Session 1: Ezekiel 37.1-14: The Valley of Dry Bones
Suggested Opening Prayer :
Heavenly Father, you inspired your prophets of old through the action of the Holy Spirit: help us to hear your word afresh, that the Spirit may speak to our hearts the message of hope; we ask this through Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you and the same Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
Historical Background :
The background to Ezekiel's ministry is the capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians which led to the people being exiled in Babylonia (in what is now southern Iraq ). Jerusalem was in fact captured twice: once in 593 BC after which King Jehoiachin and the ruling classes (including the priest Ezekiel himself) were exiled, and again, after a rebellion in 586 or 587 after which the remainder of the people found themselves in exile. We cannot imagine what the exile must have felt like for the people, but their despair and their anger is caught most clearly in Psalm 137. Read through this Psalm. They felt that they had been unjustly abandoned by God whom they believed had to be worshipped on his own soil (see Naaman's request to Elisha for some of the soil of Israel so that he could worship Israel's God in 2 Kings 5.17-19 - Elisha thinks this entirely reasonable). For the exiles, 'How can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?' means that God will simply not hear them. Perhaps even worse than the idea that God had acted unjustly was the idea that their God was simply not strong enough, and that the Babylonians' god Marduk had defeated their God. It was the lowest ebb of the faith of Israel .
Into this situation steps Ezekiel, a priest whose temple was in far off Jerusalem , so he served God as a prophet in exile. For Ezekiel, as for all of the Old Testament prophets, a prophet was someone who spoke God's word into a particular situation, not someone who predicted the future. Ezekiel uses every means at his disposal to show firstly that God had not abandoned his people (for starters, Ezekiel receives his vision in Babylonia itself - Ezekiel 1); then that God had not unjustly abandoned his people, but that they had turned from him (Ezekiel 6.1-7); and thirdly, that God wants the restoration of his people (Ezekiel 36.24-28).
The Valley of Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37.1-14)
Read the passage through, and try to get 'Dem bones' out of your mind as you do so! It is very familiar, but there is much more here than meets the eye. As you read, try to remember that the same Hebrew word ( ruach ) is translated in three different ways in English Bibles as 'spirit', 'wind' and 'breath'. Look also at the way that God and Ezekiel interact with one another to achieve the result. Once you have read the passage through allow a few moments to think yourself into its ancient context.
• What did it feel like to be in exile?
• What would the people's reaction to Ezekiel have been?
• How would Ezekiel have felt?
Look again at the passage, and try to think about what it might be telling us today.
In verses 1-2, the vision comes as God's initiative.
• Does God still act like this in today's world?
• Do we feel God's presence in our lives?
• Are we prepared to be led by him?
Verse 3 tells us that God asks Ezekiel a question, 'Mortal, can these dry bones live?' Ezekiel answers, 'O Lord God, you know.'
• Is this a test of faith for Ezekiel?
• What does he mean by 'O Lord God, you know'?
• Does God ever test his Church?
Look at verses 4 and 5. God commands Ezekiel 'to prophesy' to the bones, and it is the prophet who speaks God's word to the bones.
• Does God use prophets to speak his words today?
• Does the Church have a prophetic task? (in other words, Does the Church speak God's words to the world?)
The central section, verses 7-10, shows the prophet doing as he is commanded, and then prophesying to the breath, or wind or spirit ( ruach ).
• Do we ever expect miracles?
• Do we have the courage to invite the Spirit into our Church?
The final section, verses 11-14, are the explanation that God gives Ezekiel for the vision. Note the people's complaint in verse 11, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are completely cut off.' And notice too, God's response, 'I will put my spirit ( ruach ) within you and you shall live...'
• Is the Church today like the people of the exile, saying to itself, 'Our hope is lost'?
• How do you think Ezekiel would respond to this complaint?
• What solutions does this passage offer us in our prophetic task?
• Is there hope for our Church?
Allow a period of silent reflection and prayer, possibly including the Diocesan Prayer, and finishing with the Lord's Prayer. Finally read through Ezekiel 37.12-14 beginning with, 'Thus says the Lord God.'