On Christmas 1991, at the age of 3 ½, my parents got me a Super Nintendo. This Super Nintendo came bundled with the Super Mario World game. Also included in this Super Nintendo bundle came a coupon for a free Super Mario All-Stars, the first 4 Super Mario games on the previous system, affectionally now referred to the NES. My first 2 games (or should I say first 5 games) were Super Mario Bros game.
If you’re unfamiliar with Super Mario Bros. games, the plot is fairly simple. Bowser, the King of Koopas, has kidnapped Peach, the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. The player’s job as Mario (or Luigi if you’re the second-born sibling) is to traverse the Mushroom Kingdom, avoiding Bowser’s henchman, to rescue Princess Peach. As the King of Koopas, Bowser will naturally send his koopa troopas out to get you, but he also has a special koopa troopa called Dry Bones. Dry Bones may look like just a skeleton version of normal koopa troopa, but its look gives it special powers. When Mario jumps on a regular koopa troopa, it retreats into its shell, and Mario can kick or throw it as he pleases. When Mario jumps on Dry Bones, Dry Bones turns into a pile of bones, with which Mario can do nothing. Mario has exit quickly, though, for he does not, Dry Bones will reassemble and come after him. Very few power ups can affect Dry Bones. Not even Mario’s super mushroom or fire flower can defeat Dry Bones. Mario needs rare items, like the invincibility star to defeat Dry Bones. This slightly more difficult version of the koopa troopa became quite popular, possibly due to being slightly more difficult. Dry Bones became so popular that more recent Mario games have introduced Dry Bowser, a Dry Bones version of Bowser. Now gamers wonder if “dry” has become for Nintendo a child-friendly way to say “dead.” If that’s the case, when I die, please refer to me as Dry Graham. I would like my tombstone to read “Here lies Dry Graham.”
Now most likely, Dry Bones is simply to be the zombie version of the koopa troopa, an undead version of the Koopa, which, if you think about it, it is hard to kill something already dead. But see, this is where I see the myth that has become true, the gospel message written on every human’s heart. For this idea of dry bones coming back to life comes from does not come from the mind of a man, but rather, it comes from the mind of God, and God presented it to the prophet Ezekiel, as recorded in Ezekiel 37:1-14.
Before diving into Ezekiel 37:1-14, I would first like to address the oddity of an advent message coming from Ezekiel, or any Old Testament for that matter. Shouldn’t an advent message come from the New Testament? Let’s remember the purpose of Advent, which is to prepare our hearts for the birth of Jesus Christ. Now this is easy for us Christians living in the church age. We have a set date for the birth of Jesus (Let’s not get into the conversation of when Jesus was actually born and if that should impact the day we celebrate his Christ’s birth. That’s for another time.), so we can’t count backwards the days and weeks we need to prepare for it. To some extent, 4 weeks or 24 days is all that is needed. For the Old Testament Jews, however, the first coming of Christ was very much like the second coming of Christ to Christians in the New Covenant. They did not know the day and hour, so they had to perpetually prepare themselves. For them, Advent was 2 millennia in the making! Therefore, when we read this Old Testament passage, or when we any Old Testament passage for that matter, look at the Old Testament Hebrews as in the advent of the first coming of the Christ, and see how they prepare themselves for the coming Messiah.
Speaking of which, the second thing I would like to address, especially since we’re looking at an Old Testament prophecy book, is how to view Old Testament prophecy. For this, I have an illustration, which is commonly called “The Mountain Peaks of Prophecy.” Imagine two mountains, with a valley between them. The mountain on the left represents the first coming of Christ, as recorded in the Gospels. The mountain on the right represents the second coming of Christ, reported by John in the book of Revelation. The valley represents the church age. You are here. You are a Christian in the church age. Now if you were really standing a valley between two literally mountains, you would see two different, distinct mountains. In the same way, as a Christian in the church age, when you read biblical prophecies, you can easily categorize them into first coming of Christ and second coming because the first coming of Christ ones Jesus has already fulfilled in the past and the second coming of Christ one Jesus has yet to fulfill in the future. There exists another valley, however, to the left of both mountains. This valley represents the Old Testament. In this valley resides the Old Testament prophets, like Ezekiel. As Christian in the church, Christians see two distinct, different mountains, but what do Old Testament prophets see?
