The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, Classic Version, 2015Mfano

Can These Bones Live?

‘Thousands of churches face closure, demolition or conversion in the next decade, leading to the demise of some branches of Christianity in Europe’ wrote Ruth Gledhill in the London Times a few years ago. There seems to be a spiritual dryness and a lack of hope, almost a sense of being abandoned.

It appears to reflect the vision that Ezekiel had of the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37). Dry bones are a picture of demise and death. The dry bones in Ezekiel’s vision are the people of God. God asks Ezekiel, ‘Can these bones live?’ (v.3).

The vision continues with a prophecy of resurrection and restoration for the people. There is hope for God’s people, there is hope for the Church. Four weeks ago, that same London Times wrote about ‘moribund churches’ coming to life again through church planting – churches that had been closed being reopened. It spoke of a ‘church that is alive and vibrant and growing’. The dry bones are coming to life again.

Psalm 129:1-8

1. Trust God to turn things right around

Do you sometimes feel kicked around by the enemy? Everything seems to be going wrong. You seem to be losing. You are experiencing the oppression of the enemy (v.1).

But victory rests with the Lord. The psalmist says, ‘They’ve kicked me around ever since I was young ... Their ploughmen ploughed long furrows up and down my back; then God ripped the harnesses of the evil ploughmen to shreds’ (vv.1–4, MSG).

Lord, thank you for the victory of Jesus, through the cross and resurrection, over all oppression and wickedness. Thank you that you have made victory possible for us; victory over sin and death.

Lord, it seems that the church has been under oppression for a long time. We pray for your victory. Set us free from the cords of the wicked and give us a great harvest.

James 3:1-18

2. Develop a spiritually healthy community

Dry bones can live again. It is possible to develop a healthy body again individually and as a community: ‘You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy the results’ (v.18, MSG). However, there are conditions, which the apostle James sets out in this chapter.

He continues to warn about the tongue – especially for those of us who teach: ‘Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards’ (v.1, MSG). It is consoling that he adds, ‘we all stumble in many ways’ (v.2) – certainly I do.

The tongue is a powerful little instrument which can do so much good, and so much harm. You can build or destroy: ‘By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell’ (v.8, MSG).

Harsh, unjust words have destructive power: ‘With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people, who have been made in God's likeness’ (v.9). To curse means to speak evil. To bless means to speak well. We need to learn to control the tongue so that we speak only words of blessing to people and about people.

This little instrument of our bodies can do so much damage. Relationships, even marriages, often end because of things that have been said or not said. People lose their jobs, their reputation, start arguments or even wars by their words.

On the other hand, your words have tremendous power for good. You can bring healing, encouragement and edification. Your words can change a person’s day or even life.

The apostle James goes on to speak of ‘the wisdom that comes from heaven’ (v.17). He writes, ‘Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts’ (v.13, MSG).

Get rid of all bitter envy and selfish ambition (v.14). Envy and selfish ambition are unspiritual; they are from the devil, and cause all kinds of disorder and evil practice (vv.14–15).

However, wisdom from heaven ‘is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness’ (vv.17–18).

If you live like this, your life will have great influence. The Message version describes this as doing ‘the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honour’ (v.18, MSG). If you work hard at your relationships with those around you, then you will ‘reap a harvest of righteousness’, and you will have a huge impact on society.

Lord, I ask for wisdom from heaven. Help me to live a life that is pure and peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

Thank you for this wonderful promise that peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. Lord, tame my tongue that I may never use it in any other way than to bring blessing to you and to others. I pray for a harvest of righteousness.

Ezekiel 36:1-37:28

3. Be filled with the Holy Spirit

Hope at last! Dry bones can live! We have read so many prophecies of judgment. But God is about to act. God speaks to his people and says, you are ‘coming home’. ‘I’m on your side’. Instead of death, there is going to be ‘life, life and more life’ (vv.8–11, MSG).

How will this happen? God promises, ‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws’ (vv.26–27).

In the Old Testament, God’s Spirit came on particular people at particular times for particular purposes. God promises that his Spirit will live in all of his people, all of the time. He will replace our hard hearts with soft, compassionate hearts. He will give us new desires – to love and serve other people. He will give us a heart that does not want to sin. We still do sin, but our consciences are very sensitive and uncomfortable with sin. His Spirit strengthens us and enables us to do God’s will.

God promises, ‘On the day I cleanse you from all your sins ... the ruins will be rebuilt … So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people’ (vv.33–38). This vision of restoration gives me such hope for the church in our nation, and across the world. God never abandons his people, and his plans are always ultimately to restore and save us. Here is a beautiful description of forgiveness, a new heart, the Spirit of God living within us; renewal, rebuilding, restoration and growth.

It will come about through ‘the word of the Sovereign Lord’ (v.4) and ‘the Spirit of the Lord’ (37:1). ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army.

‘Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ... ‘I will put my Spirit in you and you will live’ ” ’ (vv.9b–14).

Do not speak negatively. Speak words of life. God can revive things that have been dry and even dead. When the word of God and the Spirit of God come together, there is resurrection life and the knowledge of God. What is impossible with human beings becomes possible with the power of God. Without God the church would indeed crumble away as the world tells us. But with God, these dry bones will live again.

And there is yet more. The Holy Spirit brings unity. The Lord gives Ezekiel a visual aid, using two sticks to communicate the unity God is going to establish: ‘Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand … making them a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand … one king over all of them … one shepherd’ (vv.17,19,22,24).

This is a foretaste of the unity of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:4–6).

God promises, ‘I will be their God, and they will be my people’ (Ezekiel 37:27).

Lord, thank you that all these promises are more than fulfilled through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Thank you so much for your cleansing. Thank you that you say that we are your people, and you are our God.

Thank you that you dwell with us by your Spirit. Thank you that these dry bones will live again – but only through the work of the Holy Spirit who brings the victory from the Lord and the harvest of righteousness and life from the dead.

Lord, do it again in our time we pray.

Pippa Adds

Ezekiel 36:26

‘I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.’

We recently came back from the Alpha Weekend where we saw hearts of stone melting into hearts of flesh – an extraordinarily moving sight.

Notes:

Mark Greaves, The Times, 25 October 2014.

Ruth Gledhill, The Times, 10 February 2007.

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.

Scripture quotations marked (AMP) taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.