Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / Valley of Dry Bones - The Book of Ezekiel

Transcript

Valley of Dry Bones - The Book of Ezekiel · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let us pray. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones, Behold,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: shall live.
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: Ezekiel 37.5 Lord, through the power of your Holy Spirit,
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: I will speak life into the dead dreams of others,
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: like Ezekiel 37.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: I will prophesy and speak the words of God over
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: every person I see. May your breath fill them with
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: every ounce of hope needed for them to step into
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: their God-given identity. I declare and decree that through my life,
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: I will do everything in my power to help raise
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: up an army of purpose-filled people who will inspire others
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: to live the life that you've created them to live.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: With this mindset as my anchor, I speak to every
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: dead and forgotten dream in my life, for you are alive.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: I declare that this will be a season of rebirth
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: and newness. I declare that whatever and whoever I come
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: in contact with will receive your life-giving power to accelerate
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: and succeed. In Jesus' name, amen. Listening to these daily
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue hearing from the
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: Lord by listening to today's Bible in a Year. Brought
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: to you by BibleInAYear.com.
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: Valley of Dry Bones In our last story, the remnant
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: of Judah struggled to regain stability. Some leaders desired to
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: serve Babylon and make peace. Others desired to rebel. As
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: a result, brother turned against brother. The remnant of Judah
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: was torn, and many of them fled to Egypt, despite
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: Jeremiah's warnings. Now we are introduced to another prophet by
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: the name of Ezekiel. Ezekiel is given a unique glimpse
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: into the heart and mind of God. He is taken
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: up by his spirit and shown an image of Israel's
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: dead souls coming back to life, inspired by the book
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: of Ezekiel.
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: This is Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
• 2:42
  Speaker 4: in a Year podcast. Thanks for joining us. In our
• 2:45
  Speaker 4: last episode, we heard about the remnant of Judah that
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: remained in the land after the Babylonian conquest. Those who
• 2:53
  Speaker 4: stayed had a difficult, demanding task. It was rebuilding their homeland,
• 2:58
  Speaker 4: which was laying in ruins. Though they tried to remain
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: faithful to God, evil conspired against those who sought to
• 3:05
  Speaker 4: do God's will. In fear, much of the remnant fled
• 3:08
  Speaker 4: to Egypt rather than trust in God's provision and protection. Today,
• 3:13
  Speaker 4: we will meet a new prophet, a man named Ezekiel,
• 3:17
  Speaker 4: who will receive an awesome vision from God that shows
• 3:19
  Speaker 4: him God's heart for his people and the power of
• 3:22
  Speaker 4: that only the God of Israel possesses to bring life
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: even to dead, dry bones. Let's listen now to the
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: reading from God's Word. It was dusk.
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: The sky was painted a strong amber, and the prophet
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: Ezekiel was walking among the fields. The light breeze whistled
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: through the valley, causing the grain to dance back and forth.
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: Ezekiel looked up to heaven, praying to the Lord. Then,
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: in an instant, Ezekiel was thrown out into the Spirit
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: of God. The earth around him spun. Ezekiel fell face
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: down and looked up. He was no longer in the
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: lush fields. Ezekiel lifted his eyes to see a blighted valley.
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: The earth was coarse and black, and the sky was
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: dim with smog and soot. Ezekiel heard a crack beneath
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: his hands and feet— bones— Ezekiel sprung to his feet and
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: saw that the entire valley was laced with dry and
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: rotting bones. The Spirit of the Lord took Ezekiel by
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: the shoulder and led him among the valley of dry bones,
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: so dry that they cracked and ground into a powder
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: as he stepped on them. A wind blew through the east.
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: Dust and bone covered the entire land. It was a
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: bleak and ominous sight. A voice flew in with the
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: wind and asked, Son of man, Can these dry bones live?
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: Ezekiel looked at the blighted valley. There was no sign
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: of life for a hundred miles in every direction. O Lord,
• 4:56
  Speaker 3: Ezekiel responded, only you know the answer to that. The
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: wind blew against his face. Speak over the bones, Ezekiel,
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: God said. Speak for me anything. O you dry bones,
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: hear the word of the Lord. I will breathe life
• 5:14
  Speaker 3: into you. Your bodies will be covered in sinew, flesh,
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: and skin. I will put my breath in you, and
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: you shall know that I am the Lord. Ezekiel nodded
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: and looked upon the desolation. He lifted his voice to
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: the dry bones and spoke the Lord's words to them.
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: As he spoke, the wind picked up as if the
• 5:35
  Speaker 3: breath of God was flowing through the valley. The wind whistled,
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: and the sound of rattling filled the atmosphere. Ezekiel watched
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: as the bones rolled across the valley to find one
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: another and come together. Bone found bone, and skeletons were
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: made whole. Sinew wrapped around the dry and blighted bones,
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: and muscles began to form around the limbs. Skin covered them,
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: and Ezekiel saw a sea of people lying lifeless on
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: the ground. There was no life in them, no breath
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: of God's Spirit. Ezekiel could feel the light caress of
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: the breeze. In it he heard God speak again, saying,
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: Prophesy to the breath, Ezekiel. Speak for me and declare
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: the four winds of God to breathe life into the dead.
