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God Made an Army out of Dry Bones

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(Ezekiel 37:9-10)

Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army.

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Finally, Judea, because it did not live by the words of God, was destroyed by Babylon.
Many people were taken to Babylon as prisoners.

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There was Ezekiel among those people.
Ezekiel's heart was broken for the people of God who had been taken as slaves in another country which did not believe in God.

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As time passed, Ezekiel got more and more depressed.
Ezekiel was watching his hopeless people and felt uneasy that his own country would not be recovered.

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 One day, God appeared to Ezekiel.
 He bowed down to the ground. God said to Ezekiel, "Ezekiel, stand up and follow me."

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God brought Ezekiel out and set him in the middle of a valley.
Ezekiel was so surprised on what was before his eyes.

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It was full of bones.
He saw a great amount of bones on the floor of the valley.
Then a voice came from heaven.

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God asked Ezekiel, "Ezekiel, can these bones live?" Ezekiel said to God,
"God you alone know."

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God said to Ezekiel, "Prophesy as I tell you."
God made Ezekiel shout to the bones.

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Ezekiel began to shout as God said. "'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'"

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As soon as Ezekiel prophesied as God commanded, a surprising thing happened. There was a noise, a rattling sound, and then the bones came together, bone to bone. Tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

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God said to Ezekiel, "'This is what the Sovereign LORD says.
O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'"

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So Ezekiel prophesied as God commanded Ezekiel, and breath entered them;
they came to life and stood up on their feet and became a vast army from the bones.

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Then God said to Ezekiel, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off. I will pour my spirit in them so that they may live comfortably in their land. When I will lead you to return to your land, you will see once more that I am God."

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God showed Ezekiel great hope.
Even though it may look shabby and feeble at first like the bones,
God can make an army from the bones if He wants.

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Therefore, we should have hope that God will be able to do anything if God wants us to stand.
So we should learn God's words everyday and try to pray faithfully each day.