May 23 Sermon: Then You Shall Know

Consider these questions as we look at Ezekiel 37:1-14:

1. How does the story of the Valley of the Dry Bones in Ezekiel illustrate the concept that the proclamation of the Word of God brings life to those who are dead in sin?

2. What is the significance of the wind in the passage, especially in the context of the Spirit of God? How does it relate to the idea of breath and life?

3. How can the lessons from Ezekiel's vision of the Valley of the Dry Bones be applied in our lives today, particularly in terms of seeking certainty and trusting in the power of God's Word?

Transcript:

We all like to know things for sure. Things being up in the air can lead to sleepless nights, stress, and emotional issues. It can easily become the only thing that you can think about. But when certainty comes all of that falls away. You are filled with peace and you have confidence.

‌This morning we are remembering Pentecost. Last week we looked at the Ascension of Jesus and we saw how the disciples were filled with great joy even though Jesus was leaving them. They were promised that they were going to be the witnesses of Jesus to the world and his kingdom would go forth into the whole world as he reigned from the Father’s right hand. Now as we have read in the book of Acts we see that they receive the Holy Spirit and they take the message of Jesus into the whole world. The disciples have certainty because they have been with Jesus. They have seen that he resurrected after the crucifixion and they saw him depart at his ascension. At Pentecost they are given confirmation with the gift of the Holy Spirit that they are the witnesses of Jesus starting from Jerusalem and going to the ends of the earth. But as we remember this important moment in the history of the church I am not going to go through the story of Pentecost like we do most years. Instead, I want us to look at our Old Testament text for today in Ezekiel where we read about the story of the Valley of the Dry Bones.

‌This story shows us that the proclamation of the Word of God brings life to those who are dead in sin and shows us the reviving power of the message that went forth on the day of Pentecost.

‌And so, as we come into this story we are going to do what I do most weeks and break it down into three points to help us understand it and apply it.

‌The first thing that we are going to see in this story is that the valley is full of bones. The idea in this passage is that the state of affairs Israel is facing is as bad as it can possibly be. The image God shows the prophet Ezekiel is one of hopelessness. Life is not going to come to the people on their own accord because they are in a state of death and decay.

‌Secondly, we see that life comes to the people of God through the proclamation of the Word of the Lord. Ezekiel is not told to assemble the bones. He isn’t crafting anything on his own. He is told to proclaim the Word of the Lord. This is what will give the people of God life.

‌Finally, we see that God is going to put his Spirit within his people. The image that is given to the prophet Ezekiel points us to the work that God does in his people. He comes to them and not only gives them life but his Spirit resides in them. And this is something that will certainly come to pass because God himself has spoken it and declared it to be so.

‌As we come to this passage it is important that we understand the circumstances that have led to this vision coming to the prophet Ezekiel. The Old Testament is filled with turmoil in the nation of Israel. Like most people every where and in every time they long for the good ol’ days. They have heard the stories of their forefathers and how eventually God brought them into the land and he placed David on the throne. Before that time there was great turmoil. Think of the slavery in Egypt, the wandering the wilderness, and the on again, off again times of peace in the book of Judges. But they did have a time where even though there was turmoil, David was ruling and they were one nation of Israel in the place God had brought them to. But not long after the death of David the kingdom split in two at the end of his son, Solomon’s reign. They were a divided people and even worse both Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel had proven to be unfaithful to the Lord and they were taken into exile.

‌The situation that most of the prophets speak the word of the Lord into is one of discord and of exile. It is to a people who have been displaced or who have forsaken the Lord.

‌This is no different for the prophet Ezekiel. Things are not good and so when hand of the Lord is upon him he is brought out in the Spirit of the Lord and put in the middle of a valley and the scene when he arrives there is a picture of the state of the people of God. This valley must have looked like a scene where a great battle must have taken place in the past for there are bones everywhere. It really is a morbid and sad image for us to imagine. And it is important that we look at the words that are stated here. The bones were very dry. The idea here is not that it hasn’t rained in awhile and the valley needs to be refreshed. What is being expressed here is that the bodies that were here have long since decomposed. This is not a recent event being portrayed. This is not a recent battle and there are not some people still alive among them that could possibly be saved. This whole place is long dead.

