01/30/2009
As I was seeking the Lord for a word, He took me to the passage in Ezekiel on the valley of dry bones and opened my understanding to see how it applies to our times. We will highlight on several things the Lord showed me in this regard
1)The church needs to have a clear picture of the damage first.
Ezekiel 37:1,2 – The hand of Jehovah was on me, and brought me by the Spirit of Jehovah, and made me rest in the midst of a valley, and it was full of bones.
And He made me pass among them all around. And behold, very many were on the face of the valley. And lo, they were very dry.
In this passage before Ezekiel could prophesy life and restoration to these bones he had to see the (probably the full) extent of damage. The scripture says that the Spirit put him in the midst of the valley. Then it says he had a tour around the valley, not just in some areas but all around them. Ezekiel’s conclusion in the end was the bones were very dry.
The reason for this detail is to show us that there is nothing wrong in bringing in a negative prophetic picture. It does not necessarily mean that the person is critical or judgmental. As a matter of fact for those who don’t see these times for what they are first will be of little or no use in the coming times as God seeks to heal and restore. Unless we are Spirit led to see the extent of damage in the body how then can we prophesy healing and restoration?
The other aspect of this is people get critical and judgmental when they see the negative. They then stay there. We don’t need that either. We need people who not just see the negative but also have a vision for what God wants to do in that situation. We need this balance; to see the negative and positive and act accordingly. These same principles can be applied to many other areas of life as well.
2)Nothing is impossible with our God but let us not be presumptuous.
Ezekiel 37:3,4 – And he said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord Jehovah, You know.
Again He said to me, Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the Word of Jehovah.
In an interesting dialogue between Ezekiel and the Lord we see Him asking Ezekiel whether the bones can live? Ezekiel responds rightly by saying that only He (God) knows.
This reveals Ezekiel’s dependency and trust on the Lord knowing that everything is possible with Him. This context has a specific application to prophecy but we will look into the root issues that have a general application also.
Many times we presume what the will of God is and set out or at other times we become so focused on the negative that we loose sight of the truth that God can work in that situation and redeem it. We need to have a balance. Both will cause us to be defeated. People stepped out in faith only when they knew it was the will of God and when they set out presumptuously they came up with losses. On the other hand people who failed to see what God could do in a situation also suffered loss (Read the story of the spies sent to Canaan and what transpired afterward including the passage were they tried to go back and takeover the land after the Lord had sent them back in the desert)
This is so very important for our times. As times will get worse and a lot of things will befall this world we need to have it rooted in our spirits that nothing is impossible with our God. If not we will despair and loose hope. On the other hand if we are not humble and dependent on the Lord and we step out expecting things to change, we can end up making a fool of ourselves.
3)Restoration is step-by-step and not immediate.
Ezekiel 37:5 to 10 -So says the Lord Jehovah to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.
And I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live. And you shall know that I am Jehovah.
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise. And behold, a shaking! And the bones came near, a bone to its bone.
And I watched. And behold! The sinews and the flesh came up on them, and the skin covered them above. But there was no breath in them.
And He said to me, Prophesy to the Spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the Spirit, So says the Lord Jehovah: Come from the four winds, O Spirit, and breathe on these dead ones so that they may live.
So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the Spirit came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
As Ezekiel prophesied there was a noise and a shaking. After that there was a coming together (bone to its bone) Then the covering happened. Finally life flowed through them.
Even as we discern the state of the church today and prophesy according to the word of the Lord (for that situation) let us be aware that everything does not happen immediately. Ezekiel saw everything in the Spirit in a vision instantly however it has taken (still takes) so many years for that to come to pass. If we are aware of this we will learn to appreciate the small workings of the Lord amidst us knowing that ultimately it is leading into something bigger and greater and so we wont be disappointed.
Eph 4:11 to 13 -And truly He gave some to be apostles, and some to be prophets, and some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.
And this until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full-grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ
The separation that is happening in the body today is for its ultimate good. There can be no true unity until that happens first. Then we will see a true coming together.
