What is the meaning of Ezekiel 37:5? This is what the Lord GOD says • The scene opens with divine authority. Ezekiel is not voicing wishful thinking; he is transmitting the sure word of “the Lord GOD.” • Scripture repeatedly underscores that when God speaks, the matter is settled (Isaiah 55:11; Numbers 23:19). • This authority comforts a people who felt abandoned in exile. God Himself addresses them, proving He has not forgotten His covenant (Ezekiel 36:22–24). to these bones • The audience is not the living but “these bones”—dry, scattered, and beyond human hope (Ezekiel 37:2). • The bones picture Israel’s national despair: “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is gone” (Ezekiel 37:11). • God directs His word precisely to what seems irretrievably dead, echoing His pattern of reaching into hopelessness (Romans 4:17; 2 Corinthians 1:9). I will cause breath to enter you • “Breath” signals God’s life-giving Spirit, recalling Genesis 2:7 when the Lord breathed into Adam’s nostrils and he became a living soul. • The promise is active: “I will cause.” Only God can insert life where none exists (John 3:6; Titus 3:5). • This breath anticipates both the future outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 37:14; Acts 2:2–4) and the ultimate resurrection power that raised Christ (Romans 8:11). and you will come to life • The result is guaranteed: bones turn into living, functioning bodies. • Immediately, the vision foretells Israel’s physical return from exile and national restoration (Ezekiel 37:21–22). • Ultimately, it points to personal resurrection and eternal life for all who belong to the Lord (Daniel 12:2; John 5:28–29; 1 Thessalonians 4:14–16). • God’s pattern remains: where His Spirit moves, death yields to life—spiritually now and bodily in the age to come. summary Ezekiel 37:5 sets out a four-part promise: the sovereign Lord speaks; He addresses utter hopelessness; He sends His life-creating Spirit; and true life results. In a single verse, God pledges Israel’s restoration, previews the outpouring of the Spirit, and foreshadows the bodily resurrection of His people. What He declares, He accomplishes—transforming dry bones into vibrant life, then and now. |
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