The hand of Jehovah was upon me, and Jehovah carried me out in the Spirit, and set me down in the midst of a valley; and it was full of bones.
God's hand takes hold of the prophet and sets him down among the dry remains of the dead. Two questions run through everything that follows: who are these bones, and who can do anything with them?
Ezekiel does not choose this valley. God's hand puts him there, and a servant's work always starts that way.
Notice the order: an opened heaven, a vision, the call, and then power from God to serve. This is still the order for the servants of the Lord. The phrase "the hand of the LORD was upon him," or came upon me, is found seven times in Ezekiel, in chapters 1:3, 3:14 and 22, 8:1, 23:22, 37:1, 40:1.
Readers pull this chapter in several directions, so the subject has to be settled first.
This section contains a striking vision and a plain explanation of it. This is not about the conversion of the soul, or the resurrection of the body. It is about God making Israel live again one day as a people. At that time they were swept away, with no national life left.
God leads the prophet around the bones. Nothing there is half alive.
There is no mingling here of the dead and the living as the prophet sees them. Every one of them has lost life. They are only the dry, scattered remains of the dead. The prophet is challenged by the question: "Son of man, can these bones live?" To man of course this is impossible. No one has ever crossed from death to life except by the power of God alone. And whatever they think of themselves now, this is the state out of which God will revive them at last.
Later in the chapter God promises to open graves. Some take that literally, but these bones talk, and dead bodies do not.
When we read here in Ezekiel about graves, we must not take them to mean literal graves. The graves are a symbol of the nation buried among the Gentiles. If these dry bones meant the physically dead of the nation, how could we explain that they speak and say, "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost"?
The vision also names a destination, and that settles who these bones are.
Whatever use we make of the vision, its plain meaning is God's revival of His ancient people Israel — then destroyed, dead and buried, but still to leave their graves according to the word of the Lord: "These bones are the whole house of Israel." He declares that He will dig them out of the graves where they now lie buried as a nation. He will also bring them into the land of Israel. That outcome suits neither those risen from the dead nor souls converted to God now by the gospel. What have we to do with the land of Israel?
The revival comes in stages. The bodies come together first, and they are still dead.
He sees the bones come together and the flesh cover them, and the form given, while yet there is no breath from on high. Then he is told to prophesy to the winds. In the Lord's own words, the wind is a picture of the Spirit. From the four winds the breath comes into these slain men, and now they live. A moment before they were lifeless, scattered wrecks of a life that was gone. Now they are at once an exceedingly great army, the hosts of the Lord.
Preachers have long used this chapter to call sinners to Christ. One writer allows that use, then draws a line around it.
Dry — that is exactly what the sinner is; you are very dry, you have not got a bit of life or sap in you. Dry bones may describe your spiritual state very well, if you are an unconverted sinner, whatever you claim to be… I have no objection at all to drawing the gospel out of this passage. I know that dear old Dr Guthrie preached lovely sermons from this chapter, and saw many a conversion through it too. But you see, the application and the interpretation of a scripture are two totally different things.
- Carried. Ezekiel does not choose the valley. The hand of the Lord takes him there, in the order his book keeps throughout: opened heaven, vision, call, then power to serve.
- Dry. What he sees has no life and no strength left, only scattered remains. Only God has ever brought anything living out of a state like that.
- Israel. The vision names the bones as the whole house of Israel. The graves picture that nation buried among the Gentiles, since real corpses do not complain that their hope is lost.
- Breath. Bones join and flesh covers them, yet they stay dead until the Spirit comes. Then they stand up as an exceedingly great army.
- Land. God brings the revived people back to the land of Israel. That is why commentators read this as a nation's revival, not the raising of the dead or the conversion of souls — though the dry bones still picture the sinner in preaching.
And he caused me to pass by them round about; and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and behold, they were very dry.
The Lord walks Ezekiel through a valley full of bones, so he sees them close up: huge numbers, and bone-dry. The verse raises two questions the rest of the chapter answers: whose bones are these, and can anything be done with them?
The prophet does not view the bones from a distance. He walks among them, and the verdict he comes away with is plain.
There is no disguise as to the estimate intended of those meant by the bones in the valley. There was not only no strength, but not even life. To bring this out all the more we read, "And He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, You know."
The verse presses two things: how many the bones are, and how dry. Nothing there is half alive.
