INTRO: Graveyards are not my most favorite places. There’s just something about graveyards. They speak of the dead. There is such a sense of finality associated with a graveyard.
In Scripture, we read of one such graveyard. Turn with me to Ezekiel 37:1-3:
"The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 3And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest."
Today, with the help of the Holy Spirit I will be speaking to you on the subject: "Testimonies From A Graveyard."
PRAYER
I. BACKGROUND.
In 586 BC Jerusalem was totally ruined by Nebuchadnezzer and his great Babylonian army. Solomon’s Temple, which had been the pride and glory of Israel for almost 400 years was reduced to ashes; all the inhabitants of Jerusalem had been taken either to Chaldea or to Babylon in captivity, including Mattaniah, last king of Judah who was blinded and taken in chains to Babylon (present day Iraq). They had been warned repeatedly by God through His prophets, yet they had turned a deaf ear!
Their nation’s history had begun by a miraculous delivery by God from the cruel hands of the Egyptian Pharaoh and now because of their disobedience, they are in captivity again. The Psalmist records: "By the rivers of Babylon ... we sat down, (and) we wept ....". Ezekiel adds his own lament to this bleak situation as he records in Ezekiel 1:1 that: " . . .I was among the captives by the river of Chebar."
Of all the prophets, Ezekiel (Who’s name meant "God strengthens") was probably the most colorful. He used pantomime, would cry and wail and slap his thighs, ate a scroll, and did many other unusual things to burn his messages into the minds of the people.
Historians tell us that Ezekiel was probably only about 25 years old when taken into captivity. Here was a young man who had been raised literally in the shadow of the great Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. He would follow in the footsteps of his father, a Zadokite priest. He had undoubtedly trained for this his entire life. Jewish law provided for a man to enter into the priesthood at the age of 30.
Yet, Ezekiel 1:1 tells us ". . . it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month . . . I was among the captives by the river of Chebar. . ." I don’t want us to miss the significance. The Living Bible puts it this way: "One day late in June, when I was thirty years old ..." Ezekiel had planned to be ministering in the great Temple of Solomon at the age of thirty. He looked forward to this with great anticipation. He would be revered and respected by an entire nation. Perhaps he would even become one of the chief priests of the Temple. Undoubtedly he had grandiose plans and dreams. But now, instead of being in the lofty position of priest of Israel, he find himself "among the captives by the river of Chebar". But God had a plan! He had not misplaced Ezekiel. He had not lost track of where he was. Ezekiel was not there because of some strange twist of fate. Look with me for a moment at Ezekiel 1:1,3: " Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of
the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. 3the word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and there the hand of the LORD came upon him." I could stop right there and preach! The point is that he didn’t have to walk the marble steps of Solomon’s Temple to minister to God’s people. He may have felt he would never again be effective for his God; Never again would he experience the glory of God; Never again would He see the great power of God. He was, after all, in captivity. But Scripture records that it was "there (that) the hand of the Lord came upon him". It was there by the river of Chebar -- it was there in Babylonian captivity that the "heavens were opened and (he) saw visions of God". It was there, at perhaps his darkest hour; it was there when all hope seemed gone; it was there in his hour of crisis that "the word of the Lord came expressly" or "the word of the Lord came in reality" to Ezekiel. May I tell you this evening that God knows exactly where you are and He has promised that He will “never leave nor forsake us!”
Undoubtedly those who found themselves incarcerated in the land of Babylon felt their life had ended. They felt they had become one of many "corpses" in the great Babylonian Graveyard. They felt their lives had been reduced to ashes, and yet God has promised to ". . .give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;" We find in Scripture that "Testimonies can even emanate from a Graveyard!" Even in the graveyard of captivity, there is hope!
