Those Dry Bones
by Peggy Harris W.A.S.H. Board Chair

Ezekiel 37 Good News Bible
“I felt the powerful presence of the Lord, and his spirit took me and set me down in a valley where the ground was covered with bones. He led me all around the valley, and I could see that there were very many bones and that they were very dry. He said to me, ‘Mortal Man, can these bones come back to life?’

“I replied, ‘Sovereign Lord, only you can answer that!’ He said, ‘Prophesy to the bones. Tell these dry bones to listen to the word of the Lord. Tell them that I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to them: I am going to put breath into you and bring you back to life. I will give you sinews and muscles, and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you and bring you back to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’

“So I prophesied as I had been told. While I was speaking, I heard a rattling noise, and the bones began to join together. While I watched, the bones were covered with sinews and muscles, and then with skin. But there was no breath in the bodies.

“God said to me, ‘Mortal man, prophesy to the wind. Tell the wind that the Sovereign Lord commands it to come from every direction, to breathe into these dead bodies, and to bring them back to life.’

“So I prophesied as I had been told. Breath entered the bodies, and they came to life and stood up. There were enough of them to form an army. God said to me, ‘Mortal man, the people if Israel are like these bones. They say that they are dried up, without any hope and with no future. So prophesy to my people Israel and tell them that I, the Sovereign Lord, am going to open their graves. I am going to take them out and bring them back to the land of Israel. When I open the graves where my people are buried and bring them out, they will know that I am the Lord. I will put my breath in them, bring them back to life, and let them live in their own land. I have promised that I would do this – and I will. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

The Parable of Dry Bones

Once upon a time, there was a church set in the middle of a beautiful land. In that church were many dry bones. These were dried up dead members who had lost hope and belief. They were dead but not buried. No wonder the church did not grow. No wonder the church had lost its vision. Some bones were dead because of hurtful words, some by the many different kinds of abuse and uncaring selfish attitudes that brought discouragement and a loss of hope to people. Some did not speak out in behalf of those suffering and thus became dead themselves. It was like a horrible contagious disease that was spreading throughout the church. It seemed that the church was doomed and would surely come to an ignominious end. Almost but not quite!

Once thriving vibrant members became drugged with the miasma of discouragement and succumbed to the hopelessness of darkness.

Then there was a still small Voice heard by these dead bones. For that is all they could do was to hear the very Word of the Lord. Gradually they came together, formed a great army and were revived in spirit and covered with God’s beautiful robe of righteousness. As this transformation took place it was truly a sight to behold. But one thing was still missing. They were still “dead” so there came the Sweet Holy Spirit who breathed on them and alive they were. They were finally ALIVE and that’s when things began to happen.

Because of the healing that took place in their lives, bringing them back from the open graves in and around church, they were now truly an awesome sight to behold. The drastic change could not help but be noticed by others looking on. The Spirit caught them all up and they gloriously delivered the message to the world around that that God indeed does SAVE SINNERS. Very soon their work was done and the met the King coming down from heaven to gather up His precious jewels from planet earth. These precious jewels that sparkled and shone with heaven’s glow had attracted many other souls to seek the Savior of the world. The fruits of the Spirit were found all over the small blue planet and gathered up in the great harvest to be taken to the land of never ending day where all tears were wiped away.

This page last updated on Sunday January 29, 2006 11:14 AM

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