A Vast Army

Ezekiel  37:1-14

Key Verse  10

„So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them;

they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army.“

The Prophet Ezekiel was taken prisoner during the second Babylonian attack. At that time he was 25 years old. At the age of 30 he was called to be God´s prophet. In this passage Ezekiel had a vision about a valley full of bones. God asked him, “Can these bones live?” Finally, God told him, “Prophesy to the breath.” When Ezekiel obeyed God´s command, the dry bones came into life again and became a vast army. According to this vision we want to think about the power of the word of God and the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit.

I.   Can these bones live?  (1-3)

Look at verses 1.2: “The Hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.” Ezekiel was set in the middle of a valley full of bones. All over the place there were very dry bones. It was terrible. More than this, it was horrible. But he was brought to this place by the Spirit of the Lord. This Spirit forth him among this valley of death. On every step Ezekiel heard crunching and crashing sounds under his feet. It was a place of death and shear desperation. There was no hope in this field. It seemed there was a battle 100 years before and noone had burried the beaten army. The bones on the floor of the valley were completely dry. Ezekiel was not amused when he saw so many skeletons lying around. It was like being in an horrorcabinet. I don´t like skeletons too. So my God trained me and confronted me with bones by marrying a surgeon. When I visited her hospital she let me see surgeonal prozesses, for example to operate a broken bone or go into an abdomen with a videocamera and see the organs. But during so many years of living together and hearing her hospitalstories, I became customary for me to hear this. Ezekiel on the other side saw those skeletons the first time. A little bit they still look like people, but totally lifeless. Is there any picture which symbolise hopelessness and lifelessness better than the very dry bones on the floor of this valley? There is no extremer picture than this. It was really unimaginable that these bones ever could have strength and life again.

But look at verses 3: “He asked me, `Son of man, can these bones live?´ I said, `O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.´” When Ezekiel looked at the bones, God asked him, `Can these bones live?´ What kind of question was that? It was like a question, `Can these students spiritual live? Can Europe become a spiritual living continent sending out missionaries again? Can I become a good shepherd full of God´s shepherdheart for young people around me?´ Normally, the dead can not come back to life. A doctor´s efforts for revival don´t make any sense anymore on dry bones. There should happen a miracle to make bones living. According to verse 11, this vision refers to the house of Israel. Would Israel live again? Would their faith, their hope and their vision come back to life? Would they rise again as a holy nation and a royal priesthood? God is a God of hope. Israel´s situation in Babylon was desperate. God had the hope that Israel would be alive again. God wanted to plant his hope in Ezekiel´s heart. When God begins the work of restoration, he first plants new expectation in his servant´s heart. God is a God of power. Although the bones were entirely dried out, he could bring them back to life. He is the Lord of the resurrection and the life. In Hes 36,26 God proclaimed: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

What did Ezekiel answered to God´s amazing command? Did he answer, `No, God, that is absolutely impossible.´? No, he did not speak in that way. For humans it was not possible for bones to come back to life. Yet, he did not answer from his limited point of view, nor according to his thinking or experience. Instead of this he spoke words of faith. He said, `O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.´ This answer reminds us to the words of Maria who should bring Jesus into the world without knowing a man. But in this situation she also spoke words of faith by saying, `I am the Lord´s servant. May it be to me as you have said.´ (Lk 1,38) Ezekiel was a man of faith. He had faith in the power of God. God is the souvereign ruler of the living and the death. He alone knew what should happen. When I sit on my desk, meditating about the word of God, I often take a feeling-stone in my hand. On this stone the following words are writen: `For nothing is impossible with God!` It is good to know for me, that all things are possible with God. It´s good for me to have faith in this almighty God. Ezekiel was a wise man. He could not dictate what God was going to do. But he believed that God will give the right answer to his question. God plans his work and carries it out. If God wants, he can make dry bones come into life. God works in such mysterious ways that we can hardly imagine. If we have faith in God we can have the faith that God will fullfill any ministry, even a ministry which seems to be impossible. It is a biblical fact that at the end of time all knees will bow before God almighty. God asked, `Son of man, can these bones live?´ By faith we can answer, `O sovereign Lord, you alone know.´

II.   Prophesy to the breath   (4-14)

Look at verses 4-6: “Then he said to me, `Prophesy to these bones and say to them, `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 attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.´” Here God challenged Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones that God would make breath enter them and they would come to life. God would give them tendons, flesh and skin. Ezekiel prophesied as God told him. God began the work of restoring Israel with the prophesy to dried bones. Where God´s word is prophesied, a work of creation begins.

