Happy Birthday! In two weeks we will celebrate the birthday of the Church. Pentecost is the beginning of the Church and the celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon humankind - Acts 2.
As we read through the Bible we see where the Holy Spirit is great things happen. Broken people are made whole, ordinary people are able to do extraordinary things and lives are transformed. Ezekiel 37:1-14 is a description of such an event.
Background:
In 597 B.C. the southern kingdom of Judah surrendered to the powers of Babylon. Jerusalem was destroyed and the people are exiled into Babylon. It was during this time that Ezekiel became God's prophet.
The people of Judah were suffering and wondering what would happen to them next. In the beginning Ezekiel offered no words of hope. The first 24 chapters of the book are filled with words of death and destruction. He spoke of judgment and further suffering because of their unfaithfulness to God and love for the world.
Ezekiel said that God’s chosen people had profaned His holy name (36:20). What does that mean?
In chapter 33 the message begins to change. Ezekiel begins to speak words of restoration. There would be a time when they would no longer be in captivity. A time when He would cause them to walk according to His will (36:27). A time when He would put His Spirit in them and give them a new heart (36:26-27). What does receiving a new heart mean?
Why is God doing this? For His name’s sake (36:22-23)
Ezekiel's vision of dry bones is the third of four times he is transported from his home in Babylon to the Valley of Dry Bones. As he looks around at the bones God asks him a question, "can these bones live?" Ezekiel does not know the answer. Then God tells him to prophesy to the bones. Not words of death but life. When he does the bones come to life.
These are not just any bones ... they represent God's people. They have been utterly destroyed by their sin but they are not forgotten. God will restore them. They will be His people once again no matter what they have done.
Application:
We all have need for the restoring power of God's Spirit. Like the people of Judah, God loves us, cares for us, and renews us. Like Judah we are given a new identity as a people He has brought back to life. Our identity should be in our relationship with the Lord and not in self or the things of this world. We should live our lives as if a relationship with God means something to us ... makes a difference.
What does this look like for you?
Thanks for stopping by!
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Adrian
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