"Then He asked me: 'Son of man, can these bones live?' I answered, 'O Lord God! You know.' (Book of Prophet Ezekiel, ch. 37, v. 3)
It's January, the fog is a daily occurrence, the trees around us show no signs of life. Gray, sad, and drooping, their branches seem to whisper, 'This is the end, there is no turning back.' So far we've been talking about nature and season, but what is happening in your heart? Do you let the time outside seep in? Is it possible this winter you are about to 'bury' something – a goal, a dream, your future? Have you lost a harvest because of the climate of this spiritual season? Do you feel the weight of rebuke or the consequences of your own mistakes? Do you stand on the battlefield among the defeated, before those fallen in battle, considering yourself one of the losers?
The Lord spoke to the prophet Ezekiel during a time when the Judeans were taken captive by the Babylonians, with messages that were heavy and convicting. What is the season for Ezekiel, is it easy for him at a time when everyone is desperate and searching for something to hold onto to have to warn of God's punishment or remind of the nation's sin. The name of the prophet means 'God strengthens' or 'God supports'. Ezekiel's prophecies certainly do not make him a favorite among the Israelites and Judeans. In the historical time in which he lives and serves, God's people in Israel and Judah have indeed strayed from the righteous path. People are sacrificing to all the pagan deities worshiped by their neighbors, abandoning the true God – something we see constantly happening in the Old Testament. Yahweh warns the people of what will happen because of sin and the profanation of all that is holy and pure, but they change nothing. The Lord tells Ezekiel: 'The house of Israel will not want to listen to you, for they do not want to hear Me, for the whole house of Israel is stubborn and has a hard heart.' (Ezekiel, ch. 3, v. 7) Of course, punishment comes in the form of the Babylonians – Jerusalem is destroyed, the temple too, a large part of the nation along with their king is taken into captivity in the region of Chaldea.
The pain of punishment is great. We can understand how severe the event truly is by reading the vision Ezekiel receives afterward: 'The Lord brought me out by His Spirit and set me in the middle of a field full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the surface of the valley, bones that were very dry...' Then He said to me: 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, "Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off." (Ezekiel, ch. 37, v. 1b-2, 11) Then God asks the prophet, questioning whether these bones can live again. What would you have answered? Ezekiel sees death and hopelessness and answers: 'O Sovereign Lord! You know.'
God knows, but He asks us so we can see for ourselves what we believe in. Perhaps today, when you stand in front of a similar 'dead' situation, when you've been rebuked or even punished, when what you hoped for hasn't happened and you have lost all hope for the future, God asks you this question too: 'Son of man, can these bones live?' Dear friend, is there anything so terrible, so dry and dead, so irreversible, that is greater than God and His mercy? Isn't it His will for our hearts to change and be restored from sin and bondage? Doesn't the Lord 'discipline every son he loves'? 'Then He said to me, "Prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind: 'Thus says the Lord God: 'Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.' So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.' (Ezekiel, ch. 37, v. 9-10, bold emphasis is ours)
If you feel tired, hopeless, desperate, even dead, read this passage again. For God, it is not difficult to turn a field of dry bones into a vast army. He is the one who turns potential energy into kinetic only because of His mercy and faithfulness. We have no share in this spiritual law. 'I will put my Spirit within you, and you will live, and I will settle you in your land, and you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done it' – says the Lord." (Ezekiel, ch. 37, v. 14, bold emphasis is ours)
* Biblical quotes are according to the text of the Bible, new translation from the original languages © Bulgarian Bible Society 2013.
Photo: Alekon Pictures/Unsplash.com