Ezekiel 37:1-28

Hope is a much more gratifying message than doom.  Ezekiel has been called by God to deliver what, for the most part, has been a message of doom.  God now calls Ezekiel to deliver a much different and much more satisfying message: a message of hope.  One of the biggest questions on the minds of the children of Israel who knew the Scriptures had to have been about the promises of God.  God has made many promises to the fathers of Israel about their inhabiting the land and being a blessing to all the nations.  The destruction of the land, the death of so many people and the captivity in the nations does not seem to fit into that promise from God. However, God now gives Ezekiel two illustrations that depict a message of hope for God’s people and the nation.

THE NATION OF ISRAEL WILL BE REVIVED: The first illustration is a valley full of dry bones that represents Israel in her current state of spiritual rebellion and physical captivity.  It appears that Israel has been killed, and is a graveyard of dry and unburied bones.  However, God calls for Ezekiel to prophesy over these bones and they begin to move, join together and flesh forms on these bones.  Ezekiel then commands the wind to fill the bodies with breath and the bodies begin to live and breathe.  This is a clear illustration that Israel will once again be brought back from their state of captivity and be given a new life in their land.  God will keep His promises and He will revive this nation and restore it to the land which He had promised.  God will never forget His promises and will always be faithful to His Word.  There may be times in history when we cannot see any way for the current events to align with the promises of God’s Word, but they will eventually be fulfilled according to God’s sovereign plan.   


THE NATION OF ISRAEL WILL BE REDEEMED: The second illustration is of two sticks joined as one.  When the people ask about this illustration Ezekiel is told to reveal to the people that God will unite the nation of Israel once again.  Judah and Israel would no longer be a divided kingdom but they would be united as one.  Not only would they be unified, but they would be ruled by King David, who is clearly the promised Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ.  The Lord will remove all idolatry from this nation in a permanent fashion and the children of Israel will be saved from their sin and walk in obedience to the Lord through their faith in the Gospel.  Jesus will redeem them from their captivity to the nations; but more significantly, He will redeem them from their captivity to sin.  The promise of redemption through Christ is a promise that extends to every man, woman and child from every nation on the planet.  God’s Sprit will indwell all who trust Christ.  However, there seems to be a very clear promise that Israel as a nation will also turn to Christ and that He will reign over them and they will be His people.  The land will be perpetually theirs and they will worship Him is spirit and in truth.  This is a message of great hope that I believe is still yet to come upon this nation upon the second coming of Christ.

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