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THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES

Text: Ezekiel 37
3 September 2017

THE MINISTRY OF THE PROPHETS

God raised up special servants who were known as prophets. Here is a brief summary of the ministry of the prophets.

  1. God would teach the prophets

a) He would speak to them

b) He gave them visions

c) He heard and answered their prayers

  1. The ministry of the Prophets

a) They preached the Word of God faithfully

b) They would also give prophecies from the Lord

c) They were courageous in addressing the sins of the nation of Israel

d) Many suffered much at the hands of the wicked who hated their messages

THE MINISTRY OF EZEKIEL

Jeremiah was the prophet who forewarned the nation that God had pronounced a 70-year captivity (Cf. Jeremiah 29). He urged the people in exile to build a life in Babylon.

Ezekiel was a prophet whom God raised up to minister to God’s people in Babylon. Unfortunately, the nation still held on to their sins and refused to be corrected.

THE SPIRITUAL STATE OF EXILED ISRAEL

God gave a vision to Ezekiel concerning the sad spiritual state of Israel. This passage is often called the Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones. This was a description of the spiritual state of Israel in exile.

The hand of the LORD came upon me

And brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD,

And set me down in the midst of the valley;

And it was full of bones.

 

Then He caused me to pass by them all around,

And behold, there were very many in the open valley;

And indeed they were very dry.

 

And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

So I answered, “O LORD God, You know.”  Ezekiel 37:1-3 

  1. The Valley of Dry Bones

a) The bones were many

b) They were also very dry

c) The bones represented the dead spiritual state of Israel

  1. Can these bones live?

a) This was a question raised up to Ezekiel

b) Ezekiel could not come up with an answer!

CAN THE DEAD BE RAISED TO LIFE?

This is the subject that we will be looking at in our series of Pulpit Messages in September and October 2017.  It would take no one less than the LORD God Himself to employ His power to make the dead come to life!