CHAPTER 37 THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES AND THE UNITING OF ISRAEL/JUDAH UNDER THE COMING DAVID. The first part of the chapter (1-14) is a vivid description of the restoration of God's people by the activity of His Spirit, as previously described in Ezekiel 36:26. The second part (15-28) is a promise of... [ Continue Reading ]
‘The hand of Yahweh was on me, and he carried me out in the Spirit of Yahweh and set me down in the midst of a valley (or ‘plain'), and it was full of bones. And he made me pass by around them and behold there were a great many in the open valley, and behold they were very dry.' Once again Ezekiel e... [ Continue Reading ]
THE VISION OF THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES (EZEKIEL 37:1). This vision is not directly an illustration or promise of physical resurrection. Ezekiel nowhere gives any indication of expecting a resurrection of the dead. It is a pictorial representation of the coming spiritual revival of Israel, given to s... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord Yahweh, you know.” Then God questioned Ezekiel as to whether he thought that anything could bring the skeletons to life. The reply would have seemed obvious. But Ezekiel had seen many wonders and was cautious. So he gav... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Again he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, O you dry bones, hear the word of Yahweh. Thus says the Lord Yahweh to these bones, Behold I will cause spirit (or ‘breath') to enter into you and you will live. And I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover... [ Continue Reading ]
‘So I prophesied as I was commanded, and as I prophesied there was a great noise, and behold an earthquake (or ‘shaking' or ‘rattling'), and the bones came together, bone to his bone, and I beheld and lo, there were sinews on them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above. But there was no bre... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the spirit (wind, breath), prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit (wind), Thus says the Lord Yahweh, Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe on these dead men that they may live.” ' But then he was to call on the spirit/breath/wind calling it to breathe... [ Continue Reading ]
‘So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up on their feet a huge army.' Ezekiel fulfilled God's commands. He prophesied to the spirit, and life came into that great army of men and they lived. Note the emphasis on the many, the ‘huge army'. It wo... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold they say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is lost. We are cut off for us (or ‘our thread of life has been cut off').' Therefore prophesy and say to them, thus says the Lord Yahweh, ‘Behold I will open your grave... [ Continue Reading ]
THE TWO STICKS AND THE UNITING OF ISRAEL. ‘The word of Yahweh came again to me saying, “And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick 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... [ Continue Reading ]
“And when the children of your people speak to you saying, ‘Will you not show what you mean by these?', you say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh. Behold I will take the stick of Joseph which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions, and I will put them with it, even with... [ Continue Reading ]
“And say to them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh, Behold I will take the children of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them to their own land, and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will be king... [ Continue Reading ]
“Nor will they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions, but I will save them out of all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. So will they be my people, and I will be their God.” The verse... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FUTURE, BOTH TEMPORAL AND ETERNAL. “And my servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will also walk in my judgments and observe my statutes, and do them. And they will dwell in the land which I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers dwelt. An... [ Continue Reading ]
“Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them. It will be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will give to them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also will be with them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. And t... [ Continue Reading ]