Then he said to me: ‘Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.”
Ezekiel 37:11 NIVUK
The second phase in the vision (the third in this verse) is that the Jews felt cut off.
This feeling had several dimensions.
Firstly, they were, of course, physically cut off from their land, their religion and their identity. They were hundreds of miles away in pagan Babylon.
Secondly, they were cut off from their people. There is evidence that both the Assyrian and Babylonian Kings used the same insidious trick to control their multi-national population: they did not allow large single ethnic groups to gather. Instead, they deliberately scattered them throughout their kingdom to prevent them from banding together and rising up.
Thirdly, they felt exclusion. The word used refers to not just being cut off physically, but also being an outsider, being not able to play an active role or participate in society.
Fourthly, it carries with it the sense of extermination – or, as we might call it nowadays, ethnic cleansing. In other words, the sense that an attempt was made to not just wipe out the Jews, but also their culture and way of life.
Fifthly, it also carries the sense of being divided. The word is used of the Red Sea being divided in two in Psalm 136:13.
So we have quite the picture. We have a people, far from their land and culture and people due to an attempt to annihilate them as a nation, and now they are a scattered and divided nation.
Can we see now why they felt hopeless?
We had a tiny example of this during the Covid Lockdown. In the Philippines, I believe the government got it right. There was no way Filipinos would have stayed home. They are way too sociable for that. So they had neighbourhood/barrio lockdowns where they could meet with and take care of people within their neighbourhood, but not stray outside.
In the UK, we were locked down house by house, flat by flat. We had limited access to the outside world, even to go shopping.
In China, it was even worse. They were even boarding up apartment blocks with people inside.
Nevertheless, we all, in some way, felt cut off and excluded.
But that does not even come close to a tenth of what these Jews must have felt – and for the best part of seventy years, up until this point.
So how is God going to turn this around?
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.
Ezekiel 37:7 NIVUK
The dry bones came together!
They heard and obeyed the Word of the Lord, and His Word brought them together.
This reminds me of an event that took place close to Babylon, when the second group of returnees were headed back to Jerusalem. Ezra, who led the group, said this:
I assembled them at the canal that flows towards Ahava, and we camped there three days.
Ezra 8:15 NIVUK
Do you see this? A disparate group of Jews from many different provinces and originating from different parts of Israel all gather in one place to return. And they camp for three days there, in which time they fast and pray (Ezra 8:21).
They were fulfilling Ezekiel’s vision!
But why did they gather?
The journey ahead of them was long, arduous and dangerous. As well as their own possessions, they also carried some of the wealth of the Temple (Ezra 8:26). They banded together for safety, security and encouragement.
This picture is something that will be familiar for us. Each time we try to bounce back from hardships, it’s so much harder when we do it alone. But when we have others to support us, then we become much stronger.
This is why we see this command to the persecuted Jewish church:
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:23-25 NIVUK
This not necessarily for a formal church meeting. It means to not give up gathering together as a group.
Wise Solomon once wrote these words:
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour: if either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no-one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NIVUK
There is a very simple fact in Ezekiel’s vision that cannot be ignored. Alone, the bones were nothing. Just a sad testimony to lives long lost. Together, touched by the Lord, they become a body.
Right at the start of the Bible, we see that it isn't good to be alone (Genesis 2:18). No Christian should ever be alone, because we are not called to be the lonely, misunderstood hero. No, we are called to play our part in a Body – the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12). We are called to be together.
It’s always interesting watching wild animals hunt on nature programmes. It sure beats going down to the supermarket. That does not make good TV.
If you watch a lion hunt antelope, for example, the lion does not go after the whole herd. If he did, he would go hungry. No, he always tries to separate one antelope from the herd and then hunts it.
A lone Christian is like that – easy prey. But a Christian in a supportive community? They are stronger. Much stronger.
Let’s never forget that a vital part of our recovery is playing our part in such a community. Not only do we become stronger, but we strengthen others too.
Because we become part of a Body.
Let's make it our New Year's resolution to play a more active part in this Body.
Happy New Year!
Questions
Have you ever felt cut off, excluded or alone? How did you break out of this?
Why is it important that obeying the Lord brought these bones together?
What can we learn from Ezra's group about the need to gather together? How can you apply this to your life?
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