Evangelski Vestnik – Hope for dry bones

Many people today live without hope. Perhaps never before has the world searched so desperately for answers to important questions, and never before has the world been so fanatically convinced that they have no answers. Today people say, “Father, forgive us, for we know not what we do – and please do not tell us what to do!”

People walk with quick steps towards the abyss, towards the lake of fire with burning sulphur. The famous agnostic Thomas Huxley was in a hurry to catch the train. He jumped into a horse-drawn cab and shouted to the coachman, “Hurry up, I’m late, drive fast!” The carriage drove off and Huxley leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes. After a while he opened them, looked out the window and noticed that they were moving in the wrong direction. He suddenly realized that he had not told the coachman where to take him and called out, “Do you know where you are going?” The coachman replied, “No, your honor, but I drive fast!”

Such is the fate of many of our compatriots. They do not know where they are going, but they are flying with terrible speed towards the second, spiritual death. And they have no hope.

Have you ever felt like you’re at a dead end? Like you’ll never get out of the trouble you’re in? If yes, then I have good news for you. . There is hope for the hopeless!

Ezekiel was exiled to Babylon and served as a prophet among the exiles. In his book he describes the nation of Israel as spiritually dead: In the book of Ezekiel 37:1-2 we read: “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me forth by the Spirit of the Lord, and set me in the midst of a field that was full of bones. 2 And led me by them round about; and, behold, there were too many in the open field, and they were too dry.”

Ezekiel looks at these lifeless, scattered corpses on the battlefield, of which only dry bones remain. And in them he sees his people – the 12 tribes of Israel and Judah, scattered among many nations. From a human point of view, it is impossible for them to come together. It is impossible for them to rise again after this defeat.

A man was walking in the Sea Garden and stopped to watch a group of boys play. Asked one of the boys what the score was. It said, “We’re leading 5-0.” “Kid, you must be very discouraged?” “Why should I be discouraged?” replied the boy. “We haven’t even got possession of the ball yet!” But many people live without hope. Jean-Paul Sartre said “A man can rely on no one but himself; he is alone, abandoned on earth in the midst of his endless responsibilities, without hope, with no other purpose than that which he himself sets, with no other destiny than that which he himself fashions for himself on this earth.’

In Ephesians 2:12 we read: “at that time you were without Christ, you were excluded from the community of Israel, you were strangers to the covenants related to God’s promise, and you lived in this world without hope and without God.” This is how many Bulgarians live today – without hope and without God. If you don’t believe me, watch the news tonight. But God has an answer for hopeless situations. There is hope for dry bones!

In Ezekiel 37:3 God asks: Son of man, can these bones live? I answered: Lord Yahweh, You know. Humanly speaking, the prophet could say, “It is impossible for these bones to come to life.” It is absurd to suppose that dead bones can come to life. But God is the one who asked the question and He is the one who has the answer. In the gospel of Matthew 19:25-26, the disciples were very surprised that the rich will hardly enter the kingdom of God and said: If so, who can be saved? And Jesus looked at them and said to them: With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” In fact, God delights in doing the impossible. But as someone once said, when we say something is impossible, we slam the door in God’s face.

There are no impossible situations. There are only people who feel that way. But if your hope is in God, you need not despair! Just stop looking at the circumstances and raise your eyes to heaven. Look to God. Because He is the only hope for dry bones!

A pessimist finds a problem in every opportunity. An optimist finds opportunity in every problem. Do not give up. Look for an answer in the Word.

In Ezekiel 37:4-8 God said: Prophesy over these bones and say to them: Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord unto these bones: Behold, I will cause spirit to enter into you, and ye shall live; I will also put veins on you, I will clothe you in flesh and cover you with skin, and I will put spirit in you, and you will live; and you will know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, it began to thunder, and, behold, an earthquake, and the bones came together, bone to bone. And when I looked, I saw that sinews and flesh grew upon them, and a skin covered them above; but there was no spirit in them.

It must seem absurd to you that someone should talk to dry bones. Imagine Ezekiel standing in the middle of the field preaching to those piles of bones. Perhaps he said to himself, these bones are dry, there is no blood on them, no muscles or flesh, no organs, no tissue, nothing to suggest life. Do you know how many bones there are in the human body? 206! The muscles are 600, and the blood is almost 14 kg.!

