Dry Bones

DRY BONES

         There's an interesting story in the Old Testament where God is giving a message to His prophet Ezekiel and He uses a valley of dry bones to illustrate His truth.  The photo above is a collection of real skulls from various kinds of people, some of whom lived centuries ago.  They are dry bones in a museum in Rostock, Germany.
          The skeleton below looks like a set of dry bones from a once-living person, but instead it's a manufactured skeleton that's in the Children's Museum in Portsmouth, Virginia.  Still, it gives us a good picture of what a real set of dry bones looks like.

          In the book of Ezekiel 37, the prophet has a vision where God places him in a valley filled with dry bones.  Then God asks the prophet a strange question: "Son of man, can these dry bones live?"
          Ezekiel wisely answered, "O Lord God, you know."
          How often do you and I look out at what appears to be a mess around us and we shake our heads, saying, "Not even God can fix this mess!"  Oh, we may not actually say the words, but deep inside that's what we're thinking.
          It would be much better to take the attitude of Ezekiel and realize that God can do anything and everything - beyond our wildest imaginations.
         Certainly, raising up a valley of dry bones and building them into a living breathing army of men is beyond imagination.  Yet, that's exactly what God did, right there -- in a matter of minutes.
         I bet it was exciting for Ezekiel to watch -- and possibly a bit scary!
       
         As with everything God does, He had a purpose for this amazing scene.  God was offering Ezekiel -- and all of us -- a visual picture of how He was going to raise up the nation of Israel and His people the Jews, from a dead nation into a living breathing, strong nation.  That He was going to bring them back into their land and that they would once again be His people.
          This prophecy about the rebirth of Israel was given over 2,600 years ago.  It came to pass on May 14, 1948 -- 72 years ago.  It's just one of many prophecies given to us about the rebirth of Israel and we've been watching them come to pass over the past seven decades.
           It's exciting to live in a time where ancient prophecy is being fulfilled and we are watching events unfold in ways that our ancestors could never have imagined.