‌And so, the Lord speaks and asks Ezekiel a question. Son of man, can these bones live? In other words, you mere human, you created being, what do you think of this situation? Is there any life here in the midst of all this deadness.

‌Now, the prophet Ezekiel is clearly a very wise man. He’s obviously been around the block with God a time or three because he doesn’t claim to know the answer. He doesn’t reply with no, they are dead, what kind of a question is that. Instead, he replies with O Lord God, you know. In other words, he humbly acknowledges his feeble state as a creature and doesn’t attempt to put a limitation on his creator and the sovereign over all things.

‌And the Lord gives an interesting answer. He tells Ezekiel to prophesy. Now, as you’ve heard me say so many times, our idea of prophesying is to predict the future but in most cases in the Bible the prophetic word that comes from the prophets is a proclaiming the word of the Lord. Yes, the word can mean predict the future but in a majority of cases to prophesy is to proclaim God’s Word.

‌And so we have seen this valley and it is hopeless. Not just full of some injured people who need a little bandaging up and they’ll be OK. Death is reigning in this valley and it is a hopeless state of affairs. This was the way things were for the people of Israel but it is a truth that permeates time and location. In our sinfulness and on our own this is our state of affairs. We are dead in sin and unbelief. We are not merely sick or misguided. The imagery the Bible uses here and in other places is that we are hopeless apart from the grace and mercy of almighty God. We are dead. Our hearts are hearts of stone unless God acts and gives us a heart of flesh. And where does that life come from. Well, it isn’t from us because we are dead. We need something to act on us from outside of us because we lack the capacity to act on our own. What we need is a word to come to us that comes from outside of us. Just as God spoke at the beginning of creation and all that we know came to be by the power of his word he creates life in us through the power of his word.

‌And look at the powerful words Ezekiel is to prophesy to the drive bones. God will cause breath to enter them and he will give them life. They will have sinews and flesh and skin and they will know that he is the Lord. They will have no doubt that the God has delivered them because they could not have done this on their own.

‌And as we move on to our second point we see that Ezekiel does what is commanded and God gives life.

And this is an amazing thing to think about. Imagine what Ezekiel must have seen and I’m guessing that our imaginations couldn’t even begin to do it justice. The rattling sound must have been startling and then the bones coming together and this isn’t like some bad animated Halloween special with skeletons walking around with their bones connected. The bones have sinews and flesh and skin. But they are missing something. They have everything it takes but they don’t have the breath of life. Think about that. Without the breath of life it goes from a valley of dry bones to a valley of corpses. An impressive accomplishment to be sure but what’s the point? If they don’t have the breath of life it doesn’t mean anything.

‌And so the Lord God says to prophesy to the breath say come from the four winds, O breath and breathe on these slain that they may live. I love that line. It’s awesome just in the way it sounds and the imagery it calls to mind but it is important for us to understand the idea of wind in scripture. The wind and the breath is the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God moves over the water at creation and we saw the wind coming and bringing the Holy Spirit to the Apostles in what we read in Acts this morning.

‌What this shows us is that the Spirit brings life. Apart from the work of God there would not be life. There would not be breath. We would still be dead in our sin. But the Spirit of God comes from the four winds and breathes in those slain and they come to life and they live. They stand to their feet and they become an exceedingly great army. They are a great multitude that is brought to life and they are not struggling to be alive. They are a great army. They are full of power and strength because God has brought them to life and it was the Word of the Lord spoken that does this. It is not by the power of the bones or even the power of Ezekiel. It had nothing to do with human effort or power. It was all the power of the word of the Lord.

‌And as the passage concludes for us today we see that Ezekiel is told what this all means.

