In Ezekiel 37:11a, God says to Ezekiel, "Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off."
Despite being dried up dispersed bones, they came together, tendons and flesh were formed to the bones, and skin was formed to cover up. Ezekiel 37 is a fascinating story and miracle - dry bones coming to life. But being a physical body is not enough. In verse 9, God told Ezekiel to prophecy to the breath to breathe into the slain so that they would live.
This not only symbolizes the reconstituting of Israel out of nothing, but a new birth through the word and Spirit. We are born into this world similar to that of these dried up bones. We can't really live or have hope until we have the breath of the Spirit inside us too.
My prayer is that my life would be evident of one that has had the breath of the Spirit received, and not just dry bones with flesh. Just as Israel was to live as one nation with one king, they were also going to have one Shepherd. I pray that I would follow that Shepherd and that He would be the one to guide my heart.
Something that stood out to me in our NT reading was with Peter. He was the one who drew his sword to defend Jesus and struck the high priest's servant, and yet he was also the one to deny Him.
This shows that we too can one day be ready to stand firm for God, and later we stumble and fall. Reading this passage, reminded me of the song "Lord I Need You". (I provided the link to this familiar song) It's not just every day that we need God, it's every hour!
Jesus didn't need a saviour even though Peter thought He did. Rather, Jesus came to save. Thank you for that!
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Ezekiel 40-41; John 18:19-40
2 comments:
Those same things stood out to me as well.
Ezekiel 37 really is a great metaophor of what happens in salvation. We are dead spiritually. We cannot save ourselves. We need God to breathe life into us spiritually in order to be saved.
I love the prophecies of both Gentile and Jewish salvation - such hope!
I often wonder what the servant did after his ear was cut off and then healed. Did he continue to work at arresting Jesus? Did he see Jesus as more than just a man? What kind of story did he tell his family about how his day had been at work? We never know what experience we will have at work that could change our lives.
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