Perhaps they would see 2 mountains right besides each other, which means they foresee 2 different events, but they happen in direct sequential order, or 1 event will happen right after the other. Maybe they would see just 1 mountain with 2 peaks, or they foresee 2 different events happening at the exact the same. If you also think about it, if the front mountain is bigger than the back mountain, the front mountain could totally obscure the back mount. This might lead the prophet to see only 1 mountain, so all he prophesies, in his mind, is 1 event. Either way, he does not see a valley; he does not see a church age.
Don’t just pick on the Old Testament prophets. The New Testament apostles might have struggled with this. Consider Peter’s gospel message at the Pentecost in Acts 2. In Acts 2:17-21, Peter quotes in Joel 2:28-32. The first half makes sense in explaining what just happened. The Holy Spirit descended on the apostles, and the apostles could do great and wonderful things, like speak in tongues, prophecy, see visions and dream dreams. That all makes sense to what just happened. Then the second half then talks about the sun going dark, the moon turning into blood, and signs of blood, vapor and smoke, signifying the Lord’s return. None of that has anything to do with what just occurred! Remember, Joel does not stand in the valley between the mountains. He stands in front of both mountains, and he sees 2 side-by-side mountains or 1 mountain. Because of that, some people would even suggest Peter may have also thought the outpouring of the Holy Spirit signifies Jesus will return soon. Peter does have that perspective of the church age valley between the mountains, however, so I propose he recognizes this is the beginning of something that will come to fulfillment in the end. Now, finally diving into the book of Ezekiel, consider how Ezekiel might envision something that has a beginning and an end, which may have some space between them.
The Valley of Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37:1–14 ESV)
37 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had 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 the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”
37:1. Called as an Old Testament prophet, God has gifted Ezekiel the Holy Spirit to fulfill his job. The Holy Spirit leads Ezekiel to the middle of a valley. The text never reveals the actual location of the valley, but Ezekiel 3:22 reveals Ezekiel has seen visions there before, so he probably expected another vision. In this vision, Ezekiel first notices the valley full of bones. Again, the text remains silent on the identity of these bones. Some have proposed these bones belong to those who died when Nebuchadnezzar attacked Judah, while other suggest it simply represents those who died during the years in exile.
37:2. Ezekiel continues to traverse the valley, inspecting the bones. Ezekiel had to carefully traverse the valley, making sure not to touch any of the bones. Not only did Ezekiel serve the Lord as a prophet, but he also served God as a priest. By touching a bone, he would become unclean, making him unfit for his priestly duties. Upon further observation, he notices the bones were very dry. Since Ezekiel currently resides in a dry, arid place, this is probably a desert valley. The exposed bones under the hot desert sun has baked the bones to a bleach white. By noting very dry bones, Ezekiel communicates to his audience these people, now reduced to skeletons, have been dead for a long time. Life has left their body a long time ago, with no chance of it returning. No one can argue these bodies are in a coma or unconscious, for they lack any organs. They must be dead.
37:3. The Lord asks Ezekiel an odd question, if the bones can live. The question may have saddened Ezekiel, as earlier in the book (Ezekiel 24:15-27 to be exact), Ezekiel’s wife had died, and this question may have reminded Ezekiel of the frailty of life. Ezekiel might have felt more confused, however, at what sounds like a trick question. He just observed very dry bones with no organs. No chance life could these bones come to life. It is impossible for a person to live as just a skeleton. Ezekiel, however, must have gotten a feeling, he was being set up for something. His simple answer “you know” not only has Ezekiel stating, “you know skeletons cannot become living human beings” but at the same time, he confesses, “But if they could, it would only be through you, my master Yahweh.”
37:4. The Lord follows his odd question with a strange request. Ezekiel must prophecy to these dry bones, so they may hear the word of the Lord. Prophecy is meant for people, so they may hear the word of their Lord. Prophesying to the bones foreshadows that which will come.
37:5-6. Ezekiel 37:5-6 records the prophesy Yahweh wanted Ezekiel to preach. Ezekiel should tell these bones that the Lord will give them breath, and flesh and tendons, thus restoring their life, as a testimony of Yahweh. Although not in order, this language should sound familiar. It sounds similar to the creation of man, as found in Genesis 2:7. In the creation account, God forms man’s bones and flesh (cf. Gen 2:23) out of the dust of the ground, and then he becomes a living being. In the same way, God will take these dry bones of one living humans, re-create them with the same flesh, tendons and breath they once had, and they will become living beings.
