Today In The Valley Of The Dry Bones by Rob Haynes

I talk to many people today who seem anxious. There is a great deal of anxiety due to global conflicts, national elections, or a myriad of issues that continue to fester around the world. The attack on Christians and Christianity from people of power and influence seems to be on the rise. The answers to these problems are complex and will take years to answer. 

A World Contrary to God’s Command

We should not be surprised that the world is full of teaching and practices contrary to God’s commands and principles. Jesus said as much to his followers on several occasions. Having grown up around farms and farming, I can hear the wise old men looking at me and saying, “You shouldn’t be surprised when you look at the cow pasture and see cattle.” A careful reading of Scripture tells us that the world around us will often be hostile to Jesus’ teaching. However, for the follower of Jesus Christ, we need not lose hope. Rather, God’s Word is full of examples when He calls His followers to speak words of life-changing truth and hope.

Ezekiel and the Valley of Dry Bones

One such example is in Ezekiel’s journey to the valley of the dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14—take a minute to read that now). The Israelites are living in captivity and a long way from the Promised Land. God calls his prophet Ezekiel to a valley full of dried up bones. God asks Ezekiel if he thinks that there is hope for the death and desolation around him. The prophet’s answer to this challenge is, though his faith is small, God—in whom his faith lies—is great. These bones can live, Ezekiel says, if You will make it so.

The Power of Prophesying Life

Though God could have made those bones alive again without help, He tells Ezekiel to “prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” (v.5) I am always fascinated and humbled that God asks His followers to be a part of His work in bringing healing and restoration on Earth. Though God does not need our help, he gives us the joy and privilege of being part of His work. Sometimes we misunderstand the term “prophecy” and think it only means foretelling. It also means forthtelling: speaking the truth in love. Here Ezekiel speaks forth the promises of God and reassures them that He will resurrect them from the grave of their crippling anxieties, of their shattered hopes and dreams. God’s Word is the source of life and vitality they are seeking. 

When Ezekiel spoke to the bones, miraculous things happened! The bones were gathered together; they grew flesh and resumed the form of living things. Yet, there was work to be done. Though they had the form of humanity again, there was no life in them yet. God told Ezekiel to prophesy—to speak the truth again—to them so that there would be breath and life in them. Then, what was once a valley full of dry bones, now contained an abundance of life—“the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.” (v.10)

A Message of Hope for Today

While this message was originally given to Israel to remind them that God would gather them together and give them new life, the message applies to Christ’s followers today. Many in the world today are unknowingly lying lifeless in the valley. Many of Jesus’ followers are looking for the mountain tops from which they call yell down into these valleys, far from the effects of being in that valley inanimate bones and decay. Maybe it is time for each of us to listen carefully for God’s commands anew. He may be calling us into a valley of bones–not to become one of them, but to speak truth and life in the middle of a broad road that leads to death and destruction. Our job is to go where God calls, to speak the word of the Lord, and to let him bring new life in the darkest and driest places.