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Ezekiel 37:1-14

¹ The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. ² And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” ⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the  word of the Lord. ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶ And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸ And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

¹¹ Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴ And 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, declares the Lord.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Femurs, tibias, and fibulas. Humeri, radiuses, and ulnas. Carpals, metacarpals, tarsals, metatarsals, and phalanges. Pelvises, ribs, sternums, and skulls. The valley was full of them – many of them. And they were dry – very dry. Frozen in death, the bones cried out, “Our bones are dried up and our hope is lost. We are indeed cut off.” Dead. Dry. No resources, no motivation, no plan, no hope. Only despair.

Surrounded by the dead, dry, and dusty skeletons, Ezekiel must have asked God, “Why have You brought me to this defiled valley? Where did all these dry bones come from? What happened here and why?” But one question rose above his own. In the presence of all that decay and deadness, the most haunting question comes from God Himself, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

If you have seen the movie, The Princess Bride, you will remember Miracle Max talking about different categories of deadness. Miracle Max was able to revive “mostly dead” Wesley, but he said there is only one thing you can do when someone is all dead – go through their pockets for loose change.

God asks, “Son of man, can these bones live?” Well, God had raised the widow’s son through the prophet Elijah. But he was “recently dead.” These bones before Ezekiel were really dead, hopelessly dead. “Son of man, can these bones live? Is there still hope for even these bones?”

“O, Yahweh God, You know.”

“Preach over the bones. Tell those bones to hear the word of Yahweh.”

Preach to bones? This would not be a sermon to a sleeping congregation. This worse than Isaiah’s call to preach to people who had ears but could not hear. This goes beyond any of that. Preach to a bunch of empty, hollow skulls. What if they don’t listen? This congregation is hopeless.

“Preach over the bones. Tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will join your bones with sinews and ligaments. I will put muscle over your bones. I will fill your torso with organs. I will cause blood to flow through your veins. I will cover you with flesh and skin. I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”

Ezekiel preaches. As that sermon echoed through that dead, dry valley, the Word of God came to those dry bones. The bones were changed through that Word. A loud sound, a rattling fills the valley. Before Ezekiel is a bunch of perfectly formed yet lifeless bodies. “Well God, it kinda worked.”

Yahweh says, “I’m not done, keep preaching. Prophesy to the breath (A quick side note, ‘spirit,’ ‘wind’ and ‘breath’ are all the same Hebrew word in this text); prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” Ezekiel preaches as God tells him, and the breath, the spirit, came into them. They lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

Life comes to the valley of bones. Out of despair and hopelessness comes a fighting force. Strange event. Strange sermon. Strange congregation. But as odd and peculiar as this passage from Ezekiel is, it is  not unique. In fact, you essentially heard the same story twice today.

In our text from Acts [2:1-21], the day of Pentecost arrived. People from every tribe, language, and nation were visiting Jerusalem. They came together when they heard the sound of the coming of the Holy Spirit. They all stood there as people who were alive with bones, sinews, organs, muscles, skin, and flesh. But there was no Spirit within them. But as the apostles spoke in other languages, the living dead heard the mighty acts of God in their native tongues. And the Holy Spirit gave Peter a sermon to preach. He preached to those people who lived but were dead. Each of them heard in their own language of the death and resurrection of Christ. The end result that day was that more than 3,000 souls were added to the number of God’s army.

But God still isn’t done. There are still more dead to raise. There are more soldiers to be added to God’s army. God still has more sermons to preach to the dead so they can be raised to life.

You and I are dead in our trespasses and sins. We have dead hands that have clicked on images and videos that fill our skulls with death. Those dead hands have neglected to help our neighbors when possible.  We have dead jawbones that have been used to speak gossip and lies about others. We have dead feet that have brought us to places we should not have gone. We have dead hearts that coldly withhold love and forgiveness.

Yet, here is God once again. He has sent a preacher with nothing but a sermon. Let me tell you something, this preacher often wonders if a sermon is able to bring life out of death. A preacher who, when asked if these bones can live, has no answer but, “O Lord God, You know.”

Yet, as the Word of God is proclaimed here in this valley of death, the Spirit of God is at work to create. The Word of God is always creative. The Word carries with it the power to call into existence that which does not exist.

So hear again, you bones, the Word of God. Your Savior has atoned for your sin. Christ Jesus has passed from death to life. Through God’s Word, He breathes on you today. His breath is His life-giving Spirit. By your own reason and strength, you cannot believe in Jesus Christ, your Lord. But the Holy Spirit is here now calling you through the Gospel, enlightening you with His gifts, and sanctifying and preserving you in the one true faith. He daily forgives abundantly all your sins. And at the last day, He will raise up you and all the dead and will grant everlasting life to you and to all who believe in Christ. This is most certainly true. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.