My daughter is currently studying anatomy in college. Every student should know by heart the name, shape and purpose of each bone. Then they need to know all the tissues, muscles, organs and systems. David says the following in Psalm 139:14 “I will praise You, because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Thy works, and my soul well knows it.’

And all this God made of dust! And if He did, He can gather the scattered dead bones and regenerate them to new life.

It must have seemed crazy to Ezekiel to speak to dead bones, but he obeyed. Why? Because he knew that God’s ways are not like the ways of men.

You must have felt that way too. You want to tell someone about God, but you think dead bones would rather hear than that person. At such a moment, do not forget that the Word never returns empty. It will do God’s will and prosper. (Isaiah 55:11)

Do you feed your faith with the Word? It is a lamp to your feet, a light to your path (Psalms 119:105). If you yourself do not walk in the light, how will you give it to others? Many of your loved ones, colleagues and friends are spiritually dead. God’s Word is like a window in their cell of hopelessness through which they can peer and see the light of hope. Only then will they be able to change the direction of their lives.

Ezekiel gave the Word of hope to dry bones. They clothed themselves with sinew, flesh and skin, but it was not enough to live. Something more was needed. Then he said to me: Prophesy about the spirit; prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit: Thus says the Lord Jehovah: Come, spirit, from the four winds, and blow upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me; and the spirit entered into them, and they came to life; and they rose to their feet, a very great host.’ Come, Spirit, and breathe upon these slain that they may live.

The great Christian author Towser wrote, “Religious guidance, however sound, is not sufficient by itself. It brings light, but cannot give sight. The assumption that light and sight are synonymous has brought spiritual tragedy to millions. The Pharisees looked straight into the Light of the world for three years, but not a single ray of light reached their beings. The light is not enough. To have saving faith requires the inward action of the Holy Spirit.”

It is not my responsibility or yours to revive the spiritually dead. Try as we might, we cannot revive them. What is our responsibility? In Romans 10:14 we read: But how shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

Do you know what is 1,207,000 km long, can wrap around the earth 30 times and grows by another 32 km with each passing day? Answer: a line formed by the people who do not know Jesus Christ. According to one study, only 2% of people have led another person to the Lord. Why? Because they do not feel it is their responsibility to share the good news.

Our responsibility is to share the Word. To wake the sleepers. It is the Holy Spirit who takes the Word and gives Him power to quicken dead souls and bones. He uses it to bring life.

Now I want to ask you to close your eyes. Think of someone who is spiritually dead. See how his dry bones lie in the field with the bones of millions of others. He is spiritually dead. Maybe at first glance it doesn’t seem like that at all. He is in flourishing health, handsome, smart, and smiling…but he is walking swiftly toward hell without hope and without Christ. God is calling you to share the Word with him.

Say to these dry bones: “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! He will give you the breath of life and you will be revived. He will attach sinews and flesh to them, and cover them with skin. He will put breath into you and you will come to life. Then you will know that He is Lord!

Can bones come to life? Is there hope for dry bones? Nothing is impossible for God. But perhaps there are people among us who live without hope. If you have not yet trusted Jesus for salvation, you are still living in the field of dry bones. You live without hope. But we believe in the God of hope. Listen to God’s Word – it tells you that Jesus paid the price for your sins. Trust Him for salvation and the Holy Spirit will regenerate you to new life.

A pastor from Zimbabwe tried to give a New Testament to a very aggressive man. The man warned him that he would use the pages to roll cigarettes. The pastor said, “Okay, but at least promise me you’ll read the page before you smoke it.” The man agreed and the two parted ways. Fifteen years later, the two met at a Christian conference. The man who smoked the cigarettes made from the Scriptures was already saved and working as an evangelist. From the pulpit he told those present: “I smoked Matthew, I smoked Mark, I smoked Luke too. But when I got to John 3:16, I couldn’t smoke anymore. My life was changed at that moment.”

God’s Word is alive and active. Let’s take every opportunity to share it and pray for the Holy Spirit to work. Because God is the greatest Awakener and Reformer. It can awaken the sleeper, change the most hardened smoker, and revive the dead bones.

There is hope for dry bones! Amen!