There is no mingling here of the dead and the living as the prophet sees them. They are all of them people who have not merely lost life; they are the dry, scattered remains of the dead. The prophet faces the question: "Son of man, can these bones live?" To man of course this is impossible. No one has ever passed from death to life except by the power of God alone. Despite all their present thoughts, this is the condition out of which God at last revives them.
Readers often take this valley one of two ways: the conversion of a soul, or the resurrection of the body. One commentator sets both aside and names the real subject.
This section contains a striking vision and a plain explanation of it. It is a question neither of the conversion of the soul nor of the resurrection of the body, but of God causing Israel to live again one day as a people. At that time they had been swept away and had no political existence. Worse troubles than any the Assyrians or Babylonians brought were still ahead of them, and the law and the prophets had given clear warning of them. But the word of Jehovah will stand.
Many have used dry bones to picture a person without spiritual life. One writer allows that use, then draws a line between applying a verse and interpreting it.
Dry — that is just what the sinner is. You are very dry; you have no life or sap in you. Dry bones may very well describe your spiritual state, if you are an unconverted sinner, no matter what you claim to believe... I have no objection at all to drawing the gospel out of this passage... But you see, the application and the interpretation of a scripture are two totally different things... "Son of man, these bones are" — what? Poor non-Jewish sinners converted by the gospel? No. "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel."
If the bones are dry, human effort cannot be the answer. There is also a lesson God means Israel to learn first.
They will not become all that the prophets have declared by their own efforts or achievements. That is what they are thinking of and planning now. Nothing but the quickening breath of God can do it for them. Even after all they have suffered for these centuries, God has yet to bring them down into the dust. This is so that they may learn their needed lesson of abasement, and the grace to which, as they will one day admit, they owe everything.
This helplessness is where God's own character comes in:
Truly it was man's extremity and God's opportunity. He is the God who quickens the dead; and where should He exercise His glorious power if not on behalf of His people?
The scattered bones of verse 2 do not stay scattered. What begins as a graveyard ends as a united people in their own land.
The dry bones of Israel, of the nation as a whole, are gathered together by the power of God... God steps in, and here is the result. The scattered of Israel, divided into two peoples until now, are gathered together in the earth. They are reunited under one Head, as one nation. It is the resurrection of the nation, which was really dead and buried. But God opens their graves, and places them again in their land restored to life as a nation.
- Dry — the walk among the bones settles the verdict: not weakness but death, with no life mixed in.
- Dead — the bones are the whole house of Israel. The vision is neither conversion of the soul nor resurrection of the body, but a nation made to live again.
- Divine — no one has ever crossed from death to life except by God's power. Israel's revival waits on His quickening breath, not on their own plans.
- Distinguished — preaching these bones as a picture of the unconverted is a fair application. Application and interpretation are not the same thing.
- Delivered — God opens the graves, gathers the scattered, and sets one nation back in its land under one Head.
And he said unto me, Son of man, Shall these bones live? And I said, Lord Jehovah, thou knowest.
God sets Ezekiel down in a valley full of very dry bones and asks him whether they can live. Ezekiel leaves the answer with God, and that reply opens the way for the rest of the vision.
The bones are not weak. They are past help. William Kelly says God asks the question to bring that fact into the open:
There is no disguise about the verdict intended on those pictured by the bones in the valley. There was not only no strength, but not even life. To bring this out all the more, we read the Lord's question and the prophet's answer: "O Lord GOD, You know." That answer implies and confesses helplessness, and so opens the way for the word of the Lord.
Ezekiel does not say yes, and he does not say no. One writer explains why no other answer was open to him:
There is no mixing here of the dead and the living as the prophet sees them. Every one of them has not merely lost life; they are the dry and scattered remains of the dead. The question challenges the prophet: "Son of man, can these bones live?" To man, of course, this is impossible. Only the power of God has ever brought anyone from death to life. And this, despite all their present thoughts, is the condition out of which God at last revives them.
Where man can do nothing, God is free to act. Kelly draws out the character of the God who asks the question:
Truly it was man's extremity and God's opportunity. He is the God who makes the dead live; and where should He exercise His glorious power if not on behalf of His people?
The vision comes with its own explanation. Kelly says that settles the meaning for us:
In Ezekiel 37 the picture is very strong: the Spirit of God shows the prophet a valley of dry bones. And "they were very dry." "Can these bones live?" was the question... But, beyond dispute, this means the whole house of Israel... for, if we have the vision, we also have the inspired interpretation. We are not therefore free to explain the vision according to our own thoughts. The explanation of the Holy Spirit is plain and conclusive.
