Do you feel dead? I always loved that line from Pirates of the Caribbean. Not just because it is morbid, but because of the reality of that feeling.
Do you ever feel like you’re burnt out? Stagnant? Stuck in a desert? Like you are spiritually dead?
I feel that way sometimes. The people of Israel surely felt that way as they lived, exiled in Babylon because of their disregard for God’s commands. Ezekiel, a prophet, had been prophesying the complete destruction of the Israelite’s home, the magnificent city of Jerusalem. Look what he says in Ezekiel 37:1-14,
1 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” 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 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” (NIV).
Can you imagine this? The bones are dried up… Not like a dead deer carcass you see on the side of the road, more like the elephant graveyard in Lion King.
The dry bones represent the people of Israel, and maybe even you and I sometimes. Yet God promises in verse 12 to restore Israel, to give them new life, literally pulling them from their grave.
Jesus promises to give us new life too in John 5:24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (ESV).
If you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you pass from death to life! And if you are feeling dead, be reminded that God can and will restore you when you repent, even if your so dead your bones have dried out. That encourages me and I hope it encourages you too! Please share this with your friends so they can be encouraged.