Prepare to BE AMAZED!
As we continue in our Advent series, this Sunday we will be invited to BE Amazed; Peace in the valley of dry bones.
Our scripture takes us to the time that the southern kingdom of Judah is in exile in Babylon, in the 500s BC. They were regularly unfaithful to God. They ignored God’s commands; they worshiped other gods. God called to them, warned them over and over and over again. But God’s people did not listen. They continued to do what they wanted rather than what God wanted.
So now, as Ezekiel lives and works, the nation of Judah is in exile in Babylon.
Think they were feeling anxious?
Separated from their homes, knowing they were undergoing this trouble because of their action and inaction, it might have felt hopeless. And really, on their own, it was hopeless. They couldn’t topple the Babylonian empire; they couldn’t get themselves home.
But God had promised through the prophet Jeremiah, even before they were carried off into captivity, that this would be temporary. It would last around 70 years, then God would bring them back. But in the middle of that time, those promises would’ve been hard to see, hard to remember, hard to trust. So God, full of mercy, sent reinforcements to those promises through Ezekiel and other messengers. God had promised them peace from their exile and God was going to follow through.
The valley of the dry bones is a vivid depiction of God keeping that promise. The nation was dead, dry, dusty, and powerless.
But what does God do?
God, through the proclamation of the prophet, brings life to these bones that were beyond hope. Tendons, flesh, skin, breath—they all return.
God is clear how this all happened…
I will cause breath to enter you.
I will lay sinews on you.
I will cause flesh to come upon you.
I will cover you with skin.
I will put breath in you.
I am going to open your graves
I am going to bring you up from your graves.
I will bring you back to your land.
I will put my spirit within you.
I will place you on your own soil.
Ten times God promises life and wholeness.
Ten times God promises return and homecoming.
Ten times God promises that the dry bones of this valley are not our final reality.
Throughout those ten promises – at the beginning, the middle, and the end – God says, “and you shall live.” “You shall live” is the river of reassurance that flows through the valley of dry bones.
There is peace in God’s words.
It is a special Sunday. NETwork Ministries will be ministering to us, and we have a baptism to celebrate. And if that isn’t enough, we have a fellowship meal afterwards.
Come, Be Amazed at what God did 2500 years ago and Be Amazed at what God is doing today.
Let’s talk about it on Sunday.
~ Pastor Dustin