The change will not come from the people themselves:
It will not be by their own efforts or achievements that they become all the prophets said they would be. Yet that is what they are thinking and planning now. Nothing but the life-giving breath of God can do it for them.
Preachers often use this passage to describe a person without God. W. T. P. Wolston allows that use, but marks its limit:
Dry — that is exactly what the sinner is; you are very dry, you have not got a bit of life or sap in you. Dry bones may very well describe your spiritual state if you are an unconverted sinner, no matter what you claim to believe... I have no objection at all to drawing the gospel out of it. I know that dear old Dr Guthrie preached lovely sermons from this chapter, and saw many a conversion through it too. But you see, the application and the interpretation of a scripture are two different things.
A. J. Pollock watched nine hundred people worship in a synagogue, and the question came back to him:
Their singing was mournful and sad, as if there were no hope and no faith — just a dead, lifeless ritual. The question came back with renewed force, "Can these dry bones live?" Looking at them, the answer would certainly be a decided no. Remembering God's word, the answer was a glad and emphatic yes.
- Dry — The bones have no strength and no life. God asks the question so that the prophet will own that hopelessness, not soften it.
- Deferred — "O Lord GOD, You know" is not ignorance but faith. Man cannot answer. The answer stays in God's hands, and that confession opens the way for His word.
- Divine — Only God's power has ever brought anyone from death to life. He makes the dead live, and man's extremity is His opportunity.
- Defined — The chapter explains itself: the bones are the whole house of Israel. God's breath revives them, not their own planning, and we are not free to read in another meaning.
- Declared — You may preach this dryness to a person who is without God. That is application, not interpretation. Looking at the bones, the answer is no; remembering God's word, it is yes.
And he said unto me, Prophesy over these bones, and say unto them, Ye dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah.
Ezekiel stands in a valley of dry bones, long past any hope of life. God asks whether these bones can live, and then gives an order rather than an argument: preach to them. That command raises two questions. Who do these bones stand for? And what can a spoken word do for the dead?
The order to prophesy comes only after the prophet admits he has no answer of his own.
The vision makes no secret of how we are to judge the people pictured by the bones in the valley. There was not only no strength, but not even life. To bring this out all the more we read, "And He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, You know." That helplessness, implied and confessed, opens the way for the word of the Lord.
The chapter does not leave the picture open to guesswork. It supplies its own key.
To a mind that is simple and subject to Scripture there can be no doubt here. We may put the vision to whatever use or application we like. Its direct and express meaning is God's revival of His ancient people Israel. They were then destroyed, dead and buried. Yet they will leave their graves at the word of the LORD: "These bones are the whole house of Israel." God would comfort His people, and He would also rebuke the unbelief that said, "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off."
But what kind of resurrection is this?
This is a national resurrection. It is not the resurrection of people who have died, but the restoration to nationhood of the ancient people of God, and their recovery to the land of promise.
The dryness of the bones is the point. Nothing human is left to build on.
The prophet sees no mixture of the dead and the living here. These are wholly people from whom not merely life has departed; they are the dry, scattered remains of the dead. Then comes the question: "Son of man, can these bones live?" To man, of course, this is impossible. Nothing but the power of God has ever brought anything from death to life. And despite all their present thoughts, this is the condition out of which God at last revives them.
The same writer applies this to Israel's own plans.
Right now they are thinking and planning to do it themselves. But their own efforts and achievements will never make them all that the prophets have declared they shall become. Nothing but the life-giving breath of God can do it for them. For that, God has yet to bring them down into the dust, even after all they have suffered through these centuries. There they will learn their needed lesson of humbling. There too they will learn the grace to which, as they will at last admit, they owe everything.
Ezekiel has nothing to work with but a message.
God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the valley of dry bones. As he prophesied, bone joined to bone, and flesh covered each skeleton. Then the winds blew on them, the spirit of life entered them, and they lived. The word of God, spoken by the prophet, brought all this about.
The same principle steadies anyone sent to preach to people who cannot respond.
Outward appearances do not discourage him at all. He knows that everyone he is sent to is alike dead and unable to hear. He also knows that the success of his ministry does not depend on the people he speaks to. It depends on the word as the Spirit applies it.
Preachers often draw the gospel out of this passage. One writer welcomes that use, but draws a line.
Dry — that is just what the sinner is. You are very dry. You have no life or sap in you. Dry bones may well describe your spiritual state if you are an unconverted sinner, whatever you claim to be… I have no objection at all to drawing the gospel out of this passage. But applying a Scripture and interpreting it are two completely different things.
