Ezekiel 37 explained: Dry Bones Come Back to Life

A valley of dry bones (vv. 1-3)

Ezekiel, an exile in Babylon, sees a valley covered in long-dead, sun-bleached bones, like an old battlefield where no one was ever buried. Asked whether they can live, he says neither yes nor no but leaves the answer with God.

Bodies without breath (vv. 4-8)

He speaks God's message to the bones, and they rattle together and are covered with tendons, flesh and skin. Yet they are still lifeless bodies, so the revival is only half done.

Breath from four winds (vv. 9-10)

The Hebrew word ruach means breath, wind and spirit, and the vision plays on all three meanings. Breath comes from every direction, likely hinting at a people scattered everywhere, and the bodies stand up as a vast army.

What the bones mean (vv. 11-14)

The bones are the people of Israel, shattered by exile and Jerusalem's fall, who say their hope is gone; their 'graves' are their life in exile. God promises to bring them home and put his own Spirit in them, and many later readers also saw a hint of the resurrection of the dead here.

Two sticks become one (vv. 15-23)

Centuries earlier, Israel had split into a northern kingdom led by the tribe of Ephraim, descended from Joseph, and a southern kingdom of Judah. Ezekiel joins two labeled sticks in his hand to show that God will make them one people again, cleansed and free of idol worship.

One king, God among them (vv. 24-28)

'My servant David' is read in different ways: as a future king from David's royal family, or, as many Christians have read it, as the Messiah, God's promised king, himself. God promises a lasting covenant (a binding agreement) of peace and his presence living among them forever, which Christians read as pointing to Jesus.

Key verse: Ezekiel 37:14

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on whether this promise of return and reunion was fulfilled in the return from Babylon, is fulfilled spiritually in Jesus and the church, or still awaits a future literal restoration of the nation of Israel.

Something to think about

When something in life feels as finished as a valley of dry bones, what, if anything, has ever made hope possible again for you?