From Despair to Hope

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Breath of God, breathe in me and let Your life bring me life. Send me out to bring new life to a creation that is longing to breathe.

Read Ezekiel 37:1-14

^[1] The hand of the LORD was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. ^[2] He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. ^[3] He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign LORD, you alone know.” ^[4] Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! ^[5] This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. ^[6] I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'” ^[7] So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ^[8] I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin 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 it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'” ^[10] So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet-a vast army. ^[11] Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ ^[12] Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ^[13] Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. ^[14] I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.'”

Meditate

“It is the ‘wind of God’ which creates a new future. That wind is beyond resistance from the empire or anyone else” (Walter Brueggemann).

Think Further

News of the fall of Jerusalem has just arrived. The people blurt out, “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone” (11). The Lord responds by giving Ezekiel a graphic vision–the third recorded in his book (see also chs. 1-3; 8-11). Up to chapter 33, Ezekiel’s oracles were heavy with warnings of judgment. Now that the judgment has fallen, Ezekiel becomes a messenger of hope because he sees a mass of dried, bleached bones being transformed into a mighty army (1-10). The “valley” where the vision is set (1) translates the same word rendered “the plain” in 3:22–the very location where Ezekiel had earlier received a message of judgment. This time, however, the message, which borrows some mind-blowing imagery from military history, is dramatically different! The depiction of large numbers of human remains denied proper burial “is reminiscent of many battle scenes and descriptions of battle scenes found in the earliest periods of Mesopotamian and Egyptian history” (IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament).

In the vision, Ezekiel is commanded to prophesy to the bones. The bones come together and are clothed with sinews and flesh, but remain unanimated (4-8). Next Ezekiel is told to prophesy to “the breath,” and the corpses come alive and stand up as a vast army (9,10). The first prophetic utterance is more forthtelling than foretelling, while the second–prophesying to the breath or spirit (in Hebrew the words are identical)–is surely a form of prayer. God’s will is made known through his Word, and his power is released by his Spirit in answer to prayer. It’s a pattern that still persists. We witness to others, and, while witnessing, we pray that the Spirit might breathe new life into those with whom we share the Good News.

Apply

Ezekiel shared God’s message of hope with his despairing companions (12-14). Pray for someone you know who needs to be lifted out of despair into hope and then speak as God leads.

Closing prayer

Thank You, Lord, for Your Word and for Your Spirit. Teach me to listen and to speak in a way that brings Your life.

Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.

Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.

Yesterday’s reading

View all readings

Tomorrow’s reading