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