- Confession — The prophet answers, "O Lord GOD, You know." Admitting he has no answer clears the ground for God's word.
- Command — God answers death with speech. Ezekiel gets no method, only a message for bones that cannot yet hear.
- Word — The word of God, spoken by the prophet, does the whole miracle: bone joins bone, then breath enters.
- Nation — The chapter names its own subject: the whole house of Israel. Buried as a nation, they say their hope is lost. God will raise them and bring them back to their land.
- Grace — Only God's breath can do it, so the revived people will owe everything to grace. Preachers today speak to the spiritually dead on the same ground.
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto these bones Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live.
The vision drops Ezekiel into a valley of bones. They have been dead so long that they are dry. God's first move is not to explain but to promise. His words raise the questions that shape the chapter. Who are these bones? What life is promised? Where does it come from?
God has just asked Ezekiel whether the bones can live. The prophet handed the question straight back to God, and only then does God speak.
There is no hiding the state of those the bones in the valley stand for. There was not only no strength, but not even life. To bring this out more fully we read, "And He said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' And I answered, 'O Lord GOD, You know.'" The helplessness implied and confessed opens the way for the word of the Lord.
The vision does not stand on its own. Later in the chapter God explains it, and that explanation settles what kind of life He is promising.
This section contains a striking vision and a plain explanation of it. This is not about the conversion of the soul. It is not about the resurrection of the body. It is about God causing Israel to live once more as a people, in a day still to come. They were at that time swept away and without any political existence... Here again God revealed it to the grieving captives to comfort them. Facing such overwhelming disasters, they could hold on to the sure hope of their national revival under the gracious working of the Lord.
Every verb in this verse belongs to God. The people, meanwhile, have plans of their own.
They are thinking and planning now to do it by their own strength. But their own efforts and achievements will never make them all that the prophets said they shall become. Nothing but the quickening breath of God can do it for them. First God has to bring them down into the dust, even after all they have suffered for these centuries. There they will learn their needed lesson of humbling. There they will learn the grace they owe everything to, as they will finally admit.
In the vision the bones come together and take shape first. The breath comes later. A complete body can still be a corpse.
The nation is to be new born by the word of God, out of death. Every step here is a true creative work of God. So the prophet prophesies, and sees the miracle done — the wonderful miracle of resurrection. He sees the bones come together and the flesh cover them, and the form given, while as yet there is no breath from on high. But then God tells him to prophesy to the winds. The wind is the picture of the Spirit, as we know from the Lord's words. From the four winds the breath comes into these slain, and now they live. A moment before, they were only lifeless, scattered wrecks of a life that had gone. Now, all at once, they are a very great army, the hosts of the Lord.
Preachers have long used this chapter to picture a dead sinner coming alive. One writer allows that use, then draws a line.
Dry — that is exactly what the sinner is; you are very dry, you have not got a bit of life or sap in you. Dry bones may very well describe your spiritual state if you are an unconverted sinner, no matter what you claim to believe... I have no objection at all to drawing the gospel out of this passage... But you see, the application and the interpretation of a scripture are two totally different things.
The promise does not stop with breath in a body. One writer follows it through to where the chapter ends.
The dry bones of Israel, of the nation as a whole, are gathered together by the power of God. God does this work by His Spirit. But His Spirit acts in power on His people to produce certain effects, rather than to give spiritual life (though no one need doubt that those blessed among the Jews will be spiritually quickened). It is the resurrection of the nation, which was really dead and buried. But God opens their graves and places them again in their land, restored to life as a nation.
- Death — the bones have no strength and no life. Ezekiel admits he can do nothing about it, and God then speaks.
- Word — God does not argue about what is impossible. He sends His word to bones that cannot hear it.
- Breath — the bodies lie there whole but lifeless until the wind comes. Only the breath of God makes them live.
- Nation — the promise is Israel's revival as a nation and return to the land. It is not one soul's conversion, and not bodies rising from graves — though preachers may still apply the picture to a dead sinner.
- Grace — God first brings them down into the dust. In the end they admit they owe everything to His grace.
And I will put sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live and ye shall know that I [am] Jehovah.
God makes this promise to bones — hearers with no ears, no strength and no life. That helplessness is not a barrier to His word. It is why the word comes.
First God asks the prophet whether these bones can live. His answer leaves the outcome with God.
