Resurrected

The literary term known as an “allegory” is a way for a writer (or artist) to provide additional hidden (moral or political) insight through a story, poem, or picture. In the scriptures, the book of Hosea is a prime example of this technique.

God tells the Prophet Hosea to marry and have children with the adulterous wife named, “Gomer.” In the greater picture, this adulterous marital union represented both Israel’s (and our) frequent unfaithfulness to God (and His commands).

In the narrative of the Prophet Ezekiel and the valley of the dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14, ERV), the allegory method is once more used to provide a message to the Jewish people (and the Almighty’s offspring in general). Read the story below:

The Lord’s power came on me. The Spirit of the Lord carried me out of the city and put me down in the middle of the valley. ^[a] The valley was full of dead men’s bones.  There were many bones lying on the ground in the valley. The Lord made me walk all around among the bones. I saw the bones were very dry.

Then the Lord said to me, “Son of man, ^[b} can these bones come to life?”

I answered, “Lord God, only you know the answer to that question.”

Then he said to me, “Speak to these bones for me. Tell them, ‘Dry bones; listen to the word of the Lord!  This is what the Lord God says to you: I will cause breath to come into you, and you will come to life!  I will put sinew and muscles on you, and I will cover you with skin. Then I will put breath in you, and you will come back to life! Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

So I spoke to the bones for the Lord, as he said. I was still speaking, when I heard the loud noise. The bones began to rattle, and bone joined together with bone!  There before my eyes, I saw sinew and muscles begin to cover the bones. Skin began to cover them, but there was no breath in them.

Then the Lord said to me, “Speak to the wind for me. Son of man, speak to the wind for me. Tell the wind that this is what the Lord God says: ‘Wind, come from every direction and breathe air into these dead bodies! Breathe into them and they will come to life again!’”

 So I spoke to the wind for the Lord, as he said, and the breath came into the dead bodies. They came to life and stood up. There were many men—a very large army!

 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are like the whole family of Israel. The people of Israel say, ‘our bones have dried up; ^[c]our hope is gone. We have been completely destroyed!’  So speak to them for me. Tell them this is what the Lord God says: ‘my people, I will open your graves and bring you up out of them!

Then I will bring you to the land of Israel.  My people, I will open your graves and bring you up out of your graves, and then you will know that I am the Lord.  I will put my Spirit in you, and you will come to life again. Then I will lead you back to your own land. Then you will know that I am the Lord. You will know that I said this and that I made it happen.’” This is what the Lord said.

Footnotes:

a.   Ezekiel 37:1 the valley: Possibly, Jezreel Valley, a fertile area where many battles were fought. It is often called simply “The Valley.”

b.   Ezekiel 37:3 Son of man: This was usually just a way of saying “a person” or “a human being.” Here, it is a way of addressing Ezekiel. Also in verses 9, 11, 16.

c.   Ezekiel 37:11 bones … dried up: This is a way of saying, “We have lost our strength.”

The topic of resurrection from the dead is a familiar one in the New Testament. Look at this list of individuals in the Gospels that experienced it: an unnamed widow’s son (Luke 7:11-17), Jairus’ daughter (Matthew 9:23-26, Mark 5:35-43, Luke 8:49-56, Lazarus (John 11:38-44),  and Jesus (Matthew 28:1-7, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-9)

Popular Christian artist, Lauren Daigle, explored the expanded universal meaning of “dry bones” experiencing resurrection in her song, "Come Alive (Dry Bones)." I have included the first verse (and the chorus) for your consideration.

Verse One
Through the eyes of men
It seems there's so much
We have lost
As we look down the road
Where all the prodigals
Have walked
And one by one
The enemy has whispered lies
And led them off as slaves
But we know that You are God
Yours is the victory
We know there is more to come
That we may not yet see
So with the faith You've given us
We'll step into the valley unafraid, yeah

Chorus
As we call out to dry bones
come alive, come alive
And we call out to dead hearts
Come alive, come alive
Come up out of the ashes
Let us see an army rise
We call out to dry bones come alive 

In today’s world, it’s easy to become jaded over so many different things. If one allows himself (or herself) to be engulfed into every fad, belief, or opinion out there, they can emotionally become as dry (and rough) as sandpaper.

That is not what the Almighty wants for His children. He wants us to have a desire for Him alone to completely nourish our souls (with everything He has for our success in life).

The Heavenly Father quenches our desire for true significance, too. Where do you stand on the verses below? Do you have a ravenous spiritual hunger (and thirst) that are being satisfied?

Matthew 5:6, 8 (MSG) confirms this: “You’re blessed when you work up a good a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat. You’re blessed when you put your inside world – your mind and heart – put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.”

*This blog topic was suggested by my wife, Bobbi.