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

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