There is no disguise about the estimate intended of those meant by the bones in the valley. There was not only no strength, but not even life... The helplessness thus implied and confessed opens the way for the word of the Lord.
This is not weakness that could recover in time. It is death, and only one power reverses death.
There is no mingling here of the dead and the living as the prophet sees them. They are altogether those from whom not merely life is departed, but who are the mere dry and scattered remains of the dead. The prophet is challenged by the question: "Son of man, can these bones live?" To man of course this is impossible. No one has ever passed from death to life except by the power of God alone. And this, despite all their present thoughts, is the condition out of which God at last revives them.
The chapter explains its own picture. That explanation decides how we read the verse.
To a mind that is simple and subject to Scripture there can be no hesitation here. Whatever use or application we may make of the vision, its direct and express meaning is God's revival of His ancient people Israel. By then they are utterly destroyed, dead and buried, but they will still leave their graves according to the word of the Lord: "These bones are the whole house of Israel."... He declares that He will not only dig them out of the graves where they now lie buried as a nation. He will also bring them into the land of Israel.
So the resurrection in this vision stands for something else.
Ezekiel 37:1-14... is a figurative description. The chapter itself fully explains it: it means the restoration of the two houses of Israel, long buried among the nations and made one again under David their King.
The verse lists an order: sinews, flesh, skin, then breath. The vision keeps those stages apart. A body can be complete and still be a corpse.
So the prophet prophesies and sees the miracle worked — the wonderful miracle of resurrection. He sees the bones come together and the flesh cover them, and the form given, while as yet there is no breath from above. But then he is told to prophesy to the winds. The wind is the picture of the Spirit, as we know from the Lord's words. From the four winds the breath comes into these slain, and now they live. A moment ago they were only lifeless, scattered wreckage of a life long gone. Now, at once, they are an exceedingly great army, the hosts of the Lord.
One writer applied that gap — body without breath — to Israel's return to the land.
The dry bones of Israel are stirring. The graves — that is, the countries where they are scattered — are opening. Sinew and flesh are coming upon the nation. The Jew is going back to his land in unbelief, full of ambitious plans for a future meant to outshine their past in glory. But as yet no breath of the Lord has come upon them as a nation.
The verse ends not with survival but with recognition. Life given is what makes God known.
There will be a national resurrection, and, says the Lord, "you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it." Once they are quickened they will understand, and they will at once seek the Lord.
Preachers have long used this passage to describe an unconverted person. One writer who did so still drew a firm line.
Dry — that is exactly what the sinner is; you are very dry, you have not a bit of life or sap in you. Dry bones may very well describe your spiritual state if you are an unconverted sinner, no matter what your profession may be... I have no objection at all to drawing the gospel out of this passage... but you see, the application and the interpretation of a Scripture are two totally different things.
- Word. God speaks His promise to bones that cannot answer. Their confessed helplessness opens the way for His word.
- Body. Sinews, flesh and skin come first — a real, visible rebuilding, but still without breath.
- Breath. Life comes only from God; the passage from death to life has never been made by any other power.
- Land. God brings them up out of their graves and places them in the land of Israel. That fits a nation restored, not bodies raised.
- Knowledge. Every stage aims at one end, stated in the verse: they will know the LORD. Using the picture to preach the gospel is a fair application, not the interpretation.
And I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a rustling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
Ezekiel obeys. While he is still speaking, the valley answers: a rattle, a shaking, and scattered bones finding their partners. Two questions press: whose bones are these, and why does a complete body still have no breath in it?
The whole scene starts from a limit. What these bones need is past anything a human being can do.
To man, of course, this is impossible. No one has ever passed from death to life except by the power of God alone. And despite all their present thoughts, this is the condition out of which God at last revives them.
That impossibility is God's opportunity, and Ezekiel is allowed to watch.
This was the end of what man could do, and the start of God's opportunity. He is the God who makes the dead live. Where should He use His glorious power, if not for His people? And God let the prophet see, as well as hear and speak.
Nothing in the valley changes until a man speaks God's message to it.
God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the valley of dry bones. As he prophesied, bone joined to bone, and flesh covered each skeleton. Then the winds blew on them, and the spirit of life entered into them and they lived. This was all brought about by the word of God, spoken by the prophet.
Verse 7 is only half of the miracle. Shape and structure come first. Life waits for a second word.
He sees the bones come together and the flesh cover them, and the form given, while yet there is no breath from on high. But then God tells him to prophesy to the winds. The winds, as we know from the Lord's words, stand for the Spirit. From the four winds the breath comes into these slain, and now they live. A moment ago they were lifeless, scattered wrecks of a life that had gone. Now, at once, they are an exceedingly great army, the hosts of the Lord.
