The dry bones symbolize the whole house of Israel — a nation nationally dead in dispersion, which God promises to bring back to life and back into the land of Israel.
God Himself gives the meaning in Ezekiel 37:11: "these bones are the whole house of Israel" — the entire nation, scattered among the Gentiles, nationally dead, with their hope lost. Les Feldick teaches that the vision's stages show Israel being brought back from dispersion in our own time, with flesh and skin already on the bones, but the breath of spiritual life still future.
Ezekiel 37:11 — This verse is the passage's own interpretation of the vision — God tells Ezekiel plainly that "these bones are the whole house of Israel," directly answering what the prophecy symbolizes.
Ezekiel 37:7-14 — The full passage describes the bones coming together, receiving sinews, flesh, and skin, and then breath — the stages of Israel's restoration.
Ezekiel 37 records a prophetic vision in which God sets Ezekiel down in a valley full of bones, and the prophet describes them as "very dry" — bones that had been lying there a long time. At God's command, Ezekiel prophesies over the bones, and as he does, "there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone." Sinews, flesh, and skin cover the skeletons, yet "there was no breath in them." At God's further command, Ezekiel prophesies to the wind, and the breath comes into them: "they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army" (Ezekiel 37:7-10). The passage then interprets the vision for the reader. God tells Ezekiel, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel." The people's complaint is recorded: "Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts." God answers with a promise — "Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel" — and He pledges to put His Spirit in them and place them in their own land (Ezekiel 37:11-14).
Les Feldick teaches that the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37 is a symbolic vision — a picture God is showing of the nation of Israel. The bones, he stresses, are not left to allegory; the Bible itself interprets the vision in verse 11: "these bones are the whole house of Israel." Israel had been out among the Gentile nations in dispersion for hundreds, yes, thousands of years, nationally dead and without hope of ever becoming a viable nation again. Les sees the vision's stages unfolding before our eyes. The bones coming together with sinews, flesh, and skin picture the nation of Israel coming back out of its dispersion — something he says we have been watching for the last 30, 40, 50 years, with Jews coming home by the thousands every day. He describes the 1948 reestablishment of the nation, when a ragtag army of kibbutz farmers and common people with no military background defeated the Arabs, in language reminiscent of the American Revolutionary War. But the breath, Les emphasizes, is still missing. The nation is back in the land, but it is still spiritually dead — the breath has not yet been breathed into them. That future breath, when it comes, will make them live and stand as an exceedingly great army. Les calls the whole vision "only precursory" to what follows in the rest of Ezekiel 37.
The Bible answers this directly. In Ezekiel 37:11, the LORD tells Ezekiel, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel." Les Feldick stresses this point, saying the Bible always interprets these things for us — the bones are not some abstract symbol but the nation of Israel itself, which had been dispersed among the Gentile nations and was nationally dead with no hope. He also notes that the whole scene is a vision, a symbolic picture God is showing the prophet.
Les Feldick teaches that the bones coming together — bone to his bone, with sinews, flesh, and skin covering them — is a picture of the nation of Israel coming back out of its dispersion. He points to what we have seen over the last 30, 40, 50 years: Jews coming back to the land by the thousands every day. The reestablishment of the nation in 1948, Les explains, was accomplished by a ragtag army of kibbutz farmers and common people who defeated the Arabs — quite a bit like America's own Revolutionary War.
In the vision, after the flesh and skin come upon the bones, there is still no breath in them — and Les Feldick says that is exactly where Israel is today. The breath, he teaches, has not yet been breathed into them; they are still spiritually dead. Even though the nation is back in the land, spiritual life is still future. In Ezekiel 37:10, when the breath comes into them, they "lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army."
The dried bones picture Israel's hopelessness while dispersed out of the homeland for thousands of years, cut off and unable to become a viable nation again. Les Feldick reads this as the Jewish people's own lament in the vision: "Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost." But, he adds, God hasn't forgotten about the children of Israel. God answers that He will open their graves, bring them up out of their graves, and bring them into the land of Israel.
Israel's 1948 Reestablishment — the Ragtag Army
Les describes the 1948 defeat of the Arabs by a ragtag army of kibbutz farmers and common people with no military background, comparing it to the American Revolutionary War — the historical reality of Israel's reestablishment.
The Vision Is a Symbolic Picture
Les explains that Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones is a symbolic picture God is showing — not a literal event.
The Bones Are the Whole House of Israel
Les draws from Ezekiel 37:10-11 to show that the bones symbolize all Israel — a nation nationally dead in Gentile dispersion that God is now bringing back to the land.
Israel Brought Back to Life in Our Time
Les teaches that the dry bones are the dispersed nation of Israel, which has been brought back to life and back to the land in our own day — and that the vision is only precursory to later prophecy.
The Vision of the Very Dry Bones
Les walks through the opening of the vision — the very dry, bleached bones that had been there a long time, coming together bone to his bone as Ezekiel prophesies.
The Bible Interprets Itself
Les insists that the Bible interprets the vision — verse 11 says plainly that the bones are the whole house of Israel.
Israel's Hope Lost and God's Promise
Les shows that Israel's dispersed, hopeless condition is pictured by the dried bones, and that God promises in verse 12 to open their graves and bring them back.
Home in the Land but Still Spiritually Dead
Les explains that the flesh-and-skin stage pictures Israel's return to the land in the last 30-50 years, but the breath has not yet been breathed — Israel remains spiritually dead until God's future work.
Ezekiel 37:7: So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
Shows the bones coming together with a noise and a shaking at Ezekiel's prophecy — the beginning of the restoration pictured.
Ezekiel 37:8: And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
The sinews, flesh, and skin cover the bones, but there is still no breath — the stage of Israel's return to the land.
Ezekiel 37:10: So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
The breath comes into the bones and they stand as an exceeding great army — the future spiritual life of the nation.
Ezekiel 37:11: Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
The key interpretive verse: God says the bones are the whole house of Israel, whose hope was lost.
Ezekiel 37:12: Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
God promises to open the graves of Israel and bring them into their own land.
The dry bones symbolize the whole house of Israel. In Ezekiel 37:11 God tells the prophet plainly, "these bones are the whole house of Israel" — a nation that had been scattered among the Gentile nations, nationally dead, saying "our hope is lost."
Les Feldick teaches that we are seeing part of the vision fulfilled in our lifetime. The bones coming together with sinews, flesh, and skin picture Israel's return to the land over the last 30 to 50 years, including the reestablishment of the nation in 1948. But the breath — spiritual life — has not yet entered them.
The breath represents spiritual life, which Les says is still future for Israel. When the breath comes into the bones, they will live and stand upon their feet as an exceeding great army.
Yes. Les Feldick emphasizes Ezekiel 37:11, where God says the bones are the whole house of Israel — and when he reads "the whole house of