“And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest” (Ezekiel 37:3).
TEXT — Ezekiel 37:1-14
Message
The Choeung Ek pyramid in Cambodia is a memorial to the brutal regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, which killed 1.7 million people between 1975 and 1979. Designed like a Buddhist stupa, it features multiple layers of human skulls, representing 5,000 executed individuals. The Cambodian government encourages visitors to visit and remember the atrocities committed during this regime.
Prophet Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones must have been not only as scary as the Choeung Ek pyramid but also pictured hopelessness. The prophet’s answer to God’s question, “Son of man, can these bones live?” was instructive. Were he to answer the question from a human perspective, he would have said an emphatic “No.” But he knew that he was dealing with God with whom nothing is impossible. Therefore, he answered, “Thou knowest,” an acknowledgment of the fact that the realm of possibilities belongs to God. The vision is a reinforcement of the previous ones Ezekiel had concerning the restoration of the Jews. The open valley full of dry bones depicted the hopeless condition of the Jews who were dispersed throughout the provinces of the Chaldean empire. But by divine providence, and against all odds, the dry bones came back to life, symbolising the restoration of the Jews from captivity and their resettlement in the Promised Land.
Ezekiel’s vision highlights the extent of God’s grace and power. What is difficult to the One who made everything from nothing? Nothing! Observe the process of this miracle. The prophet was instructed to prophesy to the dry bones. God uses human agents like you and I to accomplish His purposes. We must yield to His nudging hand. Here, we also see the effect of the gospel – the power of God unto salvation. It takes the faithful preaching of God’s word to translate hopeless souls from darkness to God’s marvellous light. We also see the quickening power of the Holy Spirit, represented by the wind.
This event is most assuring. It should shore up the faith of God’s people. Very often, we run into situations that are like the valley of dry bones. We turn our sorrows into monuments, like the memorials of skulls in Cambodia. At such times, we must remember God’s question, “Son of man, can these bones live?” Our answer may determine what follows.
Thought for the day
Don’t memorialise the dry bones, by God’s order, speak to them.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
