Connect Ezekiel 37:6 with New Testament teachings on spiritual rebirth and renewal. Breath into Dry Bones: Ezekiel 37:6 “I will attach tendons to you and make flesh grow upon you and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you so that you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.” Key Observations from the Valley • Actual, bodily resurrection for a scattered, covenant people • “Breath” (Hebrew ruach) equally means wind, spirit, or Spirit—vital, divine life-force • Purpose statement: new life produces true knowledge of the LORD Jesus Explains the Same Miracle John 3:5-8—“Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit… The wind blows where it wishes… So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” • Water + Spirit = cleansing + enlivening, just as flesh + breath in Ezekiel • Both scenes move from lifelessness to God-given vitality • The Spirit’s unseen work is compared to wind—linking back to the “breath” that animates dry bones From Death to Life in the Epistles • Ephesians 2:1, 4-5—“You were dead… God… made us alive with Christ.” • Titus 3:5—“The washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” • 1 Peter 1:23—“Born again… through the living and enduring word of God.” Parallels: – Dead bones → spiritually dead sinners – Tendons, flesh, skin → God’s creative re-ordering of broken lives – Breath → the regenerating Holy Spirit Pentecost: The Breath Arrives • Acts 2:2-4—sound “like a mighty rushing wind… all were filled with the Holy Spirit.” • John 20:22—“He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” The same divine breath that raised Israel’s bones now indwells believers, empowering witness and holiness. A New Creation Reality • 2 Corinthians 5:17—“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” • Romans 8:11—The Spirit who raised Jesus “will also give life to your mortal bodies.” God’s promise in Ezekiel is not merely metaphor; it is literally fulfilled in Christ’s resurrection and applied to every believer by the Spirit, guaranteeing future bodily resurrection as well. Knowing the LORD Today Ezekiel’s climax—“Then you will know that I am the LORD”—finds its echo in lives transformed by the gospel: • Galatians 2:20—“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” • 1 John 2:3—“By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments.” When the Spirit breathes new life, obedience and intimate knowledge of God naturally follow—proof that the valley’s promise is alive and operative in the church now, and will culminate in the final resurrection to come. |
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