All In With Ezekiel Screen 1 Ezekiel 37:1-14 Screen 2 July 15, 2018
(Think revival when I preach this sermon.)
ARTHOR Ezekiel’s name means “God strengthens” or “may God strengthen.” He Screen 3 was a younger contemporary of Jeremiah (from last week). He was born approximately 623 BC (died approximately 573 BC shortly a er his final vision which is recorded in Ezekiel 40).
DATE & SETTING The date of the book is approximately 573 BC (shortly before Screen 4 the death of Ezekiel). It’s a very long book. Only Psalms, Jeremiah and Genesis are longer. He covers a lot of material that is arranged around a single event - the destruc on of Jerusalem. Chapters 1-24 announce the coming judgment on Jerusalem and Judah and the basis for it. Chapters 25-32 announce the prophecies against the foreign na ons that come against Jerusalem and God’s people (“Those who bless Abraham shall be blessed, those who curse Abraham shall be cursed.” Genesis 12:3), during the great deporta on and destruc on. Chapters 33-48 are messages of blessing and hope beyond the destruc on of Judah/Jerusalem - the na on. Ezekiel prophesied during a me of great confusion.
Prophets from God’s people always emerged during mes of crisis to bring God’s message to His people (the ul mate example of this was/is Jesus).
PLACE OF ORIGIN Screen 5
Ezekiel 1:1-3 1 In the thir eth year, in the fourth month, on the fi h day of Screen 6 the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were
1 opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 On the fi h day of the month (it was the fi h year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), 3 the word of the Lord came to Screen 7 Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.
Within the Book of Ezekiel there is a tremendous emphasis on specific mes and dates. See sheet on page 1496 of “EVS Study Bible.”
Ref. Year/Month/Day Modern Situation Ez. 1:2 5th yr/4th month/5th day July 593 inaugural vision Ez. 8:1 6th yr/6th month/5th day Sept 592 first temple vision Ez. 20:1 7th yr/5th month/10th day Aug 591 elders come to inquire Ez. 24:1 9th yr/10th month/10th day Jan 588/587 siege of Jerusalem begins Ez. 26:1 11th yr/(?) month/1st day c. 587-586 oracle against Tyre - before siege Ez. 29:1 10th yr/10th month/12th day Jan 587 oracle against Egypt Ez. 29:17 27th yr/1st month/1st day April 571 Egypt assigned to Babylon Ez. 30:20 11th yr/1st month/7th day April 587 oracle against Egypt Ez. 31:1 11th yr/3rd month/1st day June 587 oracle against Egypt Ez. 32:1 12th yr/12th month/1st day March 585 oracle against Egypt Ez. 32:17 12th yr/12th month/15th day April 585 oracle against Egypt Ez. 33:21 12th yr/10th month/5th day Jan 585 fugitive arrives in Babylon Ez. 40:1 25th yr/1st month (?)/10th day (?) Apr 573 second temple vision
Map of Tel Aviv during Ezekiel’s me goes here (p. 742 “The Expositors Bible Map 8 Commentary”) —>
During Chapter 1’s vision, “Wheels in the Sky Keep on Turning” - by Journey - last week’s was Three Dog Night (60’s-70’s) - Journey (70’s-80’s). He wrote from
2 Babylon as a cap ve. Ezekiel wrote from Babylon while Jeremiah prophesied in Judah (mostly), later Egypt.
PURPOSE The kingdoms of Israel and Judah had forgo en their cons tu on. Screen 9 Remember, when God created the na on of Israel, he gave them the Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 20 - Numbers 9; Deuteronomy reference only) as their cons tu on. The law was not given to burden the people; it was given for their Screen 10 good.
Deuteronomy 10:12-13 12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, Screen 11 13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?
Yet the history of Israel was marked by disobedience to this covenant. Ezekiel, as Screen 12 a watchman for Israel:
Ezekiel 3:17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.
He warned her of the judgment that was imminent and stressed the need for individual responsibility as well as na onal accountability before God. Each Israelite was personally to turn to the Lord. Likewise, the whole na on must ul mately return to Him.
3 LITERARY FORM Ezekiel uses almost every kind of literary device and imagery to Screen 13 communicate graphically the messages of judgment and blessing
• dream-visions (Chapters 1 - 3; 8 - 11);
• apocalyp c literaturecs (Chapters 37:1-14; 40 - 48)
• allegory; parable; proverbs (Chapters 16:44; 18:2)
• funeral dirges (Chapters 19; 26 - 28; 32)
He also uses rhetorical ques ons and repe on.
Theological Values Five prominent theological concepts that pervade these Screen 14 prophe c pages:
1. the nature of God
2. the purpose and nature of God’s judgment Screen 15 3. individual responsibility
4. ethical, religious and moral history of Israel
5. the nature of Israel’s restora on and millennial worship.
Just a few weeks ago, I finished reading Ezekiel in my quiet me and as I approach the end of the book, I no ced something that really stuck with me. Especially as you approach the end of the book, angels play a significant role, really all throughout the book, as angel or angels escort/transport Ezekiel to different places. I am convinced that Charles Dickens got his idea for “A Christmas Carol” from reading Ezekiel (ghosts or Christmas - past, present and future). As I read the book I was reminded of my favorite story (as a kid) from Ezekiel - the Valley of the Dry Bones - Chapter 37. Again, Chapter 37 is contained in the sec on of the book
4 that has messages of blessing and hope beyond the destruc on of Judah. This Chapter (verses 1-14) also is apocalyp c in style (the same literary style that was popular during the 6th, 7th centuries BC - Mesopotamian dream-visions).
