Dry Bones – God’s Breath of Life

Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. Ezekiel 37:5 

In the vision Ezekiel received of the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14), the Lord asked a critical question: “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel trusted in the sovereign Lord to reveal to Him what He found good and right to do. So he waited for God’s answer. God commanded him to prophecy to the dry bones so that they could come to life. To speak to them so that they would hear the word of the Lord.

Ezekiel must have thought for just a minute that this was the craziest thing to do. The bones weren’t just dry, but very dry. How could they live? But Ezekiel knew that the Lord he served was Yahweh, the miracle-working God. So when God gave the command and the words to prophecy, he immediately, spoke God’s life-giving words to the dry bones. The words he spoke had power because they came from the Lord. The power of the Lord came upon the dry bones, and they became beings with flesh. But what they lacked was God’s Ruach, His life-giving breath. When Ezekiel prophesied breath as the Lord had commanded, breath came into them, and they became an exceedingly great army.

The people of Israel were stuck in a land that had enslaved them, where a normal, happy, thriving life that they had before their captivity was just a pipe dream. They felt more dead than alive. But God, the God who makes dead things come alive, was ready to restore new life to them.

Breath of Life

We all go through seasons when we don’t see any progress in our circumstances. We find ourselves in a dead-end job, marriages that seem lifeless, perhaps the work we feel the Lord has called us to do is not bearing fruit. Perhaps our business is stagnating. Just as God gave Ezekiel the command to speak life to the dry bones, God has given us His Word to speak life to our circumstances. To breathe His ruach into the things that are dead or stagnant in our lives. God has given us His Holy Spirit so that we can receive His wisdom, His discernment and insight into our circumstances. Holy Spirit will give us the revelation we need to speak His Word over our lives. When we do this, they become words of declaration. Words of declaration that will bring the dead things that God wants to revive to life. 

When God does this, he does it so that we can join His exceedingly great army that He is raising up. An army led by Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of heaven’s armies. An army that is revived, restored and ready to do His will, ready to bear testimony to a God that brings dead things to life.

Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Ezekiel 37:4

Reflection:

Are there things in your life that you need restoring? Will you trust God to breathe His life into them?

Prayer:

Thank You, Lord, that Your Word brings life. I surrender the things that need reviving and restoring in my life to You. I pray for wisdom, discernment and insight so that I can speak Your words of life over the dead things that are preventing me from thriving. In Jesus’ name, amen.