We say that prayer is communication to God. Is it two way communication?????? What happens when God speaks back. Or even when God chooses to speak to us when we aren’t ready. His is what happened to Ezekiel. God came to him, similarly to how God came to Paul.
Look at what happened to Ezekiel.
EZE 2:1 He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” 2 As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
Is this prayer??? Is being in a state of receptiveness to God what we call prayer. MMm interesting We’ll investigate that.
Ezekiel is full of images. Some call them prophecies, others call them sermons. Some of them are probably both. It is hard to understand – no doubt about it.
This part of Ezekiel is a strange style of writing. It is called Apocalyptic.
Apocalyptic literature is not familiar to most people. This type of literature is symbolic visionary-prophetic, consisting of visions recorded exactly as they are seen by the author and explained through a divine interpreter. (Here the interpreter is the Spirit of the LORD)
Hard to understand but worth looking at, It has things to say to us now.
Lets look at Chapter 37
The scenario is spelled out in v1
EZE 37:1 The hand of the LORD was upon 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.
It is God who puts Ezekiel into this valley – Is it a real valley or is it purely a vision. I don’t know, maybe it doesn’t matter. The word says – “Set me in the middle of a valley” it doesn’t say “I saw a valley” which would be more consistent with a normal vision. I personally think he physically went there. Maybe God took him somewhere to show him this. It is what he sees that is the important thing.
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.
Whether or not he sees the left overs from a great battle or maybe the dumping ground of bodies outside a city. A scene of absolute death, and devastation. Also a sight of absolute hopelessness. And that’s what God asks. The bones being very dry indicates that they had been dead for a long time.
3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
You can imagine Ezekiel’s thought patterns here. Yeh right – these guys are gone, dead is dead. No chance of that. But also there is an element of respect here.
I said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.”
I love the imagery here of this passage. God doesn’t just do it himself. Like it is in Acts. People being scattered and telling people wherever they went. God uses and includes us in his plans. That is pretty amazing as he can do it all himself but He chooses to use us. Here Ezekiel is part of God’s illustration. Often the lessons we learn best are the ones we learn by experiencing. Being part of something means we learn it better.
EZE 37:4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, `Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
This is the foot bone connected to the ankle bone and the ankle bone connected to the shin bone etc etc etc stuff . More importantly God says what he will do. Why – So we know He is God. .
Then you will know that I am 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.’ “
I wonder of Ezekiel had some doubts in his mind – Like yeh right, whatever ya reckon.
Before we moved to Armidale, Marianne and I had been praying for a house in Armidale and when I came up here I found out how hard it is to get accommodation at that time of year. I looked around everywhere, went to every Real Estate agent in Town. And realistically there was not much going. But God had an answer for us. (Tell rest of Story – Nicole moving, just happened to when we wanted to move in, she rang the agent I went to see them sign seal and delivered.)
When I prayed on that morning, I don’t think I thought that God really had a house picked out for us. But the way it happened – It is an exact answer to pray. Even though I had doubts.
Sometimes God works to show us that He is God, to prove that He is real, to confirm that He is who He says He is.
EZE 37:7 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.
Here God makes it happen. Miracles. Before His eyes. This is beyond imagination stuff. Absolutely impossible but God does it. But an incomplete miracle. The miracle was physical, amazing and fantastic but not quite real. And Ezekiel is included in it.
Notice here there is a progression. A working over a time – How long between the two statements we don’t know but a progression. Ezekiel prophesied twice. God worked twice. Both had to fit together for it to be total and complete.
EZE 37:9 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 from the four winds, O breath, 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.
The word for “breath” here can be breath or wind or spirit. So God breathed the necessary life into them. He gave these bones the thing that was necessary for them to be alive. He gave them what was necessary to live.
He gave life to those in a hopeless situation. He gave life to a dead thing, life to those who didn’t deserve a second go. Wow, big stuff. God can make alive what has been dead, like in Jesus resurrection, like in our own situation with us being apart from God.
It is like that with our prayer life. God can and does give life to hopeless situations. Does a change in our city seem to big. Not for God and he will probably use us to do it and probably do it over time, starting with prayer, through us prophesying (Telling forth) and doing things for Him.
What is God’s point?
EZE 37:11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house 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: O 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.’ “
Oh yeah. God is saying this to us right now. No more dry bones. He is bringing us out of the grave. The word prophesy here is naba – which is to speak by inspiration. WE are told to speak by inspiration about God. Who to – well right here it is God’s people. One thing that came across to me during the week was the statement “The whole house of Israel” that meant for that time the northern Kingdom and Southern kingdoms of what used to be Israel. Then split into Israel and Judah. This passage is for all of the Armidale churches. I must admit that is hard for me to swallow. Things have been said by both clergy and general congregation about this church and some of its people that hurt me and other members of this congregation. Some things have been said by other members of clergy about our leadership here and they are out of line YET this is for the whole of Armidale’s churches. No more dry bones. I hate the competitiveness of the churches here, it is not what I am used to. There is competition between clergy, youth groups, musicians – I get sick of it. What is God saying to us here. Get over it. We retain our Baptist distinctiveness but we work for God’s kingdom.
Why and how????
Well one reason is that without Jesus coming we would just be like dry bones. But Jesus coming, his life, death and resurrection gives us a chance to be like the vast army – We have the breath – the Spirit – We live again, we live. Not possible if Jesus didn’t do it. This is not just Baptist – it is God’s kingdom stuff.
Why has God given us this to read? Because He wants us to recognise a couple of things.
1. Often the situation seems hopeless, like the dry bones – but God can and will still work.
2. We are to Participate in God’s work – He uses us – God works through His people He doesn’t do it for us.
3. We do the prophecying – proclaiming, speaking by inspiration, (ie preaching)– that’s our job
4. God’s Spirit is what is needed.- So let Him work.
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