What words did God let be prophesied to the dry bones? “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!” God let the dry bones be said that they should hear the word of the Lord. Bones usually have no ears to hear. But how could they hear the words of the Lord? God did not give up on them at that point. God let it be known to them, `Hear the word of the Lord!´ The word of the Lord is like a sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit (Heb 4,12). This word of the Lord came to Israel after crossing the Red sea (Ex 19,5.6a), “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Yet, Israel did not hear the word of God. Finally, they were carried away as prisoners to Babylon. They were in a swamp of desperation and hopelessness. However, God did not give up on his people like dried up bones. He sent his servant and let them hear his words. God had a hope that his people would live again, if they would hear the word of God. `Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!´

What happened after the word of the Lord came to the dry bones? Look at verses 7.8: “So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.” Ezekiel was confused. But when he obeyed Gods command fully, he could see the power of the word of the Lord. There was a rustling, the bones were moving and coming together. Then tendons grew and flesh over them and they were covered with skin. Now the bones looked like real people again. But there was no breath in them. They looked like Zombies. Although they looked like real people, they were not yet alive.

Look at verses 9.10: “Then he said to me, ´Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, `This is what the Sovereign Lord says: `Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.´ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up their feet – a vast army.” God allowed Ezekiel to prophesy to the breath that it should come from all four winds and breathe into the slain, that they might live again. When Ezekiel obeyed the breath came into the people and they came to life and stood up on their feet. As they stood there, they were a vast army. The bones looked so miserable and hopeless. But now there was a vast army. What a great change! The breath of God turned the dead into a powerful army. The breath of God overcame the power of death. God let the breath to be prophesied to and challenged the power of death. Ezekiel prophesied to the breath by faith, `Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live!´

Here I can learn two important points. First, the power of God´s word. Vers 14 says: “Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.” God´s work is not a human work. The work that God himself plans and announces, will be fulfilled according to his word. It´s interesting to see that God doesn´t fulfil his word by himself. God fulfills his work through his precious servants. God gives his servants the authority to prophecy to the lifeless bones. Ezekiel was only a Babylonian prisoner. His work of prophecy seemed to be small and insignificant. But God led world history according to Ezekiel´s prophesy and restored Israel to a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. According to the word of God, Jesus the savior of the world was born in a manger. Later he planted the hope of God into the heart of his disciples by preaching God´s word. According God´s prophecy Jesus died on the cross and finally rose again from the death. When Paul went to Rome, he was a prisoner in chains. But instead of living a sad and fruitless life, he began to preach the gospel to the Romans one by one. So God´s word could conquer the Roman Empire step by step. The power of God´s word changed the history and established a vast army of God from Rome to all over Europe. God is still fullfilling his world salvation work through his divine servants. Because Martin Luther translated the word of God into German language, the power of the gospel could change Germany and later all of Europe. We need no big churches like the Kölner Dom where over 20.000 people can come in. We just need people who obey God and preach the word of the Lord through 1:1 Bibel study. Through this ministry dried souls in Europe will stand up as a vast army of God. May God make me an Ezekiel for my time!

Second, the importance of prophesy to breath. WhenEzekiel prophesied to the dry bones, they became living humans. Yet, they had no breath of life. They lived in the flesh but were spiritually dead. Although Ezekiel preached the word of God as best as he could do, he could not make the dead living. That is why God let Ezekiel prophesy to the breath. When he obeyed God´s command and prophesied to breath, life came to the dead again. When the breath of life came into them, they received God´s spirit and became a vast army that could go into spiritual battle.

What does it mean to prophesy to breath? It means that you ask almighty God to give life back to the dead through his spirit. After Jesus´ ascension, his disciples were helpless and hid themselves in Jerusalem. Their bodies lived but their spirit was dead. So they prayed from all their hearts for the promised spirit of God. Suddenly the spirit of God came down like the blowing of a violent wind. This spirit gave life to them. 3.000 dead souls came back to life through their testimony. A vast army of God were resurrected. I pray that God may raise people like Ezekiel and people like the disciples of Jesus. I pray that God use me to prophecy to the dead students of Cologne, Germany and Europe, so God can give them new life through his spirit!

God wants to spend his Holy Spirit to the young generation of Europe through the powerful word of the Lord. If we pray so, God will grant us his life and establish a vast army of God. Finally we will cry out, `This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden.´ (36,35) I pray that God helps me to improve my Sunday worship massage, so that the power of God´s word can give dried bones new life. May God help us to prophecy to the breath to breathe into European souls, that they may live! Let us read the keyverse again: „So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them;  they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army.“