The scripture which tells us of the vision of Ezekiel is one of my favorites. Ezekiel 37:1-14. It’s words have so much meaning, and it is one that can easily be visualized – the dry bones scattered on the ground for miles in every direction; attaching themselves to the correct bones in just the right positions; the sinews connecting the bones; the flesh covering the bodies; the wind blowing breath in these bodies, and then God’s Spirit placed into them to create living creatures. Thus is the story of God returning Israel to the Promised Land where He would establish a new covenant with them and would be their God.
As I was reading this story, my mind flashed back to a “toy” I had which was called Wooly Willy. Wooly Willy was "a face printed on cardboard under a bubble of plastic filled with metal filings that could be moved with a magnetic wand to create features like beards, mustaches, and shaggy eyebrows on the face.”
The idea was to put the magnetic end of the wand on the board, which immediately drew the metal filings to it. You then pulled them toward the face to make a beard or mustache. It was amazing how quickly the metal filings were drawn to that magnet.
Just as I remembered the metal filings being pulled to the face on the board, I could envision the scattered dry bones reconnecting to themselves. They were in the right positions connecting to the correct bones, but how/why did that happen?
First of all, when God commanded Ezekiel to tell the bones to “hear the word of the Lord”, God didn’t just want them listen to this command, and let the words “go in one ear and out the other”. He intended for them to be attentive and to hear these words with understanding. He meant business. (Ezekiel 37:4)
The bones “heard” and that’s when the shaking took place. There was a vibration, a commotion, a quaking, a rattling. God’s spoken word had stirred these bones into action, and the healing process had begun. The sinews connected the bones, and the skin covered them, but there was no breath.
God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to the wind, or ruwach meaning breath, to come upon the slain that they might live. Upon Ezekiel’s word, the breath came into these reconnected bones covered with skin, and they lived. The word live is chayah (khaw-yaw;) which means to quicken; recover; repair; restore to life; revive; be whole. They were recovered; repaired; restored to life; revived and made whole again. They stood up on their feet and were “an exceeding great army”! (Ezekiel 37: 10)
However this is not the end of the story. The Israelites said "Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost". (Ezekiel 37:11) The Hebrew word for "dried" is yabesh, meaning confused, ashamed, withered away. They said their hope was lost, but that is not what God said. God told Ezekiel to prophesy once again to them that he would open their graves and bring them out. He would put His Spirit in them; place them in their own land, and they would know that it was the Lord who performed it.
He had to get them out of the graves - out of the death state; out of the death mindset. (Think defeated gerber daisy!) They were thinking only about the impossibility of coming out of captivity and into their own land. They were thinking that they were doomed for life and for generations to come. They had lost their love for the God who loved them more. But God!
They had to have God’s Spirit in them, or they would simply be living and breathing. They would not completely be God’s people. With his spirit, they would know - with that intuitive understanding - that God was their Lord who spoke this and performed it. He was the one who gave them life, meaning to recover, repair, restore, revive, save.
Ezekiel’s vision from God began among hundreds of thousands of bones, but after God spoke, the bones went into action. They not only felt, but truly realized, the magnetic pull of God’s words – the pull of compassion, love, and care He had for His people. God still has that compassion, love and care for His people today. If you or someone you know does not know this God, share this with them (and other Simplify10 messages) so that they might understand the magnetic pull of the Almighty God who loves you - no matter who you are, where you have been, what you have done, when you left Him, or why.
He wants to pull you back to Him if only you will let Him!
Thanks for stopping by,
Rachel
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