The vision of Ezekiel in chapter 37 of his book is one of the most powerful anywhere in the Old Testament. He sees a valley covered with dry bones. God asks him whether they can come back to life. Rather than a simple "Of course not", he says, "Sovereign Lord, only you can answer that."
He is told to "prophesy to the bones" that God would bring them back to life, and so it happens: the bones come together, they are covered with sinews and muscles and skin. He then prophesies to the wind, and it comes from the four corners of the earth and gives the bodies life.
Is it any more than a dream?
The vision is meant to convey what God wants to do for his people of Judah, both the ones in Jerusalem and the ones in exile in Babylon. They are, to all intents and purposes, dry bones. At this stage in their history they had been invaded and conquered. The best of them, Ezekiel among them, had been deported to a strange land. There looked to be no prospect of their country ever rising again. The nation, as a nation, was dead. So the question God was asking Ezekiel was, "Do you believe I can raise Israel to life again?"
Given the evidence before him, Ezekiel's answer was one of faith, not of doubt: it implies God can do anything. The exiles would return. Nehemiah and Ezra tell that story. Jerusalem would prosper again. And the people's experience of exile, the hard thinking that would come out of it, would help to ensure the survival of Judaism after the final destruction of the Temple in AD 70.
But the Valley of Dry Bones doesn't just speak of God's grace to Israel. It has a profound message to Christians today, as well. In many places, the Church looks dead. Churches and chapels are empty, Christian witness is sparse or non-existent, and there are nothing but the dry bones of spirituality left.
What this story says is that God can bring the dead to life again.
But Ezekiel sees a two-stage miracle. First the bones come together and are clothed with flesh, and then they are covered with flesh and skin. It's only after the reconstitution of their bodies that the breath of life is breathed into them. There are other places where the form of religion is there, but the spirit is absent. Empty rituals are performed out of habit. Doctrines are parroted without true, heartfelt understanding. There is a church structure without the strength that comes from a deep relationship with God.
But God can "make these bones live", too. There is no situation into which he can't breathe life. In Hebrew the words for "wind" and "breath" are the same. God's Holy Spirit is his gift to the Church, and he can enliven even places and people who seem beyond hope.
Ezekiel's vision is a vision to encourage all of us. It's a vision of resurrection. It offers hope for everyone.
