Full of Old Dry Bones

TLB Ezekiel 37: 1-3

^1-2 The power of the Lord was upon me and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley full of old, dry bones that were scattered everywhere across the ground. He led me around among them, ³ and then he said to me:
“Son of dust, can these bones become people again?”
I replied, “Lord, you alone know the answer to that.”

 

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Why is this ponderable?

Imagine walking along a mountainside trail through a thick forest.  You see a bright opening ahead foretelling a stretch of open pasture. As you approach the field, you expect green grass, an easy walking trail and maybe a stream of cool water. Instead you find a long runway strewn with piles of old dry bones. As you get closer disbelief turns to horror as you realize these are human bones. Some are still attached to skeletons; others are just strewn about in reckless order.

That horror is what Ezekiel must have felt when the Spirit of the Lord let him see this vision. That fear and horror gave God the platform needed to test Ezekiel by asking him, "Son of dust, can these bones become people again?" 

Because Ezekiel was a seasoned Prophet he knew better than to give a foolish answer. He deferred the question back to God, "Lord, you alone know the answer to that."

We would like to think this is just another Bible story with no relevance to the world we live in today. But lets look around us at the twisted broken lives resulting from violence, drug addiction, alcoholism, and religious extremism. Are they much more than old dry bones still covered by rotting flesh?   Can we restore them to abundant life again? 

Our answer must be the same one Ezekiel gave. The old dry bones cannot be restored by our own power. Powerful Governments have tried and failed. We must defer to God, who alone can turn dry old bones to living people again.