David Diga Hernandez - The Valley of Dry Bones: God's Assignment to You

Let’s begin by going to Ezekiel chapter 37. I’m going to read verses 1 through 10. This is a very famous portion of Scripture. The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones. He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. Then He asked me, «Son of man, can these bones become living people again?» O Sovereign Lord, I replied, «You alone know the answer to that.» Then He said to me, «Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am going to put breath into you and make you live again. I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’» Verse 7: So I spoke this message just as He told me. Suddenly, as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons. Then, as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones, and skin formed to cover their bodies. But they still had no breath in them. Then He said to me, «Speak a prophetic message to the winds. Son of man, speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, O breath, from the four winds. Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’» So I spoke the message as He commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army.

Now here, God is giving a prophetic picture to the prophet Ezekiel. The context is that the children of Israel have been taken into captivity by the Babylonians as a result of their sin and idol worship. They have now come under bondage; they lost their land, their livelihoods, and the temple, and they find themselves in this impossible situation. The nation coming back doesn’t seem likely. The captivity brings them to a state of depression and hopelessness. They worry about their futures. In fact, they know their futures are likely no more. Now God uses the dry bones as an analogy to explain the spiritual state of the nation of Israel. Think about the fact that these bones were dry. There was no life in them whatsoever. We’re not talking about dead bodies that just needed breath. We’re talking about all flesh stripped away; we’re talking about bones lying in a valley, dried out, lifeless, and scattered—absolutely impossible. I love that in verse 3, Ezekiel responds to the Lord, saying, «Only You know.» Only You know if these dry bones can live. Only You know if life can come back into them. This is just hopeless, and only You can do it. So God tells him to prophesy to this bleak, dark, depressing, hopeless situation.

Now I want to point out to you that this is not a prophetic picture of you and me. We are victorious in Christ, even in the midst of trouble. 1 John chapter 5, verse 4 says, «For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.» Romans 8:37 says, «No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loved us.» Think about the fact that not even death itself can take away our hope. We deal with death and seemingly hopeless situations much differently than those who do not have Christ deal with them. The Scripture says in 1 Thessalonians 4:13, «And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died, so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.» We don’t even grieve the same. Bones cannot represent us. These dry bones in Ezekiel 37 cannot represent you and me because we’re alive in Christ. We’re not dead. John 10:10 says, «The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.» 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 22 says, «For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.» So these dry bones cannot possibly represent you and me. We’re victorious; we’re alive in Christ; we are more than conquerors. These dry bones represent the bound; they represent those in need of a Savior. The bones represent hopeless people, and you and I are not hopeless.

I want you to notice also that Ezekiel was taken to a valley. Now, biblically speaking, valleys represent hardship; valleys represent dark times. Take a look at Psalm chapter 23, verse 4: «Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me. Your rod and Your staff protect and comfort me, ” or as the King James Version says, „Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.“ Now take a look at these biblical valleys and what they represent. Consider the Valley of Elah; this is where David confronted Goliath, and this is found in 1 Samuel chapter 17, verse 2. This is the valley of conflict. Consider also the Valley of Achor; this is where Aiken was stoned to death as a consequence for his sin. This is found in Joshua chapter 7, verse 26. This is the valley of consequence. Consider the Valley of Sidim; this is where Sodom and Gomorrah were located or near. Scholars debate the exact location, but we definitely know that…