“The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And He led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ And I answered, ‘O Lord GOD, You know.’ Then He said to me, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.’ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.” (Ezekiel 37:1-10 ESV)
A valley of dry bones! What a creepy picture. And yet, after the year we’ve had, we can relate to this, can’t we?
Pandemic. Lost loved ones. Lost jobs and businesses. Political chaos. Racial unrest. A sense that life has changed, and some of the things we miss the most may never be coming back.
Dry bones—hopeless, lifeless, silent. Just existing, nothing more.
And then the Lord takes a hand. He commands Ezekiel to call out to the bones: “O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! I will raise you up, and remake you, and you will live. And then you will know that I am the Lord.”
Ezekiel does as he’s told. He gives God’s word to the bones. And then it starts. A rattling noise! The bones are slithering together across the valley floor. Eek! But there’s more. Sinews—tendons—flesh and organs, appearing where they used to be. Organs. Skin and hair. Fingernails. And finally, breath—the breath of life that makes us truly alive again, the Holy Spirit of God who comes to us and makes these dry bones live.
I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling pretty dry. And there’s nothing I can do about it, really, except to lie here—and to wait with hope for the God of mercy. He knows where my dry bones are. He knows the state I’m in. And He has promised to me and to you and to everyone who trusts in Jesus, to raise us up again and to give us life. We can’t do it, but He can. Jesus lay down His own life for ours, to make it happen.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, see my situation; breathe in me; help me; cause me to live for You. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reprinted with permission from Lutheran Hour Ministries
Reflection Questions:
1. What is happening in your life right now that might make you feel like old, dry bones?
2. How do you handle times of suffering?
3. Tell about a time when God breathed new life into you.