Some read the vision as already fulfilled when the exiles came home from Babylon. The size of the army, and the tribes named later in the chapter, rule that out.
You cannot fairly apply a statement like this to the return of fewer than 43,000 from Babylon. The armies of old were far larger than the armies we are used to today. The returning remnant was a very small army compared with that of Judah alone under their kings. Later in the chapter we find that Ephraim is in view as well as Judah. The words just after this imply it: "the whole house of Israel." So the past return from captivity is out of the question.
We are not left to guess at the meaning. God gives it Himself, and it settles both who the bones are and where they are going.
Whatever use or application we may make of the vision, its direct and express meaning is God's revival of His ancient people Israel. They were then completely destroyed, dead and buried, but they will yet leave their graves according to the word of the Lord: "These bones are the whole house of Israel." … He declares that He will not only dig them out of the graves where they now lie buried as a nation. He will also bring them into the land of Israel. That outcome suits neither those raised from the dead nor souls converted to God now by the gospel. For what have we to do with the land of Israel?
Some writers see the noise and shaking already at work in the world around them: a people coming together again as a nation, while the breath is still missing.
Ezekiel's vision is being fulfilled under our very eyes. The dry bones of Israel are stirring. The graves — that is, the countries in which they are scattered — are opening. Sinew and flesh are coming on the nation. The Jew is going back to his land in unbelief, full of ambitious plans for a future that will outshine their past in glory. But as yet no breath of the Lord has come on them as a nation.
Commentators differ on how much weight to give that. Others are more careful about the present regathering, and keep the vision itself for a later act of God:
Already we see some of Israel in the land, but this is not the direct work of God. Yet the day is coming when God will intervene on behalf of His people.
- Dead. The bones are not weak but lifeless, and moving from death to life is something only God's power has ever done.
- Word. The change begins when a man speaks God's message over the valley. The word of God, spoken by the prophet, does all of it.
- Order. Verse 7 gives shape without life. Bones, sinew, flesh and skin all come, but no breath until a second word calls the wind.
- Nation. God explains His own vision. The bones are the whole house of Israel, and He will open their graves and bring them home to their land.
- Army. The end is not a tidy skeleton but a vast living army. That is why the small return from Babylon cannot be the fulfilment.
And I looked, and behold, sinews and flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.
The scattered bones have come together, and sinew, flesh and skin now cover them. Yet the bodies do not move, because God has not yet given them breath.
The verse marks a pause in the middle of a miracle.
So the prophet prophesies. He sees the miracle happen — the wonderful miracle of resurrection. He sees the bones come together and the flesh cover them, and the form given, while as yet there is no breath from on high.
The vision began with bones that were very dry. Nothing human could help.
Truly it was man's extremity and God's opportunity. He is the God who quickens the dead; and where should He exercise His glorious power if not on behalf of His people? And the prophet was given to see as well as to hear and speak.
Later in the chapter, God opens graves. Many readers take that as a picture of the resurrection of the body. Kelly reads it another way.
Whatever use or application we may make of the vision, its direct and express meaning is God's revival of His ancient people Israel. They were then utterly destroyed, dead and buried. Yet they are to leave their graves according to the word of Jehovah. "These bones are the whole house of Israel." … He declares that He will not only dig them out of the graves where they now lie buried as a nation. He will also bring them into the land of Israel. That outcome suits neither those raised from the dead nor souls converted to God now by the gospel. What have we to do with the land of Israel?
Kelly turns this into a rule for readers.
In Ezekiel 37 the figure of resurrection is certainly meant to show the fresh start of Israel. If we have the vision, we also have the inspired interpretation. We are therefore not at liberty to explain the vision according to our own thoughts.
The breath missing from these bodies is not just air.
The "wind," or "breath," of verse 9 appears to be the same as "My Spirit" in verse 14. In fact, one Hebrew word covers wind, breath and spirit, and the context decides which it means. It is interesting to compare these verses with John 3:8. There the blowing of the wind is connected with the Spirit's action in new birth. Here it is connected with His action in quickening. This shows how closely new birth and quickening belong together. We must not divide them, though we should distinguish them and consider them separately.
Some writers see this half-finished stage in our own day.
The dry bones of Israel are stirring… Sinew and flesh are coming upon the nation. The Jew is going back to his land in unbelief, full of ambitious plans for a future that will outshine their past in glory. But as yet no breath of the Lord has come upon them as a nation.
