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Valley of Dry Bones · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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