Re: Animate — A vivid picture of new life bursting forth
Erick du Toit
May 23, 2021
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Ezekiel 37: 1-14 (NIVUK)
1 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me to and fro among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’
I said, ‘Sovereign Lord, you alone know.’
4 Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones and say to them, “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”’
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.”’ 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army.
11 Then he said to me: ‘Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.” 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: “This is what the Sovereign Lordsays: my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.”’
As a youngster, many of my friends dreamed of being firefighters, police-officers, and doctors. For some odd reason, I wanted to be an archeologist. I mean, who doesn’t like the idea of digging up old bones or cracking the seal of an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus?
It could be the mystery and exhilaration of rediscovering an old hidden city or just my fascination with dinosaurs.
I recall visiting the Iziko South African Museum and being absolutely gobsmacked at the sheer size of a tyrannosaurus skeleton and its scary teeth. “I’m glad you’re no longer at the top of the food chain!”
Throughout the past 30 years directors like Steven Spielberg endeavoured to recreate dinosaurs by blowing new life into old bones with blockbuster movies such as Jurassic Park and The Lost World. Attempting to resurrect these majestic creatures our minds are stimulated to imagine how life would be if they’d return to this planet.
When Ezekiel stood in that desolate and barren valley surrounded by dry bones he unfortunately didn’t have CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) to help him envision God’s command.
“What’s a prophet without people to prophesy to?”
God then asks the prophet if the bones can live.
“Are you kidding me? Of course not!”
But Ezekiel has learned over the many years of faithful service that with God there is always hope. No matter how dire or dead the situation.
“O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
In a time when we long for the church to be breathed back into life, for the pews and balconies and Sunday School clubs to grow back like the tendons and flesh and skin on those calcium frames: are we willing to see regrowth and resurrection in places we never expected?
Are we willing to speak life into areas that seem forgotten, neglected, and marginalised?
That seem hopeless.
Can we honestly, like Ezekiel, trust that God is able to resurrect and restart this church in ways beyond our imagination?
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father,
I pray for dead bones,
Near and far,
Renew and rebuild,
As your breath resurrects your Church.
Amen.
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