What is the meaning of the Valley of Dry Bones in Ezekiel 37?
Ezekiel 37:1 - 28
ESV - 1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.
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Asked July 01 2013
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Anonymous (via GotQuestions)
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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14) came to him after God had directed him to prophesy the rebirth of Israel in chapter 36. God announced, through the prophet, that Israel will be restored to her land in blessing under the leadership of "David, My servant [who] shall be king over them" (Ezekiel 37:24), clearly a reference to the future under Jesus Christ the Messiah, descendant of David (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7; Luke 1:31-33). However, this promise seemed impossible in light of Israel's present condition. She was "dead" as a nation, deprived of her land, her king, and her temple. She had been divided and dispersed for so long that unification and restoration seemed impossible. So God gave Ezekiel the vision of the dry bones as sign.
God transported Ezekiel-probably not literally, but in a vision-to a valley full of dry bones and directed him to speak to the bones. Ezekiel was to tell the bones that God would make breath enter the bones and they would come to life, just as in the creation of man when He breathed life into Adam (Genesis 2:7). Ezekiel obeyed, the bones came together, flesh developed, skin covered the flesh, breath entered the bodies, and they stood up in a vast army. This vision symbolized the whole house of Israel that was then in captivity. Like unburied skeletons, the people were in a state of living death, pining away with no end to their judgment in sight. They thought their hope was gone and they were cut off forever. The surviving Israelites felt their national hopes had been dashed and the nation had died in the flames of Babylon's attack with no hope of resurrection.
The reviving of the dry bones signified God's plan for Israel's future national restoration. The vision also, and most importantly, showed that Israel's new life depended on God's power and not the circumstances of the people. Putting "breath" by God's Spirit into the bones showed that God would not only restore them physically but also spiritually. The Israelites residing in the Holy Land today are not the fulfillment of this prophecy. It will be fulfilled when God re-gathers believing Israelites to the land (Jeremiah 31:33; 33:14-16) and Christ returns to establish His Millennial Kingdom (Matthew 24:30-31).
See http://www.gotquestions.org/valley-dry-bones.html
Penelope Mayfield
Supporter
It clearly states in Ezekiel 37:11 that he is talking about the children of Israel, how they had lost their hope, the lord is commanding him to speak life into their dead situations.
John Appelt
Supporter
Ezekiel 37 is a prophecy of the future restoration of Israel, based on the Ezekiel 36 prophecy of the cleansing of the people and restored land. It looks beyond the return from the Babylonian captivity. Ezekiel 37:25 indicates the Messiah will reign. The vision must be in the last days. After the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, the land became desolate and impoverished especially under Turkish Empire control, 1517 to 1917. In the 1880s, Jews started returning in great numbers with the first settlement, ‘Door of Hope.’ Immigration was called ‘aliyah’ from ‘go up,’ II Chronicles 36:23. Zionism, the desire to return, pulled. The intense persecution, wars, famines, and economic hardship pushed. The ‘aliyahs’ were like ocean waves: 1st 1882-1903, 35,000 Jews from Russia, Romania and Yemen. 2nd 1904-1914, 40,000 Russian Jews established the first ‘kibbutz,’ communal farms to make a productive land from the rocky and marshy land. At the end of WWI, British General Edmund Allenby took Jerusalem which surrendered without a fight. Britain took control of Israel and issued the Balfour Declaration giving Jews the right to buy land. 3rd 1919-1923 and 4th 1924-1929, 370,000 from Russia, Poland, Hungary, Yemen, and Iraq immigrated because of anti-Semitism and restrictive US immigration quotas. In 1922, Hebrew was revived. 5th 1929-1939, Nazi Germany began persecuting. US continued restrictions. Arabs called on Britain to limit Jews from coming, but 300,000 came illegally from Europe. In 1939, Britain, faced with Arab riots, issued the White Paper which limited Jews from entering, while in Europe millions were slaughtered in concentration camps. Those escaping to Palestine ended up in British detention camps. After WWII, Britain handed the Palestine mandate to the UN which voted to end British control. Israel declared herself as a nation on May 14, 1948. The US recognized Israel as a nation eleven minutes later! The next day, five Arab countries attacked Israel, confident they would wipe her off the map. In nine months, the outnumbered Israeli soldiers were victorious in Israel’s War of Independence. In 1950, Israel passed a law granting Jews the right to return with automatic citizenship, stretcher cases first. Operations with unusual code names began. ‘Operation Magic Carpet,’ officially ‘Operation on Wings of Eagles,’ and ‘Operation Messiah’s Coming.’ 1949-1950, airlifted 49,000 Jews of Yemen and Aden in 380 flights. ‘Operation Ezra and Nehemiah’ or ‘Operation Ali Baba,’ 1951, 130,000 Iraqi Jews came. ‘Operation Yachin’ (Solomon’s temple pillar), 1961-1964. Mossad, Israel’s secret agency brought 97,000 Moroccan Jews. ‘Operation Moses’ and ‘Operation Joshua,’1984-86, airlifted 8,000 famine-stricken Ethiopian Jews who walked all the way into Sudan. ‘Operation Exodus,’ 1990, after the Soviet Union breakup, airlifted 700,000 Russian Jews. ‘Operation Solomon,’ 1991, secretly airlifted 15,000 Ethiopian Jews in 36 hours. 34 Israeli aircraft flew non-stop, one had a world record of 1,087 passengers. Israel paid off the Ethiopian government 26 million dollars to look aside. Five babies were born inflight. ‘Operation Dove’s Wings,’ 2010-2013, and ‘Operation Rock,’ 2020, airlifted Ethiopian Jews. Israel miraculously became a restored nation as God predicted.
Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
The Work of the Spirit of God 1 In Regeneration—a new heart and a new spirit (Life and Cleansing) Ezek. 36:26,27; John 3:5 2 In Revival of Dead Bones in a Valley Ezek. 37:1-10 Dry Bones in a Vision Ezek. 37:2 A Voice—On the first utterance—a noise, shaking and coming together—Conviction Ezek. 37:7 On next utterance—the dead bones lived—Regeneration Ezek. 37:10 3 In Renewal—Stood on their feet—Stability Ezek. 37:10 An Exceeding great army—Activity, and Orderliness
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