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: Ezekiel was quivering. His heart could barely contain what he
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: was experiencing. At first Ezekiel said nothing. He struggled with
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: the words as he stared upon the valley of lifeless bodies.
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: He regained his composure and prophesied over the dead bodies
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: with the words of God. And in that instant, the
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: wind howled from every direction, the breath of God's Spirit,
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: the Ruach, the Numa. The same breath that breathed life
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: into mankind blew mightily through the valley. Ironically, Ezekiel was breathless.
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: He watched as life was breathed into the dead bodies.
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: He watched them rise from the ground and stand to
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: their feet. Soon the bodies were covered in armor, and
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: a vast army stood before Ezekiel. It was a magnificent sight.
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: The prophet fell to his knees, beholding the army of
• 7:16
  Speaker 3: living bones. These bones are the house of Israel, my children,
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: God said to Ezekiel. They believe their hope is lost,
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: just like these dry bones. You must tell them that
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: I am able to open their graves and raise them
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: to new life. I shall put my spirit in them,
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: and they shall truly live. They shall know that I
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: am their God, and I am the author of life.
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: Ezekiel was still on his knees, trembling at the voice
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: of the Lord. His presence was comforting yet terrifying, strong
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: yet gentle. He hung on every word spoken to him.'
• 7:52
  Speaker 3: Take two sticks and write on them,' God commanded. The
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: prophet grabbed two fallen branches about the size of his
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: arm and began to carve out the words of the Lord.' Behold,
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: I am going to take the branch of Judah and
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: the branch of Israel and make them one again.' I
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: will gather them and make them a single nation. They
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: will not fall again into idolatry, for I will cleanse
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: them of all unrighteousness. Ezekiel marveled at the words of God.
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: The thought of the two nations once again coming together
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: seemed too good to be true. It was a dream
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: come true. But who would lead such a nation? None
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: had been successful since the reign of David. The Lord
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: spoke again, saying, A son of David will be king
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: over the one nation. I will make a covenant with them.
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: They will sit in my presence and we will be
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: close once again. I will shepherd them and all the
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: nations shall be blessed because of them. This God spoke
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: concerning the coming king. The great hero that all heroes
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: pointed to. The great priest that all priests pointed to.
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: The great king that all kings pointed to. The Son
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: of David would bring about the true character of God
• 9:09
  Speaker 3: and bridge the gap between mankind and its Creator. This
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: hero would be Jesus, the Christ, and the Son of God.
• 9:22
  Speaker 4: In today's reading, we're introduced to a new prophet, a
• 9:26
  Speaker 4: man named Ezekiel. God had spoken through Ezekiel for many years,
• 9:31
  Speaker 4: warning Judah and calling them back to God. But as
• 9:35
  Speaker 4: we already know, Judah did not repent and they were defeated,
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: conquered by the Babylonians. Ezekiel was taken along with his
• 9:44
  Speaker 4: people into exile. Ezekiel's name means God will strengthen. And
• 9:50
  Speaker 4: as we will soon discover, God is going to use
• 9:53
  Speaker 4: Ezekiel to tell his people just that. That their God
• 9:56
  Speaker 4: will bring strength even to what they believe to be dangerous.
• 10:00
  Speaker 4: and hopeless. For one day, God's Spirit came upon the
• 10:04
  Speaker 4: prophet and he was taken up in a vision. As
• 10:07
  Speaker 4: he looked around, he was in a valley, surrounded by
• 10:10
  Speaker 4: nothing but dry, dead, lifeless bones. God then asked him
• 10:16
  Speaker 4: a question that seems ridiculous from a human perspective. He asked,
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: can these bones live? Wisely, Ezekiel said, only you know that, God.
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: He surely knew that God, who had made man out
• 10:31
  Speaker 4: of nothing but dirt and breath, could do anything he will,
• 10:34
  Speaker 4: bringing life even to bones. The Lord then commanded Ezekiel
• 10:39
  Speaker 4: to speak his word over the bones, and as he did,
• 10:43
  Speaker 4: these dry brittle bones began to come together with muscles
• 10:47
  Speaker 4: and tendons and flesh. Suddenly, the valley was covered with
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: not bones but human bodies, full of flesh, yet there
• 10:55
  Speaker 4: was no sign of life. We have to think a
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: vision of thousands of human bones seemed disturbing enough, but
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: these lifeless bodies all around would have been a terrifying sight.
• 11:07
  Speaker 4: But God wasn't done yet. He told Ezekiel to speak
• 11:10
  Speaker 4: to the four winds, calling them to fill these lifeless bodies.
