Creator, Father, King #145

I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO turn a portion of the Bible into a thriller movie, try Ezekiel 37. It’s hair-raisingly cool!

Ezekiel was a Jewish prophet-priest who was exiled by Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC (2 Kings 24:10-17; Ezekiel 1:1-3). Years later, God gave Ezekiel a startling vision of a valley littered with human bones, recounting a great battlefield of dead soldiers, now reduced to skeletal remains (Ezekiel 37:1-2).

Then God said, “Dry bones, listen to the word of the LORD! . . . Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD” (37:4-6).

Suddenly, Ezekiel heard a great rattling noise as the bones supernaturally reformed into human bodies before muscles, tendons, and flesh covered them. Then he spoke a prophetic word, and God’s “breath” resurrected the corpses.

What a creepy but cool visual! The dead had returned to life.

What’s It Mean?

The valley of dry bones was a shockingly vivid metaphor depicting Israel in Ezekiel’s day. Like a wasteland of skeletons, God’s people were spiritually dead, rotting away under God’s judgment for their sins. But thanks to his incredible love and mercy, God would soon breathe new life into them—making them a new people and returning them to the Promised Land.

How did he accomplish this marvelous feat? The answer is found in Ezekiel 37:5-6 and in today’s Scripture passage. He removed their stubborn, stony hearts, replaced them with hearts of obedience, and breathed his Holy Spirit into their lives.

That is what he has done for you, too, if you are a follower of Christ! Part of our salvation process is God awakening our spiritually dead hearts—like scattered dry bones coming to life—to receive the gospel through repentance and faith (Ephesians 2:1-10; Colossians 2:13).

The initiative is gloriously all God’s, and we get the benefit!

Now What?

Praise the God who graciously turns dry bones and dead hearts into his spiritually alive children!

Did You Know?

Why did God restore rebellious Israel? Ultimately for the sake of his holy name (Ezekiel 36:21-23) and so that others may know that he is the Lord (verses 36, 38).