Then [H]e said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live, I prophesied as [H]e commanded me, and the breath came unto them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude…” Ezekiel 37: 9, 10, NRSV.
Dear Father, we have heard many powerful sermons based on this portion of Your Word. Today, we ask for something new; another aspect of this scripture. Please open our hearts, and ears, that we might become both hearers and doers of Your Word. For Christ’s sake we pray. Amen.
Surely, almost everyone have heard at least one sermon preached about the dry bones of Ezekiel’s prophecy! We even have songs that have been inspired based on this portion of Scripture. Today, I want to look at only one element within this passage: the spirit, breath, or wind: Hebrew: “ruah” (NRSV, commentary).
I find some interesting similarities between this vision in the valley of dry bones, and the Genesis story. Looking at this particular portion of the vision, the first thing that enters my mind, is “life.” Whether that be by creation, or by resurrection. There are bones, there are life-less bodies; and there is breath, at the command of God! When God created humanity in the beginning, He breathed into the life-less body of man, the breath of life, and man became “a living soul” (Genesis 2: 7). He took out of the man a rib (bone), and built the masterpiece known as “woman,” not as an after-thought, but as one who, all along, was “inside man; existing, in a concealed form, as, “bone of [his] bones, and flesh of [his] flesh” (23)!
But I guess the core message that I hear throughout the passage is that without the Spirit of God, we are all dead! Therefore, we all stand in need of the life-giving breath of the Holy Spirit to revive us! This message in its context refers to Israel in captivity. When they sinned against God, and were allowed to be taken into captivity, Israel felt that there was no hope for them (Ezekiel 37: 11). But the God we serve is not the author of defeat! So His followers do not cultivate a defeatist mindset and/or attitude!
When God created us, He created us “in His image, and likeness (Genesis 1: 26-28)! And when we remain in God there is only one outcome we can expect: victory! That is why, throughout The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), or the Christian Bible, we will always find a message of hope! “I will lift up mine eyes to the hills from whence cometh my help” (Psalm 121: 1). The Psalmist knew, beyond the shadow of a reasonable doubt, that help would come! Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning (Psalm 30: 5). Joy will come! Not may, but will! A righteous man falls down seven times, but he gets up, and keeps on, keeping on! He will not stay down, he gets up (Proverbs 24: 16)! “For God so love the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3: 16)! “Whosoever will, may come!” There is always a spirit of expectancy, of renewal, of resurrection, when the Spirit of God begins to blow.
God is waiting for His people to ask for the Spirit to breathe upon them. In the Gospel according to Saint John, we read, “When [H]e had said this, [H]e breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit” (20: 22). Realizing just how important it is for us to be “breathed upon,” may our daily prayer become: “Breathe on me, Breath of God, Fill me with life anew, That I may love what Thou dost love, And do what Thou wouldst do.”Edwin Hatch/Joseph Harker