‌This wasn’t an exercise in God showing what he can do. It was to show Ezekiel what he was going to do in history for the people of God. And you have to love that God just flat out spells it all out for Ezekiel. There will be no questioning the interpretation here, right? Ezekiel has what he has seen explained to him clearly.

‌The bones are the whole house of Israel. They feel as though they are dead and they have no hope. They have been cut off.

‌But God is telling them that even though they feel as though they are lost and without hope. Dead and gone he is going to open up their graves. While this passage does point us to the resurrection that wasn’t the specific point being made here. What God is saying here is that he is going to bring those who were exiled from the land and he is going to bring them back and they will know for sure that he is God when he does this. It will not be done by their own strength. It will not be a conquest that they will win by their own power because they are powerless. It will be by God’s hand that victory is one. The situation is hopeless but with God their situation has hope.

‌But we see that God will do something more. Just as the wind came and breathed life into the dry bones His Spirit is going to occupy his people and they will be spiritually alive. They will know for certain that he is the Lord because they have been brought to life by His Spirit.

‌And the passage ends with certainty. I have spoken and I will do it. This promise is ironclad. It can be taken to the bank. It will come to pass because the one who is the Lord does what he wills and he will most certainly do it.

‌And as we have seen in the story of Pentecost he has done it. The four winds were called forth and the Apostles received the Spirit and from that place the Word of the Lord went forth into the whole world and the gospel was spoken bringing life to people who were dead in their trespasses and sins. The Spirit has brought life to the people of God. His Spirit is within us.

‌And so we come to the close of this passage and I want to give you two specific applications for you to consider as you step out to serve in God’s world in this coming week.

‌First, hear the word of the Lord. We have seen displayed for us this week that the word of the Lord is powerful. It is transformative. It brings dead to life. If we understand this truth about the word of the Lord and when we understand that this is how God does his work we should be seeking out hearing that powerful, transformative, and life giving Word. And there is a beautiful truth that gives us so much freedom as we seek to be transformed by God’s Word. We know what it is. We don’t have to go looking for notions or inklings and wondering if that is God speaking to us. God speaks through his word and it is sufficient. You don’t have to interpret signs or think you need some kind of wondrous miracle to know that God is speaking. We read of those things in his word because he was establishing his definitive Word so that you could live in absolute freedom knowing what he has spoken to you.

‌Through the power of the Holy Spirit in you this word will take root and as he has promised it will work in you. Trust in the power of that word because it is really all we have. We aren’t going to grow in holiness magically on our own. The Word at work in you is the means by which God does these things. And so we read the Word to know what God has to say because his voice is very clear and we hear the word trusting that it will be powerful and effective in us. It has brought us out of spiritual death and the Spirit has breathed life in us through that Word and so may we trust that we will continue by the power of that same word.

‌Secondly, proclaim the Word. The Word of the Lord came to Ezekiel and he proclaimed it and life came. We are called to proclaim the Word and as I mentioned just a few moments ago, we know what that word is. We don’t need to wonder whether God is speaking when we trust in his holy word and the only source for faith and practice. And so when we proclaim that word we trust that God is speaking through us to proclaim that life giving word of the gospel. We are called to proclaim that word to the world and to our friends and to our families trusting that he will be at work through his word just as he always has.

‌And as we contemplate these two important applications I want to remind you that this is precisely what we have done this morning. Worship is a conversation. We hear God speak through his Word and we respond. God calls us to worship and we respond in praise. The Word call us to confess our sins and we respond and then hear that our sins are forgiven. You get the idea. Worship is a dialogue between God and us and we can leave here today absolutely certain that we have heard God speak and we have responded by proclaiming his word by singing and speaking it back to him.

‌And so we live in certainty that God has clearly spoken because he has given us his word and we celebrate the certainty of God’s Word and of his Spirit at work in us. It is at work in you to make you holy. He has spoken and he will do it.