As we turn our attention to our text (Ezekiel 37:1-3) we will notice first:
I. THE HOPELESSNESS OF THE PLIGHT.
If ever a man was made to look upon an impossible situation, it was Ezekiel. Scripture records that the hand of the Lord was upon Ezekiel, carrying him out and setting him down in the midst of a valley which was full of bones". He was taken to the graveyard! Regarding this passage of Scripture, Leonard Ravenhill asks:
"Does history. . .offer a more ridiculous picture than this? Here is hopelessness incarnate. Who ever had such a dumb audience? Preachers deal with possibilities, prophets with impossibilities. Isaiah had seen this nation full of wounds and putrefying sores; but disease had galloped on to death, death to disintegration, and now these disjointed bones spell out despair. Written over the whole situation in large letters is I-M-P-O-S-S-I-B-I-L-I-T-Y" (Why Revival Tarries, p. 45)
Not only was this graveyard filled with bones, it was filled with dry bones. Not only were the bones dry, scripture graphically portrays them as very dry. These corpses had undoubtedly been dead a long while. If Ezekiel had been taken to a valley filled with people who were dying there would have been a glimmer of hope. Perhaps some would be healed and survive. If the valley had been filled with the corpses of people who had just died, there would have been the possibility of a mass resurrection. Even if the valley had been filled with complete skeletons, there would be some hope. But this valley was filled with very dry, scattered bones. This points to the absolute hopelessness of the situation. There is only a remnant left of what once was!
We realize that this vision given by God was to show the spiritual state of His people. 19 times the Old Testament tells us that these people had "gone a whoring after other gods." Many years before this vision, God had made a promise to these people: "In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. 17But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; 18I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. 19I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live" (Deuteronomy 30:16-19)
God’s people chose death --- and the results are seen in this valley of death! Those people who had once been feared by the nations, now lay in a heap of very dry bones! Those who once had dreams and aspirations were reduced to rubble.
God always gives man a choice. His desire is to be a blessing to mankind, but He does not force His will on anyone. However, there are consequences to our actions. Choosing God’s way brings life and blessing. Choosing to walk away from God brings destruction and death. The man and woman who choose to do "their own thing" to the exclusion of God will find that they will become (spiritually speaking) a part of the "valley of very dry bones."
The same could be applied to the Church. That which once marched triumphantly under the leadership of the Holy Spirit can now be seen sitting on the sidelines passively awaiting the end of the battle. Much of the Church has gone from the "overflowing rivers of life in the Spirit" to the "very dry boneyard of contentment." Maybe this is exactly how you feel this evening. You remember the refreshing experience you once had with Christ. You remember how you once were consumed with Him. He was your joy, and the Rock of your salvation. But now you feel so very far away from the refreshing waters of His presence. You are languishing -- dying in a dry valley. You wonder if there will ever be any hope for you!
II. THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE PLAN.
Look again at Ezekiel 37:3. The Living Bible says: "Son of man, can these bones become people again?" God was asking: "What do you think about it, Ezekiel? Is this a hopeless situation?" The very asking of this question brought a glimmer of hope to the prophet. "Lord, you alone know the answer to that." Yes, indeed --- God did have the answer. You see, in Ezekiel 37 we not only see the Hopelessness of the Plight --- We can also see the Blessedness of the Plan. Thank God, He has a plan for restoration!
Scripture reminds us that "with God all things are possible." Is it possible that the scattered, very dry bones that are in a heap in this valley might really live again?
Can these bones live again? Yes, indeed they can. But how? God has a two-fold plan! Listen to God’s response to Ezekiel: (v 4) "Then he told me to speak to the bones and say: ’O dry bones, listen to the words of God,". That’s plan #1 -- The Word of God. Life comes through His Word! His Word will bring a change in the life of an individual, a church, a community! His Word is life!
In verse 7 we see the results of the Word of God: "So I spoke these words from God, just as he told me to;" Now listen:
Don’t water it down
Don’t try to improve upon it
Don’t try to rationalize it
Don’t feel you have to apologize for it
Don’t philosophize over it
Don’t be timid with it
Simply tell the Word as it is --- just as he tells us to! It’s not our Word, it’s His Word! It didn’t originate with us -- it originated with Him! It’s not called the Word of Pastor Deem, it’s called the Word of the Lord!
I realize there will be many who will not want to accept what His Word says, but tell it anyway! Romans 3:3-4 asks: For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 4God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar;. . ." God’s plan to shake the dry bones includes His Word!
I said God had a two-fold plan. The first ingredient is His Word, the second is found in verse 9: "Then he told me to call to the wind and say: ’The Lord God says: Come from the four winds, O Spirit, (KJV: "O, wind") and breathe upon these slain bodies, that they might live."
Listen to me this evening, my friends: By our own strength and wisdom crowds can be gathered -- our advertising and marketing strategy can accomplish this. By our own strength and wisdom we can devise programs that will be enticing to the world. By our own strength and wisdom our church can grow. By our own strength and wisdom we can touch people’s minds. But neighbor, make no mistake about it -- if our goal is to see the spiritually dead raised to life in Christ, it will take a divine initiative of the Holy Spirit! He must come and "breathe" on them!
This is what Ezekiel is trying to tell us. You see, in verse 7 & 8 we read: ". . .suddenly there was a rattling noise from all across the valley, and the bones of each body came together and attached to each other as they used to be. 8Then, as I watched, the muscles and flesh formed over the bones, and skin covered them, but the bodies had no breath." They looked alive, but they were not. It reminds me of those spoken of as ". . .having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof." These were still only bodies --- they were not living beings. There was a multitude there in the valley, but they were still dead! And they stayed that way until touched by the Spirit of God.
May I tell you that all our efforts in the Kingdom are lifeless and powerless without the touch of the Spirit upon them. All our programs; all our projects; all our promotionals; all our proddings; all our proclamations; though they might be many, they are dead until energized by the Spirit of God! Of a certainty we can sing:
Come, Holy Spirit we need thee
Come, sweet Spirit I pray
Come in thy strength and thy power
Come in thine own special way!
The Blessedness of the Plan is found in the Word of God and the Spirit of God. These two work in tandem to bring life out of death -- victory out of defeat! The very dry bones found scattered upon the valley floor have been miraculously returned to life by the Word and the Spirit! And my prayer this evening is: "Do it again, Lord!"
III. THE PRECIOUSNESS OF THE PROMISE
I have entitled this message: "Testimonies From A Graveyard" so that you will understand that even when it seems there is no hope, God’s Word is true. We have looked at the Hopelessness of the Plight and the Blessedness of the Plan. Finally, I want us to consider the Preciousness of the Promise. Look again at verse 5. The Lord says: "I am going to make you live and breathe again." In verse 10 we read: "So I spoke to the winds as he commanded me and the bodies began breathing; they lived, and stood up --- a very great army!"
Verse 5: "I am going to make you live"; verse 10: "they lived". Friends, when God is in it, it will bring testimonies of victory from a graveyard! How can this be? How could the prophet Ezekiel be encouraged while before him lay the very dry bones of a multitude? The answer is simple: He realized the preciousness of God’s promise! Listen to the word of the Lord in Isaiah 46:11 "yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it." Isn’t this the exact truth that verses 5 & 10 present: "I’m going to make you live"; "they lived."
Make no mistake about it, my friend --- if God speaks it, it will come to pass. You see, this is not the only time that a graveyard tried to block and hinder the promise of God.
Promise: John 11:23 -- "Jesus saith unto (Martha), Thy brother shall rise again."
Testimony: John 11:43-44 -- "And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go."
Promise: John 2:19,21 -- "Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up... 21But he spake of the temple of his body.
Testimony: Mat 28:5-6 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
What am I trying to tell you this evening. Simply this: When God promises you something, He will bring it to pass! No situation is so bleak that it cannot be changed by the power of God!
CONCLUSION: Return with me to Ezekiel 37, as I close this evening. I want you to notice verses 11 and 12, for I believe this is a word from God for us this evening. "Then he told me what the vision mean: ’These bones,’ he said, ’represent all the people of Israel. They say: ’We have become a heap of dried-out bones -- all hope is gone.’" Listen now particularly to verse 12: "But tell them, the Lord God says: My people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again and return to the land of Israel". Verse 14: "I will put my Spirit into you, and you shall live and return home again to your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have done just what I promised you!
Do you feel you are in a graveyard surrounded by "very dry bones?" The Lord says to you this evening, "I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again."
And so we see in Ezekiel 37 The Hopelessness of the Plight; The Blessedness of the Plan; and finally The Preciousness of the Promise. You do not need to leave here this evening the way you came.
