From Dry Bones to Life in the Spirit: Ezekiel 37:1-14 (Shepard Memorial)

Ezekiel 37:1-14, the famous passage about the dry bones, describes Israel as a deserted desert full of bones that are weak and dry.  This is a picture of the cross without the resurrection.  But with the resurrection picture of return from exile we can begin to see the hope that we have in Christ.  Thus we remember that hope, see that we need to live with that hope as people who are alive, and promote that message of hope.  Here we look at pessimism and optimism in light of the death and resurrection of Christ and His giving of the Spirit and see that pessimistic thought and attitudes are inconsistent with our identity as Christians.  And here the text should encourage empathy for the unbeliever without hope and encourage evangelism as the answer to their exile from God.

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