'Dem Bones...

I remember my mom and dad singing a silly song growing up...'Dem bones, 'dem bones, 'dem dry bones...and I have no idea what it meant or was even about...but Ezekiel has a lot more to say about bones...

I was reading in Ezekiel the other day and feeling down about the world and how dead it can be - spiritually, emotionally, etc. In Ezekiel, God places the prophet in a valley. A valley of dead bones. I can imagine vultures lurking and stench and despair. Particularly in a valley. Perhaps there were so many dead because a battle had taken place. Perhaps it was a funeral pit for the poor or rejected? I wish I knew the context. But God placed the prophet there saying, "Son of Man, can these bones live?" (It's as if He's testing Ezekiel, asking, "Do you believe I can do the impossible?") And God tells him to prophesy that they will. (Almost as if to say, "Even you testifying and believing, even your faith, is a gift from Me). (I don't know, I think that may say something about predestination there...) So Ezekiel prophesies, and the bones begin to crackle and shake, maybe creak...muscles and ligaments start to grow (I think I might have passed out). And God breathes life into them. He acts. And they are made alive. This is the gospel! Our dead, decaying, spiritual, emotional bones are raised from the dead, put back together, and made alive. Literally and figuratively! There is hope for this hurting and dying world!