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BIRTH of a NATION / Ezekiel 37 © 2015 Holland Davis ______DRY BONES DANCING

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BIRTH of a NATION / Ezekiel 37 © 2015 Holland Davis ______DRY BONES DANCING ______________________________ DRY BONES DANCING INTRODUCTION: Turn to Ezekiel 33 • This week in our midweek study we will be covering Ezekiel 35-39 which brings us to some of the most famous passages of scripture in Ezekiel • Today we are going to look at one of them • The vision of the Valley of Dry Bones • It’s where we get the title of our series Dry Bones Dancing and it’s a vision that Ezekiel has relating to the Birth of Israel as a nation Chuck Smith when he was speaking to a Jewish skeptic asked him… do you know how I know that the Bible is absolutely true? The skeptic answered… no, how do you know? Chuck Smith replied… you are the proof. The fact that Israel exists as a nation is proof that the Bible is absolutely true. For those skeptics that wonder if the Bible is true and if God is real, just look at the nation of Israel • Prior 1948, Israel did not exist as an independent nation since Babylon conquered Judah in 606 B.C. • The destruction of Israel at the hands of the Babylonians was completed in 587 B.C. with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple • For 70 years, the Jewish people were exiled in Babylon • But in 537 B.C., the Persian King Cyrus conquered Babylon and issued a decree fro the Jews to return to their land and rebuild the Temple • This is covered in the Book of Nehemiah • It was during the Babylonian Captivity that Ezekiel prophesied that Israel would be restored as an independent nation Ezekiel 4:4–6 (NKJV) 4 “Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. 5 For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6 And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year. • Ezekiel prophesies that for 430 years, a period of time known as the Servitude of the Nation, Israel would be ruled by foreign powers BIRTH OF A NATION / Ezekiel 37 © 2015 Holland Davis ______________________________ DRY BONES DANCING • The were ruled by the Persians, then the Greeks and then the Romans • This brings us to Jesus’ day • The arrival of Jesus marked the end of 430 years of Servitude • When Jesus rode into Jerusalem riding on a donkey symbolizing Peace, we read that the streets of Jerusalem were filled with rejoicing and the people were declaring Blessed is He Who Comes In The Name of the Lord • They recognized Jesus as the Messiah • However, the nation of Israel then rejected Jesus as the Messiah and refused to obey God • Thus in 70 AD, Titus and the Roman legions destroyed the Temple and scattered the Jewish people… this was known as the Diaspora • The destruction of the Temple was prophesied by Jesus • The Diaspora resulted in the gospel being spread throughout the world Now God told Israel that when they returned to the land, if the people rejected their God, He would increase their punishments seven fold Leviticus 26:27–28 (NKJV) 27 ‘And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, 28 then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. • So in the time when Israel was to be restored to the land, they rejected Jesus the Messiah and as a result they were driven from the land and Israel did not exist as a nation until May 14, 1948 • We won’t get into it, but the date that Israel would become a nation was prophesied by Daniel… to the DAY!!! • But you’ll have to wait until Daniel to find out more about that • So from 606 B.C. until 1948… Israel was off the map, but God never forgot His people and God never forgot His Covenant to Abraham to give his descendants the land as an everlasting Covenant So we come to Ezekiel 37 which says Ezekiel 37:1–6 (NKJV) 37 The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” BIRTH OF A NATION / Ezekiel 37 © 2015 Holland Davis ______________________________ DRY BONES DANCING So I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.” 4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O 5 dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.” ’ ” Now what is significant about Dry Bones? • When you see dry bones in the desert, it’s a sign that the bones have been there along time • Whatever man or animal they belonged to died along time ago • So long ago that the elements have stripped the bones clean of any living tissue… • Certainly, prior to 1948 Israel was a Valley of Dry Bones • It had been so long since they existed as a nation that no one remembered them and in fact, squatters had come into the land and claimed squatters rights… that’s the Palestinian dilemma • The land never belonged to them, but they’ve been there so long they are claiming to be the legal owners • Now this regathering of the Jews into their own homeland – the second time – is key to understanding the times in which we live Isaiah 11:11–12 (NKJV) 11 It shall come to pass in that day That the LORD shall set His hand again the second time To recover the remnant of His people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea. 12 He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth. • The first time they returned to the land was after the 70 year exile from Babylon • The second time refers to Israel becoming a nation • In fact, Ezekiel uses the same imagery of bringing them from the four corners or the four winds of the earth Ezekiel 37:9 (NKJV) BIRTH OF A NATION / Ezekiel 37 © 2015 Holland Davis ______________________________ DRY BONES DANCING 9 Also 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 it’s clear that Ezekiel and Isaiah are talking about the same event • On May 14, 1948, when David Ben Gurion announced on international radio the name of “Israel” as the new state and homeland for the Jews • He used Ezekiel 37 as His inspiration for the name Ezekiel 37:12–13 (NKJV) 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. • Not only was it a miracle that a nation that ceased to exist for 2552 years was reborn… • Something that has never happened in history before or since • But it happened in 1 day according to prophecy Isaiah 66:8 (NKJV) 8 Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children. • In the 1800’s a movement known as Zionism began to encourage Jews worldwide to move to Israel • Which had been renamed Palestine by the Romans when under Roman occupation • This movement to Israel is what the Bible refers to as labor pains… as soon as Zion was in labor – notice the terms being used • There was a UN Mandate for the British to govern Palestine after WWII and the UN Mandate was scheduled to expire May 14, 1948 • Hours after foreign control of the land had formally ceased, The Jewish National Council proclaimed the state of Israel • Hours after Israel declared independence, the United States recognized Israel as a sovereign state. BIRTH OF A NATION / Ezekiel 37 © 2015 Holland Davis ______________________________ DRY BONES DANCING • Thus, Israel was literally born in a single day Ezekiel writes Ezekiel 37:10 (NKJV) 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
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