“NO BONES ABOUT IT”

EZEKIEL 37:1-14

37:1  The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.

2  He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry.

3  He said to me, "Mortal, can these bones live?" I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know."

4  Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.

5  Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.

6  I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD."

7  So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.

8  I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them.

9  Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live."

10  I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

11  Then he said to me, "Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.'

12  Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.

13  And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people.

14  I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act," says the LORD.

It’s something that you see very early on in life.  You see it in the toddler who wants a glass of milk.  When you hold the glass for him he pulls it away from you and says, “No.  I want to do it myself.”  It’s a desire to be independent and it’s something that we carry with us throughout our lives. You see it in toddlers and you see it in people who are in the twilight of their lives.  If you don’t believe me try taking the keys away from your elderly mother or father and see what happens.   You might get a bit of a tongue lashing.  “Don’t tell me I can’t drive.  I’ve been driving for 60 years and I haven’t had an accident yet.”

Teenagers can also be fiercely independent.  That was certainly true for the teenager who had big plans when he went off to college.  For the first time in his life there was no one to tell him what to do and when to do it.  So, he spent more time going to parties than he did studying.  By the end of his first semester he was flunking out of school.  The teenager knew his parents were going to be furious so he didn’t tell them until they went to European for a vacation.  While they were in Greece he sent them an email. “Hi mom, dad, hope you’re enjoying your trip.  Just so you know I’m flunking out of college.  Love, your son.”  Later that day the teenager received an email from his mother.  “Dear son, this picture was taken at the top of a huge cliff where mothers in ancient Sparta used to throw their defective children on to the rocks below.  Wish you were here.”

That desire to be independent is in all of us.  It’s in our DNA. If you’re not careful though it can get you into trouble. Just look at what happened to the Israelites. That’s the story behind the valley of dry bones that needs to be told. 

So let’s go back and take another look at the valley of the dry bones.  In his vision Ezekiel sees a valley full of dry lifeless bones which is exactly how the Israelites were feeling.  All the life had gone out of them.  They were discouraged.  They were full of doubt and despair.  If you’re wondering why, you have to turn the calendar back a few years.  You have to turn it all the way back to 586 B.C.  That’s when the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar and his army swept down from the north and conquered Jerusalem. 

It was a traumatic moment for the Israelites.  After the dust settled their homes had been destroyed. Their beloved Temple was in ruins and they were now living as exiles in a strange and foreign land.  No wonder they were discouraged.  No wonder they were full of doubt and despair.  All the life had gone out of them which is why God says to Ezekiel, “O mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely’”

Now the question is how did the Israelites end up in that predicament? The answer is simple.  It was their stubborn independence that got them into that predicament. You see the Israelites were convinced that they didn’t need God.  After all they had their king and his soldiers to protect them.  They also knew what was best which means they also didn’t need God and all of God’s commandments to tell them what they should and shouldn’t do.

When you’re stubbornly independent you live your life in a way that basically says, “I know what I want.  So, I’m not going to let God or anyone else tell me how to what to do.”  That’s the attitude that got the Israelites into trouble and it’s an attitude that gets a lot of people into trouble today.

You see it’s one thing to say that you believe in God.  It’s another thing to put God at the center of your life and let God tell you what you should and shouldn’t do.  It’s another thing to let God tell you how you should live your life.  After all there’s no telling what God might tell you to do.  For example when someone makes your life miserable instead of getting even God might tell you that you actually have to turn the other cheek and forgive the person.  Instead of buying that new pair of shoes God might tell you that what you really need to do is give that money to the poor.  Instead of eating that big piece of chocolate cake God might tell you to eat an apple because it’s healthier for you. 

When you’re stubbornly independent you think that you know what’s best.  So, instead of working with God you end up wrestling with God.  You end up in the same situation that a husband and wife found themselves in when they went for a ride on a bicycle built for two.  They were having a grand old time until they came to this really big hill. As they made their way up the hill it got increasingly difficult.  The husband wasn’t about to let the hill get the best of him though.  He just put his head down and pedaled harder and harder.  When they got to the top of the hill the husband was soaking wet but he was proud of his accomplishment.  So he turned to his wife and gave her a big smile. “Well,” he said. “It certainly wasn’t easy but we did it.”  “We sure did,” the wife said, “And just think.  We might have rolled all the way back down that hill if I hadn’t kept my foot on the break the whole time.”