Ezekiel 37:1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Screen 16 Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones
[Ezekiel’s name means “God is strong”]
“hand of the Lord” - “hand” (singular) is used 88 mes in Ezekiel - two mes it is Screen 17 a closed hand (see Ezekiel 12:7; 15:21) but the other 86 mes it refers to an open hand indica ng power and direc on. Ezekiel, because he was ALL IN for God, did not lack power or direc on for daily living. This is a personal word for someone today. ★★★
School of the Prophets—>
Do you need the hand of the Lord upon you today? (Boy, I do!) e.g. Fred Choate comment a er Deacons mee ng Sunday.
“he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord” - whether in the body or out of the body, only the Lord knows. Perhaps this is the same valley (“in the middle of the valley”) that Ezekiel has his first vision in, in Chapter 1.
“it was full of bones” - (fascinated me as a kid) these bones have been here a long me for them to be “dry”. - This truly is “death valley”. The fact that these bones were not buried was a disgrace. Ezekiel as a priest knew personally what the proper treatment of human corpses was (speak to crema on here). Perhaps Ezekiel saw these bones on his way into cap vity.
5 Ezekiel 37:2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very Screen 18 many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.
Just as in a Christmas Carol, the Lord or angel of the Lord leads him/transports him to this place and then shows him around the valley/plain.
Ezekiel 37:3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I Screen 19 answered, “O Lord God, you know.”
“son of man” - This is how Ezekiel is addressed o en in this book. (Only Daniel and Ezekiel are ever referred to as “son of man” aside from Jesus.) The only other me in the Old Testament this term is used is in: Screen 20
Daniel 7:13-14 13 “I saw in the night visions,and behold, with the clouds of
heaven there came one like a son of man,and he came to the Ancient of
Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, na ons, and languages should serve
him;his dominion is an everlas ng dominion, which shall not pass away, and Screen 21
his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Daniel 8:17 So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was Screen 22 frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the me of the end.”
The term in Ezekiel and in Daniel denotes Ezekiel’s humility. Listen to me, there is a strong possibility that Ezekiel personally mentored Pythagoras - [fascina ng].
6 Ezekiel taught Pythagoras —>
This term also denotes our Lord’s humility and his personal connec on to Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a prophet and priest (see Ezekiel 1:3). Ezekiel was ALL IN for God - Jesus was/is God and was ALL IN to do the will of the Father. In Daniel 7:13-14 it speaks of our Lord’s power and eternal dominion.
“can these bones live” - this is years a er the Babylonian cap vity began and really and truly, Israel and Judah were GONE - over and done with as far as Ezekiel had experienced. DEAD - NO HOPE!
“O Lord God, you know” - good answer. He doesn’t say yes or no.
Ezekiel 37:4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, Screen 23 O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
Ques on: Bones can’t hear, can they? Answer: they can if it’s the word of he Screen 24 Lord. (If rocks can “cry out”, surely bones can “hear”.)
Ezekiel 37:5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath Screen 25 to enter you, and you shall live.
Hallelujah! “breath” - means spirit - Just like in:
Genesis 2:7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and Screen 26 breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
7 Ezekiel 37:6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon Screen 27 you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
“sinews” a tendon(s)
Ezekiel 37:7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there Screen 28 was a sound, and behold, a ra ling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
“I prophesied as I was commanded” - Ezekiel prac cal obedience to God (ALL IN) Screen 29 > Obey even if it looks impossible. <
“a sound, and behold, a ra ling” - “ra ling” means literally, an earthquake (as in Ezekiel 3:12, 13) God reassembled the bones into skeleton/proper form only a er his Word was obeyed.
Ezekiel 37:8-9 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and Screen 30 flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 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 Screen 31 breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”
If the Holy Spirit does not bring the life, there will only be lifeless bodies.
Ezekiel 37:10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into Screen 32 them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
8 Obedient, once again, was Ezekiel. No ce they became an army - not a group of spectators . . . God is the ul mate grave robber/tomb robber.
Ezekiel 37:11-14 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the Screen 33 whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 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 Screen 34 people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.
14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in Screen 35 your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”
Explain as I read:
As I men oned earlier, this is an apocalyp c rendering of the na on of Israel becoming one again (both Israel 150 years before and Judah) at the end of me - [during the millennium.] No ce: it’s physical first, then spiritual second. This is also a picture of revival (August 5/6) - the bones were once living people that had died and could only live again by the spirit of the Lord. For true revival to come Screen 36 God’s servant must:
1. know that the bones are dead and dry. 2. walk among the dead. 3. speak forth God’s Word. 4. have almost a foolish confidence in God’s Word.
5. understand that the Spirit works in process. Screen 37
9 6. recognize that the word of the Holy Spirit is essen al. 7. boldly pray for the Spirit to move. 8. speak in the power of faith. Screen 38 9. no ce every evidence of the Spirit’s work. 10.look for God’s people to be revived into an army of service. 11.not even say that hope is lost!
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