Ezekiel 37 reminds me of the beginning, “Then the Lord God formed a manfrom the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). Life is precious because it is God-given. Adam was the first man and he is frequently blamed for getting us kicked out of the Garden. Adam was the first to sin, but he was not the last. In today’s chapter we are given a picture of the resurrection of Israel under the Messiah. It is important to note that many Jews expected Jesus to begin His eternal reign and many were devastated by the crucifixion. But Jesus promised He would come again to defeat the enemy and rule as King. The chapter begins with God bringing Ezekiel to “the middle of a valley; it was full of bones“. God asked him, “Son of man, can these bones live?” He was instructed to “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! …I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord’“. This is a picture of a nation being born again, “the bones came together… but there was no breath in them“. There are individuals today that are walking around but dead inside.
Ezekiel is told to speak the Word of God, “breathe into these slain, that they may live“. “And breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet a vast army… these bones are the people of Israel“. Before God breathed life into them they said, “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off“. God made a promise, “I will bring you back to the land of Israel… I will put My Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land“. And He gives His assurance, “I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it“. The God who spoke the universe into existence makes unbreakable promises.
NextHe promises the divided kingdom of Israel and Judah will be reunited, “I will make them into a single stick of wood, and they will become one in My hand… I will gather… and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation“. Not only will they never be divided again, but “I will save them from all their sinful backsliding“. How is that possible? “David My servant will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant“. Jesus, the Messiah, was called ‘Son of David’, but this prophesy will be fulfilled after His second coming. “I will put My sanctuary among them forever… I will be their God, and they will be My people“. But what about those of us that are not Jewish? We can receive the promise by faith. In John chapter 20, the resurrected Christ stands before doubting Thomas inviting him to see and feel His wounds. Jesus teaches, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed“. John concludes, “These are written that you may believethat Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name“.Friend, have you been trying to live without the Breath of Life? Know this, “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead… since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a Man.For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:20). Both the Word of God and the Holy Spirit are God-breathed. Today you can receive the covenant of peace. Thomas simply said, My Lord and my God!” What do you say?