“Can these bones live?” Interesting, isn’t it, that it is
God Himself who asks the question of Ezekiel. It’s not Ezekiel asking God if
the valley of bones has any chance of life returning – it’s God asking Ezekiel;
Creator asking Created; Living God asking Mortal Man about Dead Bones. “Can
these bones live?” Is it a good question, or is it a silly question? On the one
hand, Ezekiel most certainly heard about Elijah and Elisha both raising the
dead back to life, and even a dead man being brought back to life merely by
touching Elisha’s bones. So, good question – can this valley of bones live?
Sure! But each of those examples were recent deaths – the bodies only beginning
to decay with bones far from being “very dry” as Ezekiel was seeing. How can
dehydrated, sun-bleached and brittle bones have the slightest chance of life
returning? Can these bones – these very dry bones – can these bones live?
There was a movie made years ago called “The Princess
Bride.” In it, the hero, Wesley, is killed by a wicked prince. Wesley’s sidekicks
take him to Miracle Max who discovers he is not dead – only mostly dead – by
using (what else?) bellows to push air into the almost dead Wesley so he could
say why he wanted to live. In a fantasy movie, someone can be almost dead and
be brought back to life. What Ezekiel sees are dead - dead bones. Had I been
asked, can these bones live, I would have said “no.” No way. Contrary to
Miracle Max’s statement, dead is dead.
Except when the Word of the Lord speaks. “Son of man, can
these bones live?”, Ezekiel is asked. His answer: “O Lord God, you know.” It’s
as if he is saying, “While from my eyes it appears that there is no life, no
hope left in these bones, all thing are possible for you, O Lord.” The Lord
commands Ezekiel to preach to the strangest congregation ever assembled. Talk
about a dead crowd.
God did not take Ezekiel to merely observe the scene. The
prophet is called to declare the word of the Living God that will being life
once again to the bones of the dead. As the vision unfolds, God speaks, then
the prophet speaks, then the bones rattle as they begin to creep across the
surface of the ground, one toward each other. It would be spooky if it wasn’t
so miraculous! Each bone joins itself to its neighbor. Ligaments appear and
tighten; muscles form and take shape; tendons join muscles together, organs
form and then skin spreads across the entire body. The horror of death is being
undone before Ezekiel’s eyes. But it’s not done, yet. There are bodies…a valley
full of bodies…but they are not yet alive. God speaks again, then the prophet
speaks again, and the winds, the breath, the spirit of God, they are summoned
to bring and carry life into the dead. The corpses – now living persons – stand
on their feet.
It is normal and right that we see in this vision of Ezekiel
a foreshadowing of the resurrection of the dead. For Christ has promised to you
that on the last day He will join your bones one to another, sinew and
ligaments and tendons will join everything together, muscles will regrow, and flesh
will again cover you. Breath – His breath of life - will again fill your lungs
and blow out the cobwebs of death and you will stand wholly – and holy + -
resurrected before the Lord of Life Himself. Your resurrected voice will join
the entire people of God, also resurrectedly whole, from every nation and every
race, and your living voices will be united at the very throne of the Lamb to
resolve the babbling of Babel with the glorious unity of Pentecost in one great
Te Deum to rattle the halls of eternity with a hymn of Glory to Him who rose in
triumph who conquered death itself.
This Pentecost picture is normal and right. But it is not
the point that God is making to Ezekiel in this text. While this picture of the
resurrection is true for us as well, it is also not the main point for us,
either.
As Ezekiel stands in the vast army of resurrected souls,
three times God makes his point perfectly clear. Three times, God tells the
army that the purpose of the restoration and resurrection is that they may know
that He is the Lord: in verse 6, when the body is re-made; in verse 13, when
the graves are opened, and in verse 14 when the Lord gives them His spirit,
each time declaring “You will know I am the Lord.” In this way, God makes his
message plain. The resurrection of Israel that God foretells is not an end to
itself. It is a means to a greater end. It will teach Israel to know the Lord.
For only in knowing the Lord will Israel finally have eternal life.
Through Ezekiel’s vision, God calls Israel to know the Lord.
I don’t mean “know” in an academic sense – such as to know that the square root
of 9,604 is 98. This is more than head knowledge. This is whole-self knowledge:
to know, to believe, to trust, to rely. He is calling them to know that He, He
alone is God, and to live in the certainty of that faith. In the same way, He
calls you to know the Lord – that is, to know, believe, trust and rely that He
alone is God and to live in the certainty of that faith.
Easy to say; hard to do. We look into this valley of bones
around us and we wonder how on earth to do that. We wonder if these bones can
live – can broken relationship be mended, can broken bodies be healed, can
broken minds be at peace, can broken hearts love. We wonder if these bones will
live – another school shooting on Friday, this time in Houston; another trip to
the hospital for a loved one; when you
stand at the death bed of a loved one. We wonder if these bones will live – the
guilt over the words spoken in anger; the shame of failing others in their time
of need; the pain of knowing that my sin hurt someone down to their own bones.
Lord, have mercy! Can these bones live?
If this is you, hear the Word of the Lord: “I will put my
Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land.
Then, you shall know that I am the Lord. I have spoken and I will do it.” In
the waters of Holy Baptism, God showered His Spirit upon you and declared you
righteous. By His grace, the Living God – the living Word of God – has made you
alive with faith that trusts Him. You - who are frightened, and broken, and
hurt, and hurting – you know the Lord. Not just know [touch head] but to know
[make sign of cross], believe, trust and rely that in Christ, your sins are
forgiven. It is for that reason that God teaches us that the righteous shall
live by faith. He has given you such a
faith.
To strengthen you in that faith, as you walk through this
valley of the shadow of death, surrounded by dry dusty bones that yearn for
life eternal, our Lord gives you His Word of comfort that He is the resurrection
and the life and that all who believe in Him will have eternal life. This is
most certainly true! But in that same Word of God, we also find a hint, a glimpse,
at the what the Lord does in and through those moments when it seems that you
are, in fact, nothing but a pile of dried up bones: “that you may know I am the
Lord.” In those moments of weakness, God is our refuge and strength. In those
moments of dryness and brittleness, His strength is made perfect in our
weakness. In those moments when we feel as useless as a valley of bones, God
speaks to us and reminds you that you have been united to the body of Christ.
You do not go through this valley alone; united to Christ, baptized into
Christ, clothed with Christ, fed by Christ, He – who is your great High Priest
and knows your joys and sorrows – carries you through the valley of the shadow.
That’s when you realize, it’s not about you at all. It’s about Him and His
Word. He is the Lord. He has spoken and He will do it.
In Christ, you do know the Lord. You know Him now! You know
Him with the same certainty that God gave to Ezekiel’s army.
In the certainty of that faith you live.
Know it. Believe it. Trust it. Rely on it.
And, live it.
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