The Valley of Dry Bones - Ezekiel 37:1-14

Ezekiel 37:1-14 – English Standard Version

The Valley of Dry Bones

37 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley;^[a] it was full of bones. ² And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. ³ He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” ⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath^[b] to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶ And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling,^[c] and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸ And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on 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 on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

¹¹ Then he said to 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 indeed cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy, and say to them, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴ And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

The Prophecy for these times

I will open your graves and raise you from your graves (37:12).
And I will bring you into the land of Israel (37:12, 14).
And you shall know that I am Yahweh (37:13, 14).
And I will put my Spirit within you (37:14).

God’s promise in Ezekiel 37 was to bring Israel out of captivity and back into the Promised Land. The resurrection of the dead bones to life was a metaphor for this. In fact, this promise was fulfilled when King Cyrus of Persia defeated the Babylonians in 539 B.C. and decreed the following year (538 B.C.) that the Jews could return to the land (Ezra 1:1-4; 2 Chronicles 35:22-23)

However, there is more going on in Ezekiel 37. This vision is about more than just a return to the land, as there was a Spiritual component to the “life” of which God spoke. This is seen in that God promised to put His Spirit within His people — “And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live” (37:14). There is a connection here with the prior chapter:

And I will give you a new heart and spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (36:26-27).

(This prophecy is not only for the people of Israel but for all those people worldwide who are sleeping and will be filled with the Spirit of the Lord and awake to new spiritual consciousness).

In this prior chapter, God promised to give His Spirit to cause Israel to be obedient to His law. Israel needed new hearts (regeneration), which came about by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Then, in Ezekiel 37, God again mentions the indwelling of His Spirit, this time in the context of returning Israel to the land. The Spirit that caused Israel to be obedient to God's law is the same Spirit that would bring Israel back into the Promised Land. 

(And will wake up all those who, although were following Jesus, fell asleep). A Hint of Resurrection

Besides the Spiritual component of Ezekiel 37, there is also a hint of a future bodily resurrection. God said, “I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people” (37:12). In the context, this resurrection language was a promise to bring Israel out of Babylonian captivity and back into Canaan. But is this only a metaphor? Or is God using the language of resurrection to communicate a future bodily resurrection?

If Ezekiel 37:1-14 were taken in isolation, it is unclear whether this passage foretells a future bodily resurrection. However, when understood in its Old Testament context, there is a strong case to be made that Ezekiel 37 foreshadows a future bodily resurrection. Here are two reasons. 

First, the rest of Ezekiel 37 has the new covenant in mind, which explicitly teaches a future bodily resurrection.

The metaphor of two sticks in Ezekiel 37:15-28 builds on the vision in 37:1-14. God promised to return Israel to the land and reunify the kingdoms of northern Israel and southern Judah (which split in 931 B.C.), making them one nation with one king (37:21-22). This reunification never happened, suggesting that it finds a broader fulfillment in the new covenant and the coming of Christ. (See Jeremiah 31:31, where the new covenant is made with “the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”)

The two kingdoms of Israel find unification in Christ, who disciples “all nations” (Matthew 28: 19). This would include the scattered peoples of northern Israel who never returned from the Assyrian exile of 722 B.C. The Spirit unified these people in Christ at Pentecost in Acts 2. This is clear in Acts 2:5—“Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.”

Furthermore, Ezekiel 37:24-25 speaks of David being king over Israel, a reference to Christ who comes from the Davidic line (Matthew 1:6; Romans 1:3). The vision of resurrection in Ezekiel 37:1-14 is thus followed by an expansive metaphor in 37:15-28 that finds fulfillment in the new covenant. Therefore, Ezekiel 37’s ties with the new covenant suggest that the metaphor of resurrection also foreshadows a future bodily resurrection of the people of God.

Second, Ezekiel 37’s allusion to future bodily resurrection is consistent with how other Old Testament passages foretell a future bodily resurrection.

These passages include:

Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead (Isaiah 26:19).

Come, let us return to Yahweh; for he has torn us, that he may heal us, struck us down, and will bind us up. After two days, he will revive us; on the third day, he will raise us up (Hosea 6:1-2).

Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death? O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes (Hosea 13:14).

Therefore, my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. You will not abandon my soul to Sheol or let your holy one see corruption (Psalm 16:9-10).

For there is hope for a tree if cut down, it will sprout again, and its shoots will not cease. Though its root grows old in the earth, and its stump dies in the soil, it will bud and put out branches like a young plant at the scent of water. But a man dies and is laid low; man breathes his last, and where is he? (Job 14:7–10).

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last, he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another (Job 19:25-27).

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever (Daniel 12:2-3).

Most of these references to bodily resurrection in the Old Testament are allusions. They are not explicit, like the New Testament’s teaching on resurrection. Some liberal scholars may deny that some or all these Old Testament passages foreshadow a future bodily resurrection. However, if one believes in the inspiration of the Old and New Testaments, as well as their continuity, then it should be presumed that the Old Testament teaches a future bodily resurrection. This is because it would be unusual, if not unheard of, for such an important New Testament concept to have no basis in the Old Testament. Even concepts like the Trinity or God’s salvation of the nations thought to be primarily New Testament doctrines, have their foundation in the Old Testament. 

Supporting this understanding of the Old Testament is the fact that the Jews of Jesus’ day, who relied on the Old Testament, believed in a future bodily resurrection. This can be seen from the records of the New Testament. Even before the explicit teaching on resurrection from the Apostles, Martha told Jesus about her brother Lazarus, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (John 11:24).  

The Apostles did not invent their doctrine of a future bodily resurrection but found it in the teaching of the Old Testament. Thus, two Old Testament passages mentioned above are cited in the New Testament in the context of bodily resurrection—Hosea 13:15 (1 Corinthians 15:55) and Psalm 16:9-10 (Acts 13:35). 

Conclusion

All of this is to say that Ezekiel 37’s allusion to bodily resurrection is consistent with other passages in the Old Testament and their failure to make the concept explicit. They foretell a future bodily resurrection but usually do not make an outright claim. Combined with the chapter's connection to the new covenant, this supports the understanding that Ezekiel 37 also foreshadows a future bodily resurrection.

It should also be noted that there were actual bodily resurrections in the Old Testament. Elijah raised a widow’s son (1 Kings 17:17-24), Elisha raised the Shunammite’s son (2 Kings 4:18-37), and a man who touched Elisha’s bones was revived (2 Kings 13:20-21). This practice was continued in the New Testament with Jesus’ raising of Lazarus (John 11:38-44). Of course, these were only resuscitations, as these people all died again.

The future bodily resurrection promised in Scripture is one in which God’s people will receive glorified bodies that will never die (1 Corinthians 15:42-49). This is what Jesus received at His resurrection (Matthew 28:1-10) and what His followers will receive at His return (1 Corinthians 15:22-23). The Spirit who gives God's people new hearts (Ezekiel 36:26-27) and returns Israel to the land (Ezekiel 37:14) is the same Spirit who will raise God's people to life on the last day (Romans 8:11). 

Bodily resurrection is the glorious hope of the Christian life, and it is gloriously tucked away throughout the Old Testament.