The Living Bones

“And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.”” Ezekiel 37:3

The Indiana Jones movies were some of my favorite movies growing up (still today?). But I must admit, as a kid watching them, I couldn't help but be scared every time Indy would walk into an old tomb or an underground sewer and be surrounded by the bones of explorers who went before him. From the filmmaker's perspective, these bones created a great contrast to the living Indiana Jones exploring the same treacherous artifacts as the bones laying around him. But for a boy, I was always scared that Indy wouldn't make it. I was worried he would become just another skeleton for some future archeologist to pass over in search of grails and arks and whatnot. Even at a young age, I knew that dead was dead, bones were bones, and that once you were a skeleton, you weren't going to be anything else but dust after that.

During another one of Ezekiel's crazy visions, he is brought into a scene from Indiana Jones. The Spirit of the Lord takes him to a valley filled with dry bones and asks him if these bones could live. Most people if asked that would respond with the obvious, "No," since dead is dead and bones are bones. But Ezekiel knew that God was unpredictable, so he merely responded "O Lord God , you know." As the story goes, God commands Ezekiel to prophesy over the bones to give them flesh and breath, and that which was once dead was given life. 

I can only imagine the scene. At one moment surrounded by what looks like the remains of a horrible massacre and the next minute in the middle of new life, breathing bodies rejoicing in every new breath. Over and over in the Scriptures God shows that not only does he delight in creation, but also in re-creation. God delights in taking my dead, dry bones and giving them new life, breathing His breath and Spirit back into that which is breathless and soulless. What a wonderful God we worship!

Lord Jesus, let us live in the newness of life that you give us. We praise for taking what sin has killed and giving us your breath!