Scripture Reading: Ezek. 37:1, 5-17, 21-28
The book of Ezekiel has four main sections, each of which contains one crucial point. The first section, consisting of chapter one, speaks of the glorious vision of God and reveals the holy God in His glory. The second section, composed of chapters two through thirty-two, speaks of God’s judgment to deal with all things and matters that do not match His righteousness, holiness, and glory. God judges everything among Israel and among the Gentiles that is incompatible with His nature. The third section, which includes chapters thirty-three through thirty-nine, concerns God’s recovery of a remnant of His people. When God comes in to judge, He remembers His covenant of grace, and thus He preserves a group of His elect and brings them back to their own land. This indicates that the main idea in the third section of Ezekiel is the Lord’s recovery. The fourth section, consisting of chapters forty through forty-eight, speaks about God coming to build His beloved recovered people into His dwelling place. This means that the last section is devoted to the matter of God’s building.
In the book of Ezekiel, there are three chapters which may be considered great chapters in the Bible — chapter one, chapter thirty-seven, and chapter forty-seven. These chapters occupy a special position not only in Ezekiel but in the Bible as a whole. Each of these chapters may be represented by a single word: chapter one — fire; chapter thirty-seven — breath; and chapter forty-seven — water. No chapter speaks of God as fire in the way Ezekiel 1 does. John 4 and 7 and Revelation 22 speak about water, but not in the way that Ezekiel 47 does. Likewise, Ezekiel 37 is unique in the way it speaks of God’s breath. This chapter reveals how God’s Spirit comes into us in order to enliven us that we may become a corporate body, formed into an army, and also built up as God’s dwelling place. Only in this chapter do we see the result of our being enlivened by the breath of life. From this we see that Ezekiel 37 occupies a particular position in the Bible.
Chapters thirty-three through thirty-seven of Ezekiel describe God’s recovery of His people from different aspects. Chapter thirty-four emphasizes the Lord’s coming as a Shepherd to seek His lost sheep and to bring them back to their own land. In chapter thirty-six we see that the Lord recovers His people by life not only outwardly but also inwardly, by giving them a new heart and a new spirit and by putting His Spirit within them. Chapter thirty-seven reveals that the Lord comes to revive His dead and scattered people and to make them one. From this we see that God’s captured people needed to be recovered in different aspects. Because they had been driven away and scattered like sheep, they needed the Lord to search for them as their Shepherd. Because their inward condition was unclean and old, they needed a new heart and a new spirit. Because they had become dead, dry bones, they needed to be enlivened and joined together.
Before we begin to consider chapter thirty-seven, I would like to say a word about two matters — the plant of renown (34:29) and the garden of Eden (36:35). The plant of renown, a famous plant, is Christ. Christ is not only the good land, containing many trees whose fruits are good for food; Christ is also a plant of renown. Concerning the expression like the garden of Eden, we need to see that eventually the Lord’s recovery should come to the point where it is like the garden of Eden. Then wherever we may be in the Lord’s recovery, we will be in the garden of Eden. Frequently in the meetings of the local churches we have the sense that we are in the garden of Eden. In the garden of Eden we have Christ as a famous plant, the plant of renown. This means that in the church life we enjoy the riches of Christ in a special way day by day.
Ezekiel 34 mainly covers outward aspects of the Lord’s recovery. In this chapter God comes as the Shepherd to search and seek for His people and to bring them back to His good land. Ezekiel 36 covers the inward aspect of the Lord’s recovery. In His recovery, the Lord not only brings us back outwardly, but He also inwardly gives us a new heart and a new spirit and puts His Spirit into our spirit. If we see this, we will realize that the Lord’s recovery is not merely a matter of outward position and outward circumstances but also a matter of inward nature and disposition. In the Lord’s recovery, which is something both outward and inward, not only are our position, circumstances, and surroundings changed, but we also have the inward renewing of our heart and our spirit, and we receive the Spirit of God. Outwardly there is a change, and inwardly there is a conversion.
Ezekiel 36, however, does not tell us clearly and thoroughly how we may have a conversion, how we may have a new heart and a new spirit, and how we may obtain God’s Spirit. We are simply told in a general way that the Lord will give us a new heart and a new spirit and put His own Spirit within us. Thus, we need Ezekiel 37 to show us how God renews us and regenerates us.
Before God came in to renew us and regenerate us, we were like dead and dry bones. If we had only Ezekiel 36, we would realize that we were sinful and filthy, but we would not think that we were dead. Ezekiel 37 reveals that we were not only dead but that we were also dry bones. This indicates that God’s salvation is not only for those who are sinful but also for those who are dead.
In the sight of God, when we were fallen, either as a sinner or as a backslidden believer, we were dead and buried in a grave. We were in the “grave” of various sinful things and worldly entertainments. Before we were saved or before we were revived we were all buried in some kind of grave. We were sinful, dead, buried, and dried up. We had no blood, no flesh, no sinew, no skin — just dry bones. This is a picture showing what we were and where we were.