The prophets promised Israel a future. One writer names the only power that can produce it.
Right now they are thinking and planning. But their own efforts and achievements will not make them all that the prophets have declared they shall become. Nothing but the quickening breath of God can do it for them.
Preachers have long used the chapter to describe a person without spiritual life. One writer allows that use, but adds a caution.
Dry — that is exactly what the sinner is; you are very dry, you have not got a bit of life or sap in you. Dry bones may very well describe your spiritual state if you are an unconverted sinner, no matter what your profession may be. … I have no objection at all to drawing the gospel from here. … But you see, the application and the interpretation of a scripture are two completely different things.
- Dry — the bones begin with no strength and no life. Man's extremity is God's opportunity.
- Assembled — verse 8 gives sinew, flesh and skin: everything a body needs except life.
- Breathless — the one thing missing is breath, which verse 14 links to God's own Spirit.
- Israel — the chapter calls the bones the whole house of Israel and promises them their land. That rules out the resurrection of the body, and conversion through the gospel today.
- Given — no national effort can supply what verse 8 lacks. Life comes only when God breathes it in.
And he said unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
God tells the prophet to speak a second time — now to the breath, not to the bones. The bodies in front of him are complete, but lifeless. Two questions follow: what is this "breath," and who are the slain it revives?
The chapter divides the miracle into two stages, and the first prophecy stops short of life.
So the prophet prophesies and sees the miracle worked — the wonderful miracle of resurrection. He sees the bones come together, the flesh cover them, and the form given. Yet there is still no breath from on high. Then he is told to prophesy to the winds. The wind is a picture of the Spirit, as we know from the Lord's words. From the four winds the breath comes into these slain, and now they live. A moment ago they were only lifeless, scattered wrecks of departed life. Now, at once, they are an exceedingly great army, the hosts of the Lord.
The same Hebrew word behind "breath" ties this verse to two others.
The "wind," or "breath," of verse 9 seems to be the same as "My Spirit" in verse 14. In fact, translators render the same Hebrew word as wind, breath or spirit, depending on the context. It is interesting to compare these verses with John 3:8. There the blowing of the wind is connected with the Spirit's action in new birth. Here it is connected with His action in quickening.
Reform, teaching and training are no substitute for that breath:
God then must act. But how must He act? Will reformation, education or instruction meet our case? Not at all: there can be nothing until He quickens, for quickening simply means the giving of life.
The breath comes in from every quarter, and the number four carries its own meaning.
Four is the number symbolizing what is universal or worldwide. We speak of "the four winds" (Ezek. 37:9); of "the four corners of the earth" (Isa. 11:12).
Some read this vision as fulfilled when a remnant came home from exile in Babylon. The size of the risen host argues otherwise.
It is impossible to fit a statement like this to the return of fewer than 43,000 from Babylon. The mismatch is even greater because armies in those days were far larger than armies today. The returning remnant was a very small army compared with that of Judah alone under their kings.
The vision comes with its own explanation. It fixes the meaning to one people and one land.
Whatever use or application we may turn the vision to, its direct and express meaning is God's revival of His ancient people Israel. They are then utterly destroyed, dead and buried, but they will yet leave their graves according to the word of the LORD. "These bones are the whole house of Israel." God would comfort His people. He would also rebuke the unbelief that said, "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off." His own faithful grace will undertake to do what is plainly beyond the power of man. He will not only bring them out of the graves where they lie buried as a nation. He will bring them into the land of Israel — which fits neither those raised from the dead nor souls converted by the gospel today.
Preachers have long used this chapter to describe a sinner's condition. One writer welcomes that use, then marks the line it must not cross.
Dry — that is just what the sinner is. You have no life or sap in you. Dry bones may well describe your spiritual state if you are an unconverted sinner, whatever you may claim to be. I have no objection at all to drawing the gospel out of this. I know that many conversions have come through it too. But the application of a scripture and its interpretation are two different things.
One writer places his own day inside the vision — at the stage of sinew and skin, before the wind.
So we can see Ezekiel's vision being fulfilled before our very eyes. The dry bones of Israel are stirring. The graves — that is, the countries in which they are scattered — are opening. Sinew and flesh are coming upon the nation. The Jew is going back to his land in unbelief. He is full of ambitious plans for a future that will outshine their past in glory. But as yet no breath of the Lord has come upon them as a nation.
