When Paul says in Ephesians 2:1 that we were once dead in our sins, that is no overstatement. When we are far from the author of life, we are lifeless. And we end up feeling lifeless too. In fact, the whole world suffers in desperate longing for all that is depressingly wrong to be made right, and for all that is dead to be revived. But death runs deep around us. Can this valley of dry bones ever live again?
When questions like that emerge, God is so often quick to remind us of how great he truly is. His power exceeds the furthest limits of the universe and the greatest reaches of our understanding. This is the same God that fashioned the entire universe with a word, and then breathed life into a clump of lifeless dust and created man, a beautiful creature equipped with godlike wisdom and love. In fact, this Ezekiel passage is reminiscent of creation; just the same way, God breathed into something dead and restored life to it. If we believe that our great God created us and gave us life, how could we ever doubt that he will also give this dead world restored life?
It's always good to remind ourselves, because we candidly always forget: God is good, and God is utterly all-powerful. Not even the most hopeless, most painful, most lifeless situations of ours are too great for God to revive into glorious life. God gives the same promise to us that he gave to the dry bones: when he revives us—and he indeed will—then we will know that he is the Lord. And the day when we see his greatness with unveiled eyes and feel the joy of an eternity glorifying him will be the first great day when we really feel life at its truest.
This prophecy of Ezekiel’s was directed specifically at Israel, and promised to restore them home from exile. But as all prophecies, it also glimpses ahead at Christ and beyond. The last enemy to be destroyed is death, but death remains. We still wait for the Lord to restore life to our dark, dry, dead world. Loved ones pass away, injustice dominates, relationships are splintered, and daily life gets exhausting—but hold on to hope, and wait on the Lord. These dry bones can and will live again.