Because we were dead and dry, we were also scattered. According to Ezekiel 37 not one piece of bone was joined to another piece. All the bones were disjointed and scattered, having no oneness. Whether we were an unsaved sinner or a backslidden believer, this was our situation.
Today many Christians are buried in the graves of denominations, divisions, independent groups, and different movements. All denominations, sects, groups, and movements are graves. Many of us can testify that formerly we were in such graves, dead, dry, scattered, disjointed, and not connected to anyone.
Ezekiel 37:11-13 says, “Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves.” Not only unbelieving sinners need to be delivered from their graves, but even many brothers and sisters need to be revived and delivered from death and from their graves. Some saints have become fallen and desolate and now are bound in their graves. I do not know by what you were slain or in what kind of grave you are being held. But I hope that God’s wind will blow upon you, that God’s light will shine into you, and that God’s life will work within you to tear open your grave and cause you to come up out of this grave and to be revived.
The Bible reveals that the Lord is the Savior of the dead. In John 5:25 the Lord Jesus says, “An hour is coming, and it is now, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” In Ezekiel 37 God is speaking not to the sick but to the dead. It is a blessing to realize that we are dead and that we need the Lord to enliven us. God’s word in this chapter is not to make a sick person well and not to turn an evil person into a good person; God’s word here is to cause a dead person to become a living person. I hope that many will humble themselves before the Lord and pray, “Lord, I confess that I am not only sick and sinful — I admit that I am dead. My heart and my spirit are dead. Lord, I am completely dead and dry. I am like a pile of dead, dry bones. O Lord, I need Your life to come into me. I need You to breathe the breath of life into me so that I may live.”
Praise the Lord that He did not leave us in our situation but came in to rescue us! However, the Lord did not come in directly to be our Shepherd, but, in keeping with Ezekiel 37, He came in through the prophesying of His word.
Many Christians have a mistaken understanding of prophesying, thinking that to prophesy is only to predict. But there is hardly any prediction in Ezekiel 37. Instead, the prophesying here is a matter of declaring something or speaking something forth. This indicates that prophesying in this chapter does not mainly mean to predict but to tell forth, to make some kind of declaration. When the Lord told Ezekiel to prophesy, He meant that Ezekiel should speak forth. The Lord told Ezekiel that when he prophesied, He would send the breath and the wind. When Ezekiel spoke forth, God gave people the Spirit. From this we can see clearly that the main meaning of prophesying is not to predict but to speak forth something for the Lord.
Other Christians think that to prophesy is to teach. But no matter how much one may teach dry bones, they remain dry bones. One may teach dry bones about the need for wind, breath, and the Spirit, but nothing happens to these bones. In this chapter Ezekiel neither predicted something to the dry bones nor taught them. On the contrary, when Ezekiel prophesied, he spoke something for God, and God followed him. As Ezekiel was prophesying, God was blowing upon the dry bones, sending the wind, the breath, and the Spirit.
In Ezekiel 37 three things are related to the prophesying: the wind, breath, and Spirit. In English these are three different words, but in Hebrew they are only one word, ruach. Verse 9 uses the word wind and the word breath, but in the Hebrew text both are the same word, ruach. In verse 14 there is the Spirit, but this also is a translation of ruach. It is difficult for translators to decide how to translate ruach in these verses. The translation is based both upon the context and upon the understanding of the translator.
If we apply this matter to our spiritual experience, we may say that when God blows upon us, that is the wind; when we breathe the wind, it is the breath; and when the breath comes into us, it is the Spirit. First comes the wind and then the breath and then the Spirit. When Ezekiel prophesied, God blew the wind, the people received the breath, and the breath became the Spirit, the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b).
In this chapter Ezekiel prophesied twice, in verse 7 and again in verse 10. Verse 7 says, “So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.” Here we see that when Ezekiel prophesied there was a noise and a shaking.
Sometimes others complain that our meetings are too noisy. My answer is that if all were dry bones, everything would be quiet. There would be neither noise nor voice, only quietness. All the bones in the valley in Ezekiel 37 were quiet and motionless. But when Ezekiel came and prophesied, there was a noise and a shaking, and all the bones came together. I cannot explain why this happened. We do know, however, that when we come together in the meetings and make a joyful noise (Psa. 95:1), we are truly one.
Suppose we all came into the meeting and sat quietly for thirty minutes. Soon we would become critical of one another, and eventually we would lose our oneness. But when we shout joyfully to the Lord Jesus, praising Him and calling on His name, we are one. It may not sound nice to you, but the more we make noise in this way, the more we are one. If we get out of ourselves by calling on the Lord and praising Him, we will be one.
Ezekiel 37:8 says, “And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.” After the noise, the shaking, and the coming together of the bones, something very particular happened. Sinews, flesh, and skin came upon the bones, covering the bones and causing their appearance to be much improved. Formerly they were only dry bones; now they were a lifeless body with the parts gathered up, joined, and connected. The body was lifeless because it had no breath.