- Breath, not bones. Bone joined to bone, sinew, flesh and skin all arrive by the first prophecy — and still there is no life. Everything turns on the second call.
- Breath is the Spirit. One Hebrew word covers wind, breath and spirit. The wind of verse 9 answers to the "My Spirit" of verse 14. In John 3:8 the Lord uses wind for the Spirit's work too.
- Breath comes from everywhere. "The four winds" is the language of what is worldwide. The life comes in from every quarter, just as the people were scattered to every quarter.
- Breath makes an army. Lifeless wrecks stand up as a huge host. The small return from Babylon cannot account for it.
- Breath still to come. God names the bones as the whole house of Israel and will bring them into their land. Sinew and flesh are on the nation, but His breath has not yet come. Applying the dryness to an unconverted soul is application, not interpretation.
And I prophesied as he had commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
The vision reaches its climax here: the reassembled bodies breathe, rise, and form a vast army. The verse raises three questions at once — whose bones are these, what is the breath, and when does this happen?
The prophet's work comes in two commands, and the second is not a repeat of the first.
So the prophet prophesies and sees the miracle happen — the wonderful miracle of resurrection. He sees the bones come together and the flesh cover them, and the form given, while still there is no breath from on high. But then God tells him to prophesy to the winds, which in the Lord's words stand for the Spirit. From the four winds the breath comes into these slain, and now they live. Only a moment before, they were lifeless, scattered wrecks of a life that had gone. Now, all at once, they are an exceedingly great army, the hosts of the Lord.
The bones do not organise themselves, and the nation will not revive by its own planning.
The new life of the nation is truly a resurrection... They will not become all that the prophets have declared by their own efforts or achievements — though that is what they are thinking and planning now. Nothing but the quickening breath of God can do it for them. For this, God has yet to bring them down into the dust, even after all they have suffered for these centuries. They must learn their needed lesson of abasement, and learn the grace to which, as they will finally own, they owe everything.
Some read the vision as fulfilled when the exiles came home from Babylon. The size of this army argues against that.
You cannot fairly apply a statement like this to the return of fewer than 43,000 from Babylon. Armies in those days were far larger than armies are today. The returning remnant was a very small army compared with that of Judah alone under their kings. Later we shall find that Ephraim as well as Judah is expressly included. The words that follow, "the whole house of Israel," imply it. So the past return from captivity is out of the question.
We are not left to work out the symbol for ourselves; the chapter names the bones itself.
But, beyond controversy, this means the whole house of Israel... In Ezekiel 37 the figure of resurrection certainly shows the fresh start of Israel; for, if we have the vision, we have also the inspired interpretation. We are not therefore at liberty to explain the vision according to our own thoughts.
Bodies do rise in the vision. Yet writers hold that the picture is of a people brought back, not of graves opened at the last day.
Many have thought that this passage refers to the resurrection of the body, because the graves open and the people come out of their graves. But before the graves open, the people are saying, "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost" — the exact feeling of many to this day. The resurrection is used as a figure of life being given to Israel, and also to Judah. The two nations are to be one, an exceedingly great army, and they will be gathered into their own land... It is still future, and it will surely happen.
One writer links the wind called from the four quarters with the Lord's own picture of the Spirit blowing where it wishes.
Our Lord's words about the wind blowing where it wishes seem also to point to this chapter (Ezekiel 37:9, 14). What stands out here is the raising of the people from their graves, as a nation, their restoration to the land, and their reunion into the twelve tribes... The Spirit directs all this blessed work — national resurrection, forgiveness, restoration and new birth.
Preachers have long used this chapter to describe a person without spiritual life. One writer welcomes that use, but draws a line.
Dry, that is exactly what the sinner is; you are very dry, you have no life or sap in you at all. Dry bones may well describe your spiritual state if you are an unconverted sinner, whatever you claim to believe... I have no objection at all to drawing the gospel out here... But the application of a scripture and its interpretation are two completely different things.
- Dry — the starting point is not weakness but scattered remains, with hope gone from the people themselves.
- Breath — form came first, life second. The wind from the four quarters is the Spirit, and only that breath makes the bodies live.
- Whole — the vision covers the whole house of Israel, Ephraim with Judah. That is why writers say the small return from Babylon cannot be the fulfilment.
- Army — the result is not a rescued few but a vast host standing on its feet, described as the hosts of the Lord.
- Interpretation — the chapter explains itself. A preacher may apply dry bones to a lifeless sinner, but must not swap application for meaning.