the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. and he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. and he said to me, “son of man, can these bones live?” and i answered, “o Lord God, you know.” then he said to me, “prophesy over these bones, and say to them, o dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. thus says the Lord God to these bones: behold, i will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. [ezekiel 37:1-5]
can God raise the dead?
can God raise the dead? can God truly and fully bring to life, that which is dead. that is a three fold question.
- can he one day raise our long dead bodies and make us live forever with him in new and eternal bodies?
- can he raise to life a body racked by disease that has a sentence of death placed on it by doctors.
- can he raise the dead soul of one who has long been separated from God by their sin and rebellion? can he raise the one “so far gone,” we all say, “she will never be saved.”
can he raise the dead?
read the rest of this passage from ezekiel 37. and allow the Lord to birth belief this morning that he can raise the dead, that he is the only one who can raise the dead. may he give you an awe and worship this morning that is new and fresh. may your belief rise and may you end this morning asking God to bring death from life. ask him for you. ask him for others. may we cry out to God this morning for life! come on church, let’s cry out! “God breath your life!”
and i will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that i am the Lord.”
so i prophesied as i was commanded. and as i prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. and i looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. but there was no breath in them. then he said to me, “prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, thus says the Lord God: come from the four winds, o breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” so i prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
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 indeed cut off.’ therefore prophesy, and say to them, thus says the Lord God: behold, i will open your graves and raise you from your graves, o my people. and i will bring you into the land of i srael. and you shall know that i am the Lord, when i open your graves, and raise you from your graves, o my people. and i will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and i will place you in your own land. then you shall know that i am the Lord; i have spoken, and i will do it, declares the Lord.” [ezekiel 37:6–14]
~ john ryan