The Goodness of God: In the Prophets
The Prophets Behold the Goodness of God
(Ezekiel 37, with Lamentations 3 and 2 Peter 3:9)
There are mornings when I open my Bible out of obedience and routine. I know I need to be in it—and deep down, I want to be in it—but like the words of Ezekiel, my bones are dry.
It happened today.
I had something I knew I needed to deal with, but my want-to just wasn’t up-to it. I considered King David’s repentant words in Psalm 51 (a frequent flier in my own battle with sin) but found myself in Ezekiel 37 instead. Can I just tell you how much I love those first 14 verses?
The Goodness of God in Ezekiel
“The hand of Jehovah was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of Jehovah, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 And he caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord Jehovah, thou knowest. 4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy over these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah. 5 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and, behold, an earthquake; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I beheld, and, lo, there were sinews upon them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them. 9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon 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 up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
11 Then he said unto 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 clean cut off. 12 Therefore prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land: and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, have spoken it and performed it, saith Jehovah.”
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Underneath the Narrative
The words are so specific and intentional. It’s a beautiful conversation between the LORD and His prophet (with questions and commands that come with some strong cinematography). When I read them, I see them. It’s like I’m sitting in that valley among all those bones—so many that I can’t even see the ground beneath it—and the bones look dry and useless. I think of how much my own heart resembles what’s in front of me, and then I hear the LORD ask if I believe those bones can live. It’s a question of hope. It’s a question of what’s possible. And it’s a question that leaves us with only one answer: You’re the only One who can answer that, LORD.
Only the LORD knows and can see whether or not what is dry in you, and you can be refreshed and made new again; all we can see is what looks completely useless in light of what He calls righteous.
Seeing God’s Goodness in our Own Narrative
Can we process this together? Can we sit with the question that only He can answer as we imagine hope? I don’t want to presume, but maybe you need the Lord’s hand to show you what He sees in your own valley of dry bones.
O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD: ‘Prophesy over all that is dry within you.’
I speak: ‘LORD, I want to do this with certainty. I want to prophesy with boldness. But everything in me is brittle and broken. I need Your breath; I need You moving in me again. I need You to put sinews on me and make flesh grow back to cover the skin that I have cut and bruised with sin. I need You to make me come alive so that I will know in my knower that You are the LORD who continually changes me. I’m not looking for a magic show, but can I feel that something has changed, that there is a new forgiveness and a new mercy taking place in me? I’m listening to the noise. I’m waiting for the rattling and trying to imagine bone joining with bone. I know that I must sometimes wait for Your Breath to come, but can I just ask why? Why doesn’t the Spirit move the minute I speak? Why don’t the bones begin to rattle and the flesh start to mold at just the sound of my voice? Why does there seem to be a pause with You?
‘Daughter, speak to the Breath. Ask the Spirit of God to breathe on what has been slain, acknowledging the death of what must be broken. I need you to see that what had to perish was the sin that broke you and not the hope that remains. When you call for the Breath of God, I come, take what was broken, and cause it to stand on its feet again so that what was useless will become an exceedingly great army. Remember that your affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the bitterness, led you here. It’s true; I want you to recall these—not to make you suffer—but to bring about a repentance beyond your initial confession. My lovingkindness does not cease, and My compassions will never fail; they are new every morning, and My faithfulness is great. I am your portion, and that means that your portion is a perpetual dose of hope. It may seem that I am distant—or not even listening—but it is good for you to wait for Me and wait in silence for My salvation. If I cause grief, I will also show you My compassion according to My abundant lovingkindness. I do not afflict willingly or grieve you so as to crush you under My feet. I hear your voice when you call. I do not hide My ear from your prayers for relief; in fact, I draw near. When you plead your soul’s cause, I redeem your life. I am the LORD, and I am always good; trust Me in this. I am not slow about My promises, as some count slowness, but I am patient towards you, not wishing that you would perish, but that you would come to repentance.
When there is repentance, you’ll hear those bones rattle, and hope will make them move again’. (Lamentations 3 with 2 Peter 3:9)
How to Respond to God’s Goodness Found in the Prophets
O friend, when all that was alive in you seems completely cut off from hope, confess your sin and move your heart towards repentance. Boldly ask Him to open that grave full of dry bones and cause a mighty army to come forth once again. He has made a covenant of peace with you, an everlasting covenant that He cannot break. He has set His sanctuary in the midst of you; He dwells there. Your bones may seem broken by a sin that continues to cling so closely, but He is still the God who makes all things new, the One whose own bones were broken so that yours might live. There is nothing—not even the worst sin you can imagine—that will ever be able to separate you from His love today.