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: This was no mere wind. This was the breath of God,
• 11:18
  Speaker 4: the powerful breath of the Almighty, the same breath that
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: filled Adam's lungs and sprung him to life in the garden.
• 11:26
  Speaker 4: It was the ruach, the wind God sent over the
• 11:30
  Speaker 4: waters to make them recede after the flood. There was
• 11:33
  Speaker 4: great power in the breath of God. And as Ezekiel
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: prophesied to the winds, they came and filled the bodies
• 11:40
  Speaker 4: with life. It is an amazing reminder of God's life-giving power.
• 11:46
  Speaker 4: And this was the message God wanted Ezekiel to give
• 11:48
  Speaker 4: to his people. The once lifeless bodies rose from the
• 11:51
  Speaker 4: ground and stood before him an awesome army of warriors.
• 11:56
  Speaker 4: Then God spoke, and we read in Ezekiel 37, verse 11, 12,
• 12:00
  Speaker 4: and 13, these words. Son of man, these bones are
• 12:05
  Speaker 4: the people of Israel. They say our bones are dried
• 12:08
  Speaker 4: up and our hope is gone. We are cut off.
• 12:11
  Speaker 4: Therefore prophesy and say to them, This is what the
• 12:14
  Speaker 4: sovereign Lord says. My people, I am going to open
• 12:18
  Speaker 4: your graves and bring you up from them. I will
• 12:21
  Speaker 4: bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you,
• 12:23
  Speaker 4: my people, will know that I am the Lord when
• 12:26
  Speaker 4: I open your graves and bring you up from them.
• 12:30
  Speaker 4: Despite the disobedience of God's people, their lack of faithfulness,
• 12:35
  Speaker 4: God would not leave them in a hopeless situation. God
• 12:39
  Speaker 4: has a plan, an eternal plan for Israel. Though they
• 12:43
  Speaker 4: could only see despair and darkness and death in their exile,
• 12:46
  Speaker 4: God was giving them a message of hope. This same
• 12:50
  Speaker 4: God of hope is alive and working today. Even in
• 12:54
  Speaker 4: your most hopeless situation, where nothing good seems possible, where
• 12:59
  Speaker 4: there is only dry bones and death, God promises hope.
• 13:04
  Speaker 4: And it is the core, the same hope that he
• 13:07
  Speaker 4: was announcing to his people. At its core, This is
• 13:11
  Speaker 4: the hope that God was giving to his people through Ezekiel,
• 13:14
  Speaker 4: and it is the hope that he promises us today
• 13:17
  Speaker 4: through our Lord Jesus Christ. And here was the promise
• 13:21
  Speaker 4: to God's people. Even though they could not fully understand it,
• 13:25
  Speaker 4: God was promising that he would restore the nation to life.
• 13:29
  Speaker 4: They would be restored to their homeland. And the two nations,
• 13:33
  Speaker 4: Judah and Israel, God was going to bring them under
• 13:36
  Speaker 4: one king. Dear God, we pray for revival in our nation,
• 13:41
  Speaker 4: spiritual awakening around the world. May you take what is
• 13:44
  Speaker 4: dead and bring it to life. Revive your church, O God.
• 13:48
  Speaker 4: Bring your people back to life. May we stand and
• 13:51
  Speaker 4: not be silent with the Word of God and the
• 13:53
  Speaker 4: testimony of Jesus. May we live under the banner and
• 13:57
  Speaker 4: the power and in the breath of God's Spirit, Christ
• 14:00
  Speaker 4: the King. Dear God, thank you. that even in the
• 14:05
  Speaker 4: most desperate and desolate circumstances, when death is all around,
• 14:09
  Speaker 4: you are still in control, and you can bring life
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: out of death. You did that in the resurrection through
• 14:15
  Speaker 4: Jesus our Lord, and it is in his name that
• 14:18
  Speaker 4: we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to today's Bible
• 14:23
  Speaker 4: in a Year podcast. We are so glad that you
• 14:25
  Speaker 4: have joined us. I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.
• 14:29
  Speaker 4: You can download the Pray.com app and join millions of
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: people who are listening daily. to the Bible in a year.
• 14:36
  Speaker 4: I want to encourage you to make prayer and Bible
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: study a priority in your life, that you would seek
• 14:42
  Speaker 4: first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. If you
• 14:46
  Speaker 4: enjoy this broadcast, let me encourage you to share it
• 14:49
  Speaker 4: with others, people that you love, people that you know,
• 14:51
  Speaker 4: people in your church, because we believe the Word of
• 14:54
  Speaker 4: God makes an eternal difference in people's lives. If you
• 14:58
  Speaker 4: want more resources as to how you can live the
• 15:01
  Speaker 4: Christian life, be sure to visit jackgram.org. That's jackgram.org. God
• 15:07
  Speaker 4: bless you.