The Valley of dry bones

Judah was in a world of hurt, just like her northern cousins in the kingdom of Israel.

The nation of Israel had been divided in two because of its rebellion against the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Under King David, Israel had been a united country, but with David’s grandson, the son of Solomon, the nation was divided in half, with the Kingdom of Israel in the north, and the kingdom of Judah in the south.

And now, because of Israel’s refusal to listen to Almighty God, the northern kingdom had been carried off into exile by the nation of Assyria, modern day Turkey, and the southern kingdom then faced its own exile by the nation of Babylon, modern day Iraq.

Time after time, God had tried to warn Judah of its rebellion, but the kings and the people of the land would not listen. The prophet Isaiah tried to warn them, Isaiah 1:16-20; “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord; though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword.”

But they would not listen. The prophet Jeremiah tried to warn them, Jeremiah 4:9-18; “Warn the nations that judgment is coming, announce to Jerusalem, besiegers are coming from a distant land. Your ways and your deeds have brought this upon you.This is your doom, and it is bitter; and it has reached your very heart.”

But they would not listen. The prophet Ezekiel tried to warn them, Ezekiel 7:1-7; “The end is upon you, and I will send my anger upon you; I will judge you according to your ways and I will punish you for all your abominations. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

But again, they would not listen. And with the last king that ruled the nation of Judah, the king of Babylon came and conquered the land and carried the people off into exile for 70 years of captivity.

Judah and Israel both, cried out unto the Lord to bring judgment upon their captors and release to allow them to return to their homeland. By way of a vision, He carried the prophet Ezekiel out to a valley full of dry bones.

Like the bones of a cow on the West Texas desert, those bones were as dry as dusty as can be, and not a sign of life was in them. But the Lord asked Ezekiel a question, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

And Ezekiel gave the only answer he could have given, “O Lord God, only You know the answer to that question.” So the Lord had Ezekiel to prophesy unto those bones, and when he did, the Lord breathed the breath of life into them, and they lived and stood up like a mighty army.

Sometimes, like those dry bones, you and I feel just as dry and just as dusty as those dried up cow bones on the West Texas prairie lands because we have rebelled against the Lord God and against His word. We have said to the Lord, “Thank you, Lord, but I believe I know what’s best for me and I will live life on my own,” and yet we’re empty inside.

There is no real life, no real joy, our purpose seems to have been lost, because we have decided to live life apart from our Maker. Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy, but I have come that you might have life, and have it abundantly!”

Today, if you have never asked Jesus into your heart to be your Savior, or if you are a Christian who has wandered away from the Lord, if you will simply ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and to be your Lord and Savior, you can, like Ezekiel’s dry bones, receive the breath of life from the Giver of Life, who is God and begin to build your life upon faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, and upon His word, the Bible, and begin experiencing the abundant life He has to give. Would you ask Him into your heart today?