37:7-8. As an obedient prophet, Ezekiel does as Yahweh told him. Since Ezekiel speaks the words of the Lord, those words come into existence, and those words become true. At a sound and a rattling (or earthquake), the bones assemble themselves, they grow tendons and skin begins to envelop them. Again, seen here is the first half of the creation of man, as seen in Genesis 2:7. The man’s body forms, but they still have yet to receive breath.
37:9. Ezekiel must have become literally dumbstruck. I imagine his jaw dropping open in silence to what he has just witnessed. No one can really blame him. He came as close as possible to witnessing the creation of man, when the Lord first created a man. God has to command Ezekiel to continue, as seen in the double use of the imperative “prophesy.” Keep going! Don’t stop now! Almost there!
37:10. Ezekiel follow the Lord’s command, and before he knows it, he find standing before him a living army. Calling them a living army may hint that the dry bones once belonged to soldier who died in battle, perhaps warriors defending Jerusalem from Babylon. Personally, I think Ezekiel called them a living army to communicate the quality of the resurrection. These resurrected dry bones do not need life support. They are not weak and frail. They are healthy and strong, to the point that they could engage in warfare, a physically demanding labor.
37:11. Yahweh helps both Ezekiel and Ezekiel’s future audience by explaining the symbolism behind the vision. The bones represent “the whole house of Israel.” The “whole part” means that the Lord refers to Israel in Ezekiel 37:11-14 as all of Jacob’s descendants, then United Kingdom of Israel, not the Northern Kingdom of Israel alone. The very dry nature of the bones represents their loss of hope. Both Israel and Judah were exiled from the Promised Land because of their sin. They still felt the burden of the judgment for their sin. They had lost hope that their nation would once again be restored, and now they even began to lose hope that their people and culture could even survive exile. Just like the dry bones in Ezekiel’s vision, they felt like they were wasting away into annihilation. Just like dry bones coming to life, it seemed impossible for a dead nation to come to full restoration, full unity and to thrive once again. Only a miracle could do that.
37:12-13. Yahweh now commands Ezekiel to preach a message similar to the one he preached to the dry bones to those in exile with him. Through Ezekiel, the Lord promises Israel that he will restore them. Even to those who have already died, he will open their graves and bring them back to life, so they too may experience the restoration. The resurrection of the dead would also prove that God provided the restoration, not a person or a people.
37:14. Finally, the Lord promises that he will put his Spirit in them. This use of Spirit creates a word play. In Ezekiel 37:6,9,10, the Hebrew text uses the Hebrew noun רוּחַ (ruach), which most English Bibles translate as “breath.” Then in Ezekiel 37:14, where English Bibles have “spirit,” the Hebrew Bible again uses רוּחַ (ruach). In general, רוּחַ (ruach) can mean “wind,” “breath” or “spirit.” Remember that the Hebrew language does not have abstract ideas. To convey an abstract idea, one must use a concrete idea to express that idea. In this case, comparing a spirit to a wind or a breath. Now recall that mentioned earlier Ezekiel 37:5-6 (and its fulfillment in Ezekiel 3:7-10) paralleled the creation of man in Genesis 2:7. That parallel breaks down, however, because Genesis 2:7 uses נִשְׁמַ֣ת (nishmat) for “breathe,” not רוּחַ (ruach). The wordplay here reveals that Yahweh will not only breathe life into the dead, but he will also breath the Holy Spirit into them, prophesying the indwelling of the Holy Spirit upon his people.
Some people might argue that this passage does not refer to the resurrection. They will remind you that Ezekiel merely had a vision, an “awake dream,” if you will. Therefore, the imagery in the vision is all symbolic, symbolizing restoring dead Israel back to life. To anybody thinking that way, I would draw them back to our two mountain peaks illustration. I believe Ezekiel two mountain peaks at the same time, either 2 side-by-side mountains or 1 mountain. Ezekiel 37:1-14 prophesies the full fulfillment of a promise to Israel, which will have beginning and a complete end. Ezekiel prophesies a fulfillment to the promise of restoration. Indeed, the Judah part of Israel will return to the land, but then they still find themselves under Persian rule. At the first Christmas, during the time of the birth of Jesus, the Jews found themselves in a very similar situation, in the Promised Land, but occupied by the Romans. These Jews did not feel restored. In fact, the Jews saw their Roman occupancy as a second exile in Babylon, which in turn the Jews described exile in Babylon as a second slavery, like the slavery in Egypt. For a full restoration to happen, everybody has to return to an unoccupied Promise Land, even those who died in exile. Thus, the promise of restoration has to involve resurrection.
