Dry Bones...Revisited

There is a song we often sing at our church that moves me every time. It refers to one of my favorite scriptures from Ezekiel 37...the Valley of Dry Bones. Just to remind you, the Spirit of the Lord takes Ezekiel to a valley and he walks up and down among these old dry bones. When Ezekiel was asked if these bones could live again, he replied, "Oh Sovereign Lord, only You know". 

This valley is beyond the Valley of Death that David writes about in Psalm 23. These bones were dry and dusty. Death had come and gone and time and weather had bleached these bones white. 

Back to the song: 

"You give life, You are love, You bring light to the darkness
You give hope, You restore, every heart that is broken
Great are you Lord! 
All the earth will shout Your praise
Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing:
'Great Are You, Lord!'"

This song always takes me back to Ezekiel 37. Scripture says the bones were "very dry". I picture them bleached white by the sun. They had lain there for years. Death had come and gone, hope of life was not even a vague thought or memory. But the Word of the Lord had brought them back together, putting muscle tissue and flesh back on them; His breath, His Spirit gave them life!

We sang it again this past Sunday and it took me back to a blog post I wrote several years ago. I'd like to re-visit part of it here...

For the last several years my family has been in a situation with a loved one that has, at times, seemed hopeless. It seems the more we pray, the farther away they run. For years now, I have carried a mental picture of standing in service and seeing my prodigal walk through the center sanctuary doors. But lately, the picture has been fading; the hope abated...the bones have been bleached white by the hot desert sun.

I prayed with a friend last week, telling her it is just so hard, the load too heavy, the grief too much! But Sunday, this song once again cause faith to rise up in me. Once again, I am hanging on to the promise. I will hold that mental picture with me and raise it up to the face of God, reminding Him of His promise:

"Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life...I will put breath in you...then you will know that I am the Lord." (Ezekiel 37:4-6)

If you, like me, are praying for prodigals in your life to come home to Jesus, I encourage you to stand in faith and hope with me. Hang on to the promise of God and like Ezekiel, prophesy to those "dry bones".

"Then He said, 'Prophecy to the breath: Breathe on these slain, that they may live.' So I prophesied...and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army!" (vs. 9-10)

©2020  'Lena Ehlert

"Live! Live! Dry bones hear the Word of the Lord!"Rattle! Elevation Worship