The Holy Spirit Renews Us - Ezekiel 37:1–14

Today we’re celebrating Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit on God’s people. We often refer to the first Pentecost as the birth of the church as we know it today, a multicultural, multi-ethnic body of Christ equipped by the Holy Spirit to share the good news of Jesus in the world, bringing new life to the world. The Holy Spirit’s given to us as a gift, reminding us of who Jesus is, pointing us to God and Jesus, and how our salvation rests in the work of Jesus and not in our own works.

This vision of Ezekiel foreshadows the coming of the Holy Spirit and the new life the Holy Spirit brings. It comes right after the Lord speaks against the nations that have plundered Israel and speaks words of restoration, renewal, and blessing to his people. The Lord holds the nations accountable for their actions against Israel, even though he used the nations as his tool to punish Israel for their sin. Just because the Lord uses them, they’re still responsible for how they treat others, even if they’re enemies.

Israel would often forget God, ignore his ways, and find themselves slaves to other gods, living in spiritual deadness and hopelessness. This time their ignoring God has led them into exile in Babylon. The Lord speaks to Israel and tells them that they’ll remember their evil ways and wicked deeds and loath them. Israel’s called to be ashamed and disgraced for their conduct, but the Lord, in his grace, promises to cleanse them from their sins and resettle them in their land again. Grace is also found in Israel’s punishment; the Lord holds them accountable for their acts so that they’ll change and come back to the Lord. The Lord shows his grace to them so that they’ll know that he is the Lord.

The Lord gives Ezekiel this vision of a valley of dry bones, a message of hope coming shortly after a message of judgment. The Lord takes Ezekiel to the middle of a valley filled with bones that are very dry with absolutely no life in them, bleached by the sun. As Ezekiel looks out at this scene, he’s likely remembering his vision in chapter 3 on the plain, probably by the Chebar River in Mesopotamia, representing Israel’s defeat at the hands of the Babylonian empire. The bones represent the hopelessness Israel’s experiencing in exile. This is a battlefield scene, the bones representing the fallen dead, the loss of life, and the loss of hope. The Lord now asks Ezekiel a really challenging question, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

Ezekiel’s wise enough to be cautious in his answer. He knows that humanly speaking there’s no chance of these bones coming back to life. Yet Ezekiel’s already been given some fantastical visions, realizing that the Lord is giving him an opportunity to practice trust and faith, knowing that with God all things are possible as he is the creator of the universe and life, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” Then the Lord says to Ezekiel, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 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.’” Everything that’s about to happen is so that God’s people will once again acknowledge the Lord, once again worship him over all other gods and idols.

Ezekiel obeys and prophesies as the Lord tells him to. Prophesy is more forth-telling than fore-telling; prophesy is about speaking God’s word into the present situation rather than speaking into the future. As Ezekiel’s prophesying, a rattling noise happens, and bones begin moving towards each other and joining together. As the bones form skeletons, tendons and flesh begin to appear on them, and then finally skin covers each of the bodies. As the bodies lie there, they’re still lifeless. It echoes God creating Adam from the earth. At this point they’re still dead. They may look good on the outside, but there’s no life in them. Another step, a major step of creation is still needed; life needs to be poured into these still dead bodies.

Now the Lord commands Ezekiel to prophesy again, “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 breath into these slain, that they may live.” There’s so much in this simple sentence. The Hebrew word for breath is the same word for both wind and spirit. The Lord’s commanding Ezekiel to speak to the Spirit and to bring life into the bodies, as life comes from God and God’s Spirit is called to bring life to the bodies lying there. The picture of the four winds echoes references to Zechariah and Revelation and the world-wide presence of the Spirit.

This is a “WOW!” God moment happening here, even if it’s in a vision. As Ezekiel prophesies, breath enters the bodies and they come to life and stand up on their feet—a vast army. This echoes the creation of Adam, showing that we’re more than skin and bones, our life comes from God, and we’re both flesh and spirit. This is prophecy in action. We hear an echo forward, to the opening of the graves and the dead coming back to life at the death of Jesus and the tearing of the curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the world and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit into the world, bringing life to those who’ve died.

This vision’s all about Israel stripped of hope. The Sovereign Lord, the name God uses here is significant as it reminds Ezekiel and Israel that he’s in control, sovereign over all creation, including death and life. This is all about hope and restoration; “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. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 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.’” The Lord ends this vision with the promise of restoration in their own land again, a national restoration that points to individual resurrection and new life for all God’s people.

There are so many people seeking new life and hope today. Life can be cruel and hard; people get beat down. Sin’s not just things that we do that are wrong morally, ethically, or religiously; sin is a direction of our heart that rejects God for ourselves. The impact of sin, both our own and others, has created a world where great things are promised, where we’re told that we can be anything we want, but than the forces in our culture quietly tear us down. The weight of sin can overwhelm us, we can begin to believe that Jesus could never forgive us, that we’re unforgiveable.

Idols slither into our ears and eyes and we’re seduced into following their promises of influence, wealth, power, physical love, and whatever our hearts can conceive of. We’re so confident in our own ability to build our own world on our own terms and then when disaster or loss comes and the idols prove false and our world falls apart and our hearts and souls begin to whither away. The chains of slavery to our idols weigh heavier and heavier, we’re unable to get out from under them and we begin to shrivel up and our hearts and souls begin to dry up. We get side-tracked in life, following paths that look so promising at first: wide open and smooth, but then find ourselves in sloughs of despair and hopelessness, wondering how we ended up there, unable to see a way out or forward. There’s a great need for new life today.

If you’re struggling, if your soul has withered and you’re seeking hope and new life, you can find it in Jesus. When his disciples were hiding away after his death, Jesus appeared to them, John 20, “Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.  Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Jesus offers us his peace, he gives us his Spirit of life, the same Spirit that poured over the valley bringing life, the Spirit that poured out from the temple and raised the dead to life. The Spirit is given to us when we choose to follow Jesus; when we turn to Jesus for new life. This new life brings forgiveness and new beginnings; it gives us a new identity that’s rooted in Jesus. Through the Spirit, we’re called to extend forgiveness, to be people of grace as we’ve received grace from the Lord through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

The Spirit works through Scripture and the call to walk in Jesus’ way; through prayer, and meditation, taking time with God, through worship with other Jesus followers, through reflection on creation and seeing God’s fingerprints all around us, through fellowship, and service. As we engage with the Spirit, Jesus’ peace fills and shapes us, and we become witnesses to the world of Jesus and the good news of forgiveness and grace he offers. Shape your life around Jesus and experience his life in you, remembering that Jesus can use you to bring new life in Jesus, offering his forgiveness and renewal to a world quietly, and not so quietly hurting and struggling today.