Fifth Sunday in Lent March 21-22, 2026
“BE GOD’S EZEKIEL TODAY” Ezekiel 37:1-14
Rev. Kelly Crabbe
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, amen. Our text is our Old Testament reading for today in Ezekiel 37:1-14 and we begin in verse 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.”
Have you ever seen pictures where there were scattered, white, dried out bones of animals in the desert? This is how it was for the prophet Ezekiel, except these weren’t animal bones, and there weren’t just a few. They were everywhere, and they were the skeletons of people. Skulls, rib cages, long femur bones… a weird sight for sure. Verse 2. “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.” None of these people had been buried, and there were tons of them lying on top of the ground baking in the sun. Verses 3-6. “3 And He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ And I answered, ‘O Lord God, you know.’ 4 Then He said to me, ‘Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’
There is a massive lesson for us here. Is anything impossible for God? Genesis 18:14 says, “14 Is anything too difficult or too wonderful for the Lord? At the appointed time, when the season for her delivery comes, I will return to you and Sarah will have a son.” Or Jeremiah 32:17 tells us, “17 ‘Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! There is nothing too difficult or too wonderful for You.’” And Jesus said in Luke 18:27, “The things that are impossible for people are possible for God.” Do you believe God works miracles? Is His Word truth? Ezekiel trusts the Lord, but seems to have some reservations. When God asks Him whether these bones can live again it feels like Ezekiel hedges his bets when he says, “Lord, You know.” But even if Ezekiel was less than convinced, he obeyed God’s command. Verses 7 & 8.
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them.” Do you think Ezekiel felt weird talking to a bunch of bones as if they could hear? As Ezekiel was obediently doing what God told him to do he heard a rattling across the valley echoing in his ears. I’m guessing that made him both excited and a little freaked out. Then he saw the bones changing, sinews growing on them, then muscles, then skin appearing. But they all just lay there on the ground, motionless. There was no life in them at all. Verses 9 & 10.
9 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.”
When Ezekiel witnessed this awesome work of the Lord, turning dry bones into fleshy bodies, I’m sure he was totally a believer that God can do anything He wants to. So when he spoke to these lifeless but fully developed bodies, I’m sure he fully expected them to be reanimated, and they were! Living, breathing active people come back to life by the power of God’s Word spoken by Ezekiel. Verses 11-14.
Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”
Now we get to the most important part of this account. It’s one thing to be given life — having a body, breathing, moving around, making decisions, that’s good stuff, but in these final verses we see something more. In verse 11 we see these bones are the WHOLE HOUSE OF ISRAEL. What does that mean? Who are the members of the whole house of Israel? In Romans 9:6-8 we see who that is. “Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.” NOT ACCORDING TO THE FLESH, BUT ACCORDING TO THE PROMISE. The whole house of Israel means all those who are part of the promise.
The verses we just looked at tell the story. When it’s up to us, “Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, we are cut off.” When it’s up to God, “I will open your graves, I will raise you from your graves, I will bring you into your own land, I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and you will know I am the Lord.” That’s the Gospel, that it is God doing all the work of Salvation, and as saved people it’s us telling each other and reminding each other that God loves us and forgives us.
Before we close I want to bring out a very important point. Could God have spoken to those bones Himself and brought them back to life? Yes, of course He could have. But He had Ezekiel do it. He doesn’t tell us why, we just see that He wanted Ezekiel to do that. It’s the same for you and me. He wants us to be the ones to speak His word of life to one another. Be God’s Ezekiel to your family and friends. Be God’s prophet to your neighbor. How do you do that? Here are the four steps.
1) Take the time to get to know people and have a relationship with them.
2) Live out your faith on a daily basis because I guarantee you will stand out as being different from the world. They will see your godly hope not because you’re perfect but because you understand the need for grace.
3) Then be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, doing so with gentleness and respect.
4) The answer you can give is one verse I want you to memorize, Romans 6:23.
“The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Next week is Holy Week – Palm Sunday, Jesus celebrating the Lord’s Supper for the first time, Jesus giving His life for yours, and Jesus the first fruits of the resurrection. May this be a special time of God’s Spirit working in you, reminding you that you’re a child of the promise, that you are of the house of Israel because of what Jesus did for you. Let’s each be Ezekiel in a world of dry bones. In Jesus’ name, amen.