Although verses about bodily resurrection rarely appear in the Old Testament, the idea resurrection carries throughout the whole Old Testament. For starters, ancient Jewish theology did not view a human as a dichotomy of the material and non-material, but rather, ancient Jewish philosophy believed in a person as a single unity. As a matter of fact, according to ancient Jewish theology, when the body separates from the soul/spirit, death occurs. Therefore, championing over death would require reuniting the body and the soul/spirit, as seen in Ezekiel 37:1-14. Outside this ancient Jewish theology, resurrection appears more explicitly in the Old Testament. Former prophets Elijah and Elisha both performed a miracle of resurrection, as seen in 1 Kings 17:17–24 and 2 Kings 4:18–37 respectively. Although Ezekiel never performed a miracle of resurrection, the relation between a prophet and resurrection still exists. Furthermore, Ezekiel does not stand alone as the only prophet speaking about resurrection. Both Isaiah and Hosea prophesy bodily resurrection in Isaiah 26:19 and Hosea 6:1-3 respectively, and both of them speak of it in terms of restoration. Not only do the prophets speak of resurrection, but so do the poets. 2 different psalms depict Yahweh rescuing the soul from the grave as an act of restoration. Job even takes it up a step and declares in Job 14:7-10 that restoration involves all dead things coming back to life, even plants. Restoration and resurrection have to come linked together.
Restoring Israel to the Promised Land played only as a smaller part in God’s grander plan. Israel had a bigger problem than exile. Every Israelite, every human being, faced death. If Yahweh could rescue Israel from exile and bring them back to the Promised Land, he could save them from death and bring them into life. The Lord promised both land and life, so when God’s people see themselves back in the land, they can trust God to set them free from death. Only the Lord can replace hopelessness, despair and adversity with hope, peace and love. Only God can replace exile and death with life. God’s people only need to believe.
This is the 3rd week in Advent. At this point in time, in the traditional churches, like the UCC church in which I was raised, Advent has already covered the themes of hope and peace, and now, on this 3rd week of advent, the theme of love. Hope, peace and love. Hope, peace and love are the complete opposite of what Israel felt in exile. In exile, Israel felt hopelessness, distress and animosity. They might have even doubted if their God loved them anymore. Through the vision the Lord gave Ezekiel, God emphasizes that he has remember his promises to Israel, and he will fulfill them by his mighty hand. God will do everything; Israel has nothing to do on their part. Israel merely has to believe. Then baby Jesus is born. This baby Jesus will grow up to an adult, and adult Jesus will preach the same message of restoration and resurrection. He himself raises 3 people from the dead (Jairus’s daughter, the man from Nain, Lazarus), and then the Trinity raises this Jesus from death, and the apostles are witnesses of the fact. Now those under Roman occupation have hope instead of hopelessness, peace instead of distress and love instead of animosity. They simply need to believe in Jesus.
In conclusion, in Ezekiel 37:1-14, we find Ezekiel in the middle of a valley. If Ezekiel represent the rest of his people, he feels hopelessness instead of hope, he feels unrest instead of peace, and he feels animosity instead of love. He may even forget the God loves him. Through his vision, God reminds him of a promise he has for Israel, a promise to restore and resurrect. Ezekiel, and the rest of Israel, simply needs to believe. Perhaps you feel like Ezekiel. You find yourself in a situation, exiled from hope, peace and love, feeling dead inside. God has promised you restoration and resurrection. Just believe.
So please, call me Dry Graham after I have died. Please do carve in my tombstone “Here Lies Dry Graham.” For it will remind the future generations of the resurrection yet to come.
Bibliography
Chisholm, Robert B. “The Major Prophets.” Holman Concise Bible Commentary. Edited by David S. Dockery. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998.
Cooper, Lamar Eugene. Ezekiel. Vol. 17. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994.
Dyer, Charles H. “Ezekiel.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985.
McGregor, L. John. “Ezekiel.” Pages 716–44 in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. Edited by D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, and G. J. Wenham. 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
