Mon.’s Devo - The Valley of Dry Bones Come Alive

Read: Ezekiel 37:1-38:23; James 1:19-2:17; Psalm 117:1-2; Proverbs 28:1
Ezekiel is taken in a vision to a valley where he is shown dry bones. God asks him if the bones could live. Practically speaking the answer is “no”. But, if you are talking to God, anything is possible and Ezekiel knew that. He told God that only He knew. So God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones to live. As he did, the bones came together and formed people without life in them. God told Ezekiel to prophesy breath into them and he did. Life came into them and they stood and became a huge army.
The bones were how Israel saw themselves: hopeless and scattered. But, God was going to bring them back together and breathe his Spirit in them and they were going to come to life. He said that he would open their graves and bring them up from the dead. God literally did this when Jesus rose from the dead. Matthew 27:51-53 “ And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”
God told Ezekiel to take two sticks and write on one of them “Belonging to Judah” and “Belonging to Israel” on the other. Then he was to join them together and make it a single stick because that was what God was going to do when they came back together. They would no longer be two kingdoms divided but all the tribes would be one nation. They would no longer defile themselves with idols, but He would be their God. God would place his temple inside them and they would be his people.
In Chapter 38, God sent a word against Gog of the land of Magog. These are the kingdoms that God will use in the last days to bring total judgement. They were also used during the Maccabees. It alluded to the nations of Russia and Persia who would come against Jerusalem in the last days. We are given a vivid description of what will happen during that time.
Before Jesus appeared on earth, Antiochus Epiphanes ruled over Jerusalem and all Israel. He was a type of antichrist who slaughtered a pig on the altar thus defiling the temple. He also erected an altar to Jupiter Olympius. When it seemed like it couldn’t get any worse, Jesus appeared on the scene. He will appear on the scene again in just the same scenario.
Ezekiel gives us the description of the last days tribulation that will precipitate the Battle of Armageddon and the coming of the Messiah again. We see the earthquake, the war, plague, hailstone and burning sulfur just at it was in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. This is the picture of the end. This is how God will reveal himself to the nations and they will know that He is God.
James deals with favoritism and true godly love. True godly love doesn’t look at a person’s financial status, but looks as everyone as a creation of God, made in his image. It is the poor in spirit that will see God. God chooses mercy over judgment so we should too because we will be judged the way we judge.
Our faith should be evident in our deeds and vice versa.
Lord, help us to walk by faith and be bold as a lion. We speak to the dry bones of the people of God and tell them to arise and have the breath of God.