spring to life...what was once utterly dead and lifeless is now living and active. God gives Ezekiel this vision as a reminder that new life is always possible...no matter how far gone a person is...no matter how corrupt a nation...there is always hope for redemption. It is hard work...it is not a quick fix...but if we invite the Spirit of God to enter into our lives, we can be recreated!
37:21ff - The two sticks represent the split kingdoms of Israel and Judah. God confirms that they will once again be brought back together under the leadership of a ruler from the line of David (Jesus anyone?). Though they have split and hate each other...though it seems like the relationship is irreparable...there is always hope when God is on the move.
38:11ff - The descriptions of Gog are most likely a symbolic picture of the enemies of God that surround the people of Israel. Ezekiel paints a pretty interesting picture here. The Jewish people have once again been restored to their relationships with God...they are living peacefully int he mountains of Israel. No longer are they trying to be like the rest of the world...going to war and chasing after false gods...they are living under the protection of God. But when the enemies that surround them see their peaceful ways, they begin to lick their chops...it will be easy plundering to storm into Israel and take everything from the defenseless Israelites. They will pour over the nation of Israel like a flood, expecting them to be easy prey...but they couldn't be more wrong...
38:21ff - As they attack Israel, God will pour out His judgment on them...they will be utterly crushed. The true strength of Israel lies with God. This prophecy highlights perfectly the source of true strength. The people around Israel mistakenly think that the Jews are weak because they are not building huge walled cities and living like the rest of the world. But they have a hidden strength that comes from God that is greater than anything in the world. This reminds me of the failed attempts to wipe Christianity off the face of the earth in the Roman Empire. It was easy to slaughter the early Christians who refused to fight back and refused to back down from their faith...but the more the Romans persecuted and killed...the more faithful the Christians became and the more the Gospel of Jesus Christ spread. They had a strength that the Romans could not overcome...you and I have access to the same strength. Do you tap into it?
39:7 - God's name will once again be synonymous with power and strength as it should be. God uses the Israelites who look weak by the standards of the world, as a signpost for His might...they are victorious by His power and not by their own.
39:17ff - In the ancient world, animals were always used as sacrifices to gods and then the people would feast on their flesh in celebration. But God flips the whole thing around...the animals will actually be the ones feasting on the flesh of the enemies of God (Pretty morbid stuff!). As the carrion birds feast, they declare the glory of the Lord through His great power.
39:23 - And finally God will be vindicated...finally the world will understand that Israel was destroyed and sent into exile because of their own sin, not because their God was too weak to protect them. God was in control all along...it was God that was in control of the enemies of Israel who were allowed to enslave them, and it will be God who restores the fortunes of Israel as well.
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