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. Ezekiel 37:1,2 (English Standard Version)
The hand of the Lord is upon the priest Ezekiel, and the Spirit of God brings him to a valley, away from the distractions and hullabaloo of his environment.
A valley is indicative of a nose dive, a deep plunge, a low moment, an experience that takes away strength and excitement from you; that weakens, depletes or reduces you; a shallow phase of your life.
He is already in a valley, that is bad enough. But more to this valley where Ezekiel is brought to by the spirit of God is … it is full of dry bones.
Everyone craves a mountain top experience, a season of joy, laughter and dreams fulfilled… but what the Lord offers Ezekiel this morning is a journey through a valley. ‘Alright Lord, as long as You are here with me it’s all good’.
But lo Ezekiel, all around you, are bones – very many and very dry.
Okay, so right here in the midst of God’s will, with the hand of the Lord resting heavily upon him and the Spirit of God clearly ushering him around… is not a table furnished for him ‘in the presence of his enemies’ but heaps and heaps of sun-baked bones… Like Daniel, when he had to face the lions; and Paul, when he had to suffer imprisonment, shipwreck and floggings while fulfilling divine purpose… God ordered the steps of his servant Ezekiel to a place he would rather not be….
This is a valley that only promises hopelessness, disillusionment and discouragement. It is a situation beyond repair. Like Jairus, whose daughter was so gravely ill he ran out of the house against the judgment of his fellow rulers, sought Jesus, found him by the sea and entreated him to come before it got too late… and then the unclean woman showed up and delayed him, even made away with the healing virtue he was hoping Jesus would use on his sick child… and just as that drama was getting over, a dark emissary from home: ‘Don’t bother the master anymore, your daughter is now dead…’ Of course when they got to his house, first the wailers and then his daughter’s body lying lifeless on her bed, were enough proof of the bleakness of the situation…
Bones… very many…very dry.
This is a cause for alarm Ezekiel…
… “Son of man, can these bones live?”
What a jolt to his consciousness! Ezekiel is definitely thinking of a thousand things as the Lord leads him by the valley but ermmm… the bones coming back to life???…
This is a question for his conscience; the aftermath of this moment would rest on the answer he provides. This question is meant to unlock the unseen unspoken thoughts of the son of man. Here he is, gazing at the situation around him, stumbling as he walks among the dry bones… Of all the myriad of thoughts going through his head, not one of them is the possibility of the bones living again. He may have thought of how on earth under heaven’s watch he got there… wondered how those bones might have looked like when they still had life in them… meted out blames on whoever was responsible for their fate… thought of running far far away from it all, contemplated separating himself from the reality before him, probably packing up and moving on… and then God asks, ‘Can’…?
Before a situation where all hope is lost; too many bones – where does one begin? They have been dead a long long time – from where will life emerge?… God suggests a possibility… ‘Can…?’
Can these bones live? He didn’t ask ‘How can these bones live?’ He didn’t say ‘Make these bones live.’ He didn’t declare ‘I can make these bones live.’ He simply asked his son ‘Can these bones live?’
Are you in a valley?…. A deep valley… Full of bones…. Very many bones… Very dry bones… Have you hit the red button already?… Frenzy! Panic! Scare! Puzzlement! It’s an EMERGENCY!!!
Oh God! My marriage! My children! My finances! My health! My ministry! My school work! My career! My boss! My relationship! My parents! My childlessness!….
…Because we misinterpret His question of our conscience and we rush into the work of the same…. Trying to fix it, trying to understand why, trying to run away, trying to pray… reciting scriptures out of fear than of knowledge and trust, stuttering panicky prophecies, fasting in unbelief….
He sits and waits for your conscience to ingest and correctly digest the thought: Can…. these … bones … live?….
For it is in your response that your next instruction lies....
Sista Mercie
#Ezekiel37 #LiveAgain
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