“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 has perished. We are completely cut off.’
Therefore, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.’
‘Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people.’
‘I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it,’ declares the Lord.” -Ez. 37.11-14
This well known visionary experience of Ezekiel gives us a glimpse into the kind of death that is necessary for resurrection life to ensue- namely, death in totality to everything that issues forth from the arrogance and presumption of man. Here we have a picture of “the whole house of Israel,” and they have been reduced to this self-description, “Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.”
There are at least 5 common ways that scholars interpret this passage, and I haven’t the time to touch on them all here. I will say that I am convinced that the vision has a partial application to the Babylonian exile and return, but I remain even more firmly convinced that the vision overall must pertain to a future death that the people of Israel will pass through. That is to say, when the remnant of Israel, which represents the “whole house,” has come entirely to the end of her striving, realizes the dryness of the bones which she previously thought had contained life, and becomes aware that political and humanistic hopes have perished, the light of the Gospel will break in so profoundly that they will be raised up, “an exceedingly great army.” (v. 10)
Hear this from OT scholar, Walther Zimmerli:
…. Ezek. 37:1-14, with the two different images of the revival of unburied dead bones and of the opening of graves and the leading out of those buried there to new life, expresses the event of the restoration and the regathering of the politically defeated all-Israel.
Before the resurrection of the dry bones of Israel occurs in a way that shall never be reduced or reversed, she must come to the place where all of the crutches she has leaned on for want of the true knowledge of God have been removed from her forever.
Hear Zimmerli once more:
…. vv. 12 and 13 hit exactly what is meant, that God’s people should be wholly the people of God- that is the aim of this new gift of life. Where the return of God in a new freedom and in a new linking of what was previously separated becomes a reality, there God will have achieved His aim.
…. Only when, as a result of this event, the great awareness dawns and men no longer appear with their own achievements, no matter how magnificently righteous these might be, but when they realize that God reveals himself in the miracle of his free promise of life- only there does God’s action achieve its goal. There all ecclesiastical prerogatives collapse, and there remains only the praise given to the God who in the majestic freedom of his faithfulness (“for the sake of my holy name”), has revealed himself to his community.
(Ezekiel 2: Hermeneia- A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible,Walther Zimmerli; Fortress Press, Philadelphia: 1983, p. 264, 266 [emphasis mine])
As Zimmerli notes so wonderfully, when Israel comes to the end of herself, when she is “politically defeated” and when “all ecclesiastical prerogatives have collapsed, and there remains only the praise given to the God who in the majestic freedom of his faithfulness,” reveals “Himself to His community,” then will He have fulfilled His great work in history.
Turning to the Church now, the question needs to be raised, “To what degree have we allowed the Lord to bring us to a place of political defeat, and have our ecclesiastical prerogatives collapsed?”
Have we a hope in the government of men, or are we leaning on some kind of ministerial program? Have we clung to creature comforts and political opinions as our safeguard, or have we an utter abandonment to “God who in the majestic freedom of His faithfulness,” reveals Himself to us?
Are we chasing after the American dream? Have we got aspirations after ministry and recognition that are devoid of a jealousy for the glory of God?
Before we can move Israel to jealousy, and be an intercessory witness toward her, we ourselves have got to be wrenched loose from the same kinds of influences and paradigms that will invite the reduction of Israel to a valley of dry bones in the last days. We need an apostolic faith, and if Ez. 37 represents anything, it represents the dynamic of God’s government, which is to say: resurrection life only issues forth from the death that truth requires. Ezekiel 37 describes Israel’s eschatological regrafting into the apostolic Gospel. It will be a glorious day.
But before then, the question remains, how deeply have we come into the necessary death ourselves? We need our ecclesiastical prerogatives to collapse, and to be totally caught up in praise of the One who has given Himself so lavishly for our deliverance. Let the hollow pursuits perish. Let our desire for recognition and prominence be shed from us forever. Let us be caught up in the primacy of worship and the glory of sonship. The Lamb of God is worthy, for He was slain, raised up, and He ascended to the right hand of the Father. He will return with passion in His heart and vengeance in His eyes, and I want to break free from all that hinders a full rejoicing in that great Day.
What about you?
Zo Hornbill 