God shall restore us back to life.

Thank you LORD for this vision that you have given the prophet Ezekiel. This vision shows how you will restore a remnant of the nation of Israel and bring them back, to you. This also shows how the dead in Christ will someday come back to life, when by your power, you will lift them up from their graves and give new physical new lives to them. Thank you LORD for your wonderful promise that You will give us that resurrection, when our dead physical bodies come back to life again, into eternal life. This is also a picture of how you restores the broken pieces of our shattered lives. You can restore and heal us, and make us whole again. Thank you LORD for this wonderful promise.  Nothing is impossible with You. I worship You, dear LORD.

Text:  Ezekiel 37:4-14  New International Version

4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” 

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

On November 4, 1966, a disastrous flood swept through Florence, Italy, submerging Giorgio Vasari’s renowned work of art The Last Supper under a pool of mud, water, and heating oil for more than twelve hours. With its paint softened and its wooden frame significantly damaged, many believed that the piece was beyond repair. However, after a tedious fifty-year conservation effort, experts and volunteers were able to overcome monumental obstacles and restore the valuable painting.

When the Babylonians conquered Israel, the people felt hopeless—surrounded by death and destruction and in need of restoration (see Lamentations 1). During this period of turmoil, God took the prophet Ezekiel to a valley and gave him a vision where he was surrounded by dry bones. “Can these bones live?” God asked. Ezekiel responded, “Lord, you alone know” (Ezekiel 37:3). God then told him to prophesy over the bones so they might live again. “As I was prophesying,” Ezekiel recounted, “there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together” (v. 7). Through this vision, God revealed to Ezekiel that Israel’s restoration could only come through Him.

When we feel as if things in life have been broken and are beyond repair, God assures us He can rebuild our shattered pieces. He’ll give us new breath and new life.  By Adam Holz

[From Commentary]  We don’t know specific details about the valley that Ezekiel describes he was transported to “by the Spirit of the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:1). It could have been a vision of a valley that was the scene of a major tragedy or battle because having so many unburied bones in one place suggests a battle. God tells Ezekiel that this valley of bones symbolizes the nation of Israel as a whole (v. 11). Even the despair and death they were experiencing could be reversed by God’s Spirit breathing new life into them (v. 6) and returning them to their land (v. 12). by Monica La Rose

[From me]  Thank you LORD for this vision that you have given the prophet Ezekiel. This vision shows how you will restore a remnant of the nation of Israel and bring them back, to you. This also shows how the dead in Christ will someday come back to life, when by your power, You shall lift them up from their graves and give new physical new lives to them. Thank you LORD for your wonderful promise that You will give us that resurrection, when our dead physical bodies come back to life again, into eternal life. Thank you LORD for this wonderful promise.  Nothing is impossible with You. This is also a picture of how you restore the broken pieces of our shattered lives. You can restore and heal us, and make us whole again.  I worship You, dear LORD.

Posted July 1, 2023