The description in verse 8 is applicable to our experience. The dry bones must first come together, and then the breath will come into them. If we do not gather together, we will not have the breath of God. We should not wait until we have the breath of God and then come together. Rather, we should first come together, with “a noise” and “a shaking,” and then the breath of God will be breathed upon us.
Verses 9 and 10 continue, “Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” When Ezekiel prophesied again, God sent the breath to enter into the dead bodies, and then they stood up upon their feet and became an “exceeding great army” to fight the battle for God.
In verses 16 and 17 the Lord said to Ezekiel, “Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: and join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.” First, Ezekiel dealt with the dry bones and then with the dry sticks. A stick is something wooden, but it is lifeless and dry. These two dead sticks symbolize the two kingdoms of Israel, the southern kingdom (Judah) and the northern kingdom (Israel, or Ephraim). These two kingdoms could never be one, and in the eyes of the Lord they were thoroughly dead and dried up.
The Lord has a way to make these dead sticks one, and His way is the way of life. His way is to make the sticks alive and then to put them together so that they may grow together. This is very similar to grafting, in which two branches are joined and eventually grow together. This actually is what is mentioned here. The two sticks are like two branches. Formerly they had no life, but then they were made alive. Having been enlivened, they are now able to grow together and become one.
Whereas the bones are for forming the army, the sticks are for the building of the house of God. The sticks had been divided, but now they are one and are the dwelling place of God. Therefore, here we have both the army fighting the battle for God and the house of God as His dwelling place.
Christians today talk much about the Body, the church, and the house of God, but most do not see the practical way to have the Body, the church, and the house of God. Ezekiel 37 clearly reveals that the only way, the unique way, is the way of life. Two dry sticks can grow together not by gifts or teachings but by life.
The Lord did not tell Ezekiel to exercise certain gifts or to teach. The Lord charged Ezekiel to prophesy, to utter, or speak forth, some words for God. As Ezekiel declared something to the dead ones for God, He blew upon them and they received breath. When the breath came into them, it became life to them. Then by the way of life the two dry sticks could grow together.
We can become one not by gifts or teachings but by life. Oh, we all need the blowing of the wind! Then we need to receive the breath, and the breath will become in us the life-giving Spirit. Then we will be able to grow in life.
Life is wonderful. It takes care of so many problems. Our physical body can overcome many problems simply because it is living. This is an illustration of the fact that what we need in the church life is life, not gifts or teachings. By life the dead branches can be enlivened and grow into each other. Then these branches will have the oneness that issues out of the growth in life. If we pay attention to gifts or teachings, we will be divided. We all need something better, something higher, and this better and higher thing is life.
First comes the blowing of the wind, which is followed by the breath and by the life-giving Spirit. This causes the dry bones to become alive and to become one. Finally, the bones become an army fighting the battle for the Lord. Likewise, the dry sticks become alive and grow together. By the growth in life they are one and no longer have any divisions. Throughout the years, here in the church in Los Angeles we have paid our attention not to gifts or to teachings but to life. If we had paid attention to gifts and teachings, we would have been divided again and again. But because we care for the Lord’s way of life, we are one.
We praise the Lord for the oneness in His recovery. Although we come from many different backgrounds, we are one. We are one not by gifts or teachings but by life. Among us we have many former ministers, pastors, missionaries, and Bible teachers, but all of these are now one in life. Because we have life and are in life, we are one. Now we are an army fighting the battle and we are a dwelling place for the Lord.
When the saints migrate for the spreading of the church life, they are an army fighting the battle. We cannot have proper migrations if we do not have oneness. It is very good that in the migrations saints come from different parts of the country to be one in a particular city. They come together to be one not in teachings or gifts but in life. Because we are one in life, we are both the army and the dwelling place of the Lord. The army is formed with dry bones which have been made alive, and the dwelling place with dry sticks which have been enlivened and joined together. Now no one is dry. Every part of the army and of the dwelling place is full of life and is living in oneness. This is the Lord’s recovery.
Following chapter thirty-seven there are two further chapters which speak of further judgment. These chapters indicate that if we go on with the Lord in oneness as an army and as a dwelling place for the Lord on earth, He will take care of all our enemies.
We should not think that since we are an army we will have no enemies. Neither should we think that since we are one as the Lord’s dwelling place, we will have no battles. There is still an enemy, but the Lord will deal with him. In chapter thirty-five there is Edom, the enemy within, and in chapters thirty-eight and thirty-nine there is the enemy outside. We have to judge Edom, the old man, the enemy within us, but the Lord will take care of the enemies which are outside. We may have the assurance that as long as we are one, the Lord will fight the battle for us. He will deal with our enemy, who is also His enemy. Praise the Lord that we can be in the church life in peace and safety. As we deal with the inward enemy, the Lord will deal with the outward enemy, and a strong church life will be built up to be “an exceeding great army” and the Lord’s sanctuary on earth. Only when God has judged all the enemies can His people dwell peacefully without fear. When His people are in such a peaceful condition, the building up of the Lord’s dwelling place will be completed, and the Lord will have a place of rest among His people.
