Ezekiel Chapter 37
1 The LORD's hand was on me, and he brought me out in the LORD's Spirit, and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones.
2 He caused me to pass by them all around: and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and behold, they were very dry.
3 He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I answered, "Lord GOD, you know."
4 Again he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and tell them, 'You dry bones, hear the LORD's word.
5 The Lord GOD says to these bones: "Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you will live.
6 I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the LORD." ' "
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. As I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, there was an earthquake. Then the bones came together, bone to its bone.
8 I saw, and, behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and tell the wind, 'The Lord GOD says: "Come from the four winds, breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live." ' "
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost. We are completely cut off.'
12 Therefore prophesy, and tell them, 'The Lord GOD says: "Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.
13 You will know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves, my people.
14 I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live. Then I will place you in your own land; and you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it," says the LORD.' "
15 The LORD's word came again to me, saying,
16 "You, son of man, take one stick, and write on it, 'For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions.' Then take another stick, and write on it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions.'
17 Then join them for yourself to one another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand.
18 "When the children of your people speak to you, saying, 'Won't you show us what you mean by these?'
19 tell them, 'The Lord GOD says: "Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in my hand.
20 The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes." '
21 Say to them, 'The Lord GOD says: "Behold, I will take the children of Israel from amongst the nations, where they have gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land.
22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. One king will be king to them all. They will no longer be two nations. They won't be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.
23 They won't defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. So they will be my people, and I will be their God.
24 " ' "My servant David will be king over them. They all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in my ordinances, and observe my statutes, and do them.
25 They will dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers lived. They will dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children's children, forever. David my servant will be their prince forever.
26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them. It will be an everlasting covenant with them. I will place them, multiply them, and will set my sanctuary amongst them forever more.
27 My tent also will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
28 The nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is amongst them forever more." ' "
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Ezekiel Chapter 37 Guide
The wonderful vision of the valley filled with bones was now granted to the prophet. As he gazed on them, he was asked, "Son of man, can these bones live?" His utter abandonment to God, even in the matter of his conception, was evident in his reply, "O Lord God, Thou knowest." Over these bones he was then told to prophesy, commanding the people to hear the word of the Lord, proclaiming to them the promise that breath should enter into them and flesh be restored to them. He obeyed, and beheld the bones coming together, and being clothed with sinews and with flesh. As yet the wonder had proceeded only so far as the restoration of dry and scattered bones to corpses.
Again he was commanded to prophesy to the wind, calling it to come and breathe on the slain so that they might live. He obeyed, and beheld the corpses standing on their feet, a living army. This vision was the outcome of a proverb current among the people, "Our bones are dried up and our hope is lost, we are clean cut off." The application of the vision was made in the declaration that God would bring His people from their graves, and make them live.
Having thus foretold the renewal of the people, the prophet was instructed to take two sticks and inscribe on them for Judah and for Joseph, and all the house of Israel. These he was to join together, so that they should be one stick in his hand. When the people inquired what he meant by this, he was to tell them that the purpose of God was not only renewal, but also reunion.
The prophet then repeated the promise of the coming of the one Shepherd, under whose rule Jehovah's original intention for His people would be fulfilled. With them He would make a covenant of peace, and, as symbolized in the ancient economy, would dwell in the midst of them forevermore.
Again the underlying purpose of the whole history of Israel is revealed in the final promise, "The nations shall know that I am Jehovah."
From "An Exposition of the Whole Bible" by G. Campbell Morgan.
Ezekiel Chapter 37 Commentary
Chapter Outline
- God restores dried bones to life. -- (1-14)
- The whole house of Israel is represented as enjoying the blessings of Christ's kingdom. -- (15-28)
Verses 1-14
No created power could restore human bones to life. God alone could cause them to live. Skin and flesh covered them, and the wind was then told to blow upon these bodies; and they were restored to life. The wind was an emblem of the Spirit of God, and represented his quickening powers. The vision was to encourage the desponding Jews; to predict both their restoration after the captivity, and also their recovery from their present and long-continued dispersion. It was also a clear intimation of the resurrection of the dead; and it represents the power and grace of God, in the conversion of the most hopeless sinners to himself. Let us look to Him who will at last open our graves, and bring us forth to judgment, that He may now deliver us from sin, and put his Spirit within us, and keep us by his power, through faith, unto salvation.
Verses 15-28
This emblem was to show the people, that the Lord would unite Judah and Israel. Christ is the true David, Israel's King of old; and those whom he makes willing in the day of his power, he makes to walk in his judgments, and to keep his statutes. Events yet to come will further explain this prophecy. Nothing has more hindered the success of the gospel than divisions. Let us study to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; let us seek for Divine grace to keep us from detestable things; and let us pray that all nations may be obedient and happy subjects of the Son of David, that the Lord may be our God, and we may be his people for evermore.
From the "Concise Commentary on the Bible" by Matthew Henry.