Year 2, Week 21, Day 3 Bible Reading Observations

Year 2, Week 21, Day 3

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of Ezekiel 37-38.

Today’s reading continues the final major section of the Book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel 33-48 can be divided into two segments: Ezekiel 33-39 is composed of prophecies about the judgment upon but also the future restoration of Judah, while Ezekiel 40-48 is composed of Ezekiel’s vision about the new temple and new land. Ezekiel 37 is a significant vision that Ezekiel receives from the LORD concerning the future of the LORD’s people: “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?” (Ezekiel 37:1-3a). The vision that the LORD provides gives hope to a people who felt as though they had no future: “Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off” (Ezekiel 37:11b). Ezekiel 38, which is connected to Ezekiel 39, describes the threat of opposition that will emerge against the LORD’s people: “The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal” (Ezekiel 38:1-3).

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading is how the LORD describes that He will regather and renew His people: “Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 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” (Ezekiel 37:4-6). Israel’s current exile is akin to their death. But the LORD commands Ezekiel to prophesy the word to the dry bones. This powerful prophetic proclamation commands the resurrection of these bones. More to the point, the vision is a message of promise and hope for a people who are discouraged.

Ezekiel obeys the Lord’s command to prophesy to the bones: “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” (Ezekiel 37:7-8). The word of the LORD caused the bones to miraculously reconstitute themselves, but there still was no life. So, the LORD commands Ezekiel to prophesy to the wind so that breath will return to the bones: “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 37:9-10). As a result, the bones are resurrected to life, and the people stand as a huge army.

The meaning of the vision is supplied: “Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel…I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD” (Ezekiel 37:11a,12b-14). Israel would be renewed by the indwelling Spirit of God: “They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God” (Ezekiel 37:23). Israel would also be regathered to the Land as one people: “Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:21b-22a). And the one people would have one King: “And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms” (Ezekiel 37:22b).

The one King would come from the reestablished line of David: “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd” (Ezekiel 37:24a). This Davidic King would bring a new arrangement: “David my servant shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them” (Ezekiel 37:25b-26a). While this covenant is not explicitly mentioned as the New Covenant as Jeremiah labels it, this everlasting peace covenant speaks of the same terms: “They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes…My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore” (Ezekiel 37:24b,27-28).

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe