The Valley Of Dry Bones

THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES

Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, “O Lord, God, you know.” Ezekiel 37:3

In a book by the title of Revive Us Again: The Reawakening of American Fundamentalism, Joel A. Carpenter examines the revivalism and hope for national revival that both inspired and changed American Fundamentalism into modern Evangelicalism, under the influence of Billy Graham and the “new evangelicals” in the first half of the 20^th century. Carpenter dismisses the hope for national revival in his conclusion to the book:

Here was a mythic understanding of revival that could never be fulfilled across a vast and variegated modern nation like the mid-century United States. Over the next generation America’s secular pundits would discern one national crisis after another and call repeatedly for national renewal. Perhaps the dream of a great and sweeping revival would continue to elude them. But they had been revived and, to a certain extent, rehabilitated as well.²¹

Many evangelical Christians would be put off by Carpenter’s assessment. I am. The vastness and the variety characterizing the American Church and culture have little to do with the possibility of revival or great awakening. The proof of that is Ezekiel 37:1-14.

This small pericope is certainly the most famous of all the parables, visions and prophecies of Ezekiel. Its popularity must certainly reside in the dramatic picture presented here. God had promised Israel a new land, a new heart and a new spirit (Ezekiel 36:22-38). In the discouragement and dismay of the exiles in Babylon, Israel would certainly ask, “How can this ever be possible again?” God answers in this vision.

He takes Ezekiel, the one He calls repeatedly “son of man,” in a vision, to the remains of an old battleground. Perhaps this valley of dry bones is the scene of Israel’s cataclysmic defeat at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar’s Chaldean army. You’ve read this story: “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel is non-committal: “O Lord God, you know.”

God tells Ezekiel to preach––three times: “Prophesy over these bones…prophesy to the breath (spirit)…prophesy and say to them…” So Ezekiel preaches. What he preaches we are not told, but he speaks God’s word to the dead as if they were alive. And God’s promise to them is powerful and precise. Please read Ezekiel 37:14.

It is after all, you see, not the condition of the nation, not the vastness or plurality of the society or the deadness of the culture, church or soul that matters. The essential element in revival of the Church and great awakening of the nation is the Spirit of God.

In 1840, a number of ministers of the Church of Scotland delivered a series of lectures on the subject of the revival of religion. Alexander Moody Stuart, pastor of St. Luke’s Church in Edinburg, spoke of the work of the Holy Spirit in the revival of religion. He opened his message with these words:

In the revival of the work of God there are two effects of the Spirit which we would mention at the outset of our discourse: He enables ministers to preach with far more than ordinary power, and the people to hear with far more than ordinary perception.²²

There is the explanation of the miracle of Ezekiel 37 and the supernatural providence seen in great awakenings. God’s Spirit enables pastors to preach with life-giving power not common to their ministries. At the same time, He enables the spiritually dull and the spiritually dead to hear God’s Word as never before. The result is new life, just as Jesus said it would be: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63).

Some may give up on the hope of revival in our land and in our time and call it “a mythic understanding of revival.” But even the most dubious Christian cannot dismiss the surprising power of the Holy Spirit to “revive us again” (Psalm 85:6). We hope in the Lord, and “The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). The power and freedom to revive us again.

PRAYING FOR THE PCA

AC: Rejoice with us in the Lord’s goodness to all the Committees and Agencies for the oversight and leadership provided by the various boards.

CTS: Pray for Bob Burns, Covenant Seminary’s dean of lifelong learning and director of the Center for Ministry Leadership (CML); Anthony Bradley, director of the Francis A. Schaeffer Institute (FSI); and their staffs as they seek to help both experienced pastors and future church leaders grow in their ability to engage the world compassionately but courageously with the Gospel so that our churches and culture might be renewed and transformed.

MTW: A continual need on the field is for teaching elders who can mentor, train and provide theological education in order for new churches to mature and expand. Pray that more of these men will consider God’s call to the mission field.

RUM: Please pray that presbyteries will desire to begin new campus works in the West, the Northeast and the Midwest and that existing works in these frontier regions of the PCA will remain strong. Pray that the process will go smoothly and that churches in these presbyteries will join in providing financial support.

RBI: A Core Value of RBI is service to others, and the RBI staff members work closely with each other in serving PCA churches. Please pray for quality servant hearts in assisting each other.