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The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”
Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”’”
So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.
Also 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 breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: ‘For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.’ Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.
“And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not show us what you mean by these?’—
“Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again.
“David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever.”
—From Ezekiel 37 (NKJV)

Meditation

Matthew writes that John the Baptist, shortly before Jesus was baptized, once provocatively said to a crowd of religious leaders, “Do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees” (Matt. 3:9–10).

John was referencing Isaiah’s statement that Abraham was the rock upon which Israel was built (Isa. 51:1), along with his prophecy that the house of Jesse would be cut down to a stump.

John may also have been thinking of another prophecy—the “awakening” in Ezekiel’s vision of a valley of dry bones.

The prophet Ezekiel was prone to fantastic visions and dramatic acts, once lying on his left side for 390 days, then on his other side for another 40. Still, the cinematic vividness of his prophecy of the dry bones can’t help but capture our imaginations. He saw old bones rising, sinews growing and attaching, flesh wrapping around, covering with skin, and breath breathing into them like a wind.

The word breath is used in Ezekiel 51 times. The Hebrew, ru’ah, is the same used in Genesis when God breathed life into Adam and Eve. It is used by Isaiah referencing the Holy Spirit (63:11), and as the Spirit (ru’ah) of God that hovered over the waters in Genesis 1. Is it any surprise that Ezekiel is called The Prophet of the Spirit?

Like Isaiah’s prophecy about the Tree of Jesse, Ezekiel’s Dry Bones had a meaning for the day and time during which he wrote. Judah and Israel were both now in captivity, in need of freedom and life.

Ezekiel was unique among the prophets. Let us recall from yesterday how the united Israel split into Israel in the North and Judah in the South. Most prophets were called to one kingdom or the other—Jonah, for example, prophesied to Israel, while it lasted, and Isaiah to Judah. Ezekiel, however, was called to both, even though the kingdom of Israel had fallen some 130 years before. And so Ezekiel’s words were a promise to the newly conquered people of Judah. They would one day be free, and united with their lost brethren.

But this prophecy, like many of Ezekiel’s, has not yet come to pass.

“But this prophecy, like many of Ezekiel’s, has not yet come to pass.”

Theologians have discussed the meaning of Ezekiel’s vision at length. It was almost certainly evidence of a belief in a physical resurrection (as opposed to a disembodied spirit-only resurrection).

Yet it also points to a spiritual raising up. The physical raising from the dead, the bodily resurrection, cannot be complete without the breath of life, of the Holy Spirit.

Spiritually, the people in Ezekiel’s day were dead in their hearts, as were the religious leaders in Jesus’ day. Jesus regularly called the Pharisees “dead men’s bones” (Matt. 23:27) and graves (Luke 11:44).

And so Ezekiel is foretelling a raising up of all who are children of Abraham, some of whom will be raised up like stones from among the Gentiles. We will all be spiritually united by one Shepherd who would come from the line of David, Christ.

At the time of Jesus, the religious leaders believed the Messiah would come to raise an army like the army of Dry Bones. They waited for their Messiah to lead this army to defeat Rome and restore their independence.

As is so often the way of God, their expectations were turned upside-down. The Messiah came as a Shepherd-King, born in a stable, to bring the dwelling place of God among humanity as it was in the beginning.

Inspiration

Valley of Dry Bones

Gustave Dore, 1866. Dry, old, yet returning to life before Ezekiel’s eyes.

Music

The Cherry Tree Carol is an Appalachian song. Notice that Jesus’s birthday is the 6th of January—Epiphany!

Enjoy Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming. “Isaiah ’twas foretold it, The Rose I have in mind; With Mary we behold it, The virgin mother kind.”

Visit our Joy of Advent YouTube playlist for featured videos, our Ultimate Christmas playlist for all our favorite carols, or our sing-along carols to enjoy karaoke style.

Reflection

What do you expect from God? Many of us have often unspoken expectations for God—His will, His work, His answers to prayers. The Pharisees missed the Messiah because they couldn’t comprehend a God so full of surprises, so full of grace. Are you willing to let your expectations be challenged or changed? Reflect today on how your expectations might be limiting your understanding of God and His work in your life.

Prayer

O sacred Lord of ancient Israel, who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush, who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain: come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free.

My soul magnifies the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid;
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed;
Because He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name;
And His mercy is from generation to generation
on those who fear Him.
He has shown might with His arm,
He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, mindful of His mercy
Even as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity forever.

Family Celebration

Bones remind us of God’s promised resurrection.

In your child’s favorite Children’s Bible, read the story of Ezekiel’s prophecy.

Say: Do you ever think about how amazing your body is? God gave you bones and muscles and skin. But what we’re made of is only part of what makes us alive. We have a spirit or soul too. In our story about Ezekiel, God covers bones with flesh and skin, but those bodies aren’t alive until God breathes life into them. Our symbol today is bones to remind us that we need the Holy Spirit to make us alive to God.

Especially for Toddlers and PreK

Resources

Are you enjoying the music selected? Joy of Advent has a YouTube Playlist with more than 200 of the best Christmas songs on the platform.
Enjoy a printable coloring page of the Prophet Ezekiel.
Would you like to make Jesse Tree ornaments to accompany your readings? Find tutorials and ideas from simple to advanced at our Jesse Tree Ornaments Pinterest board.

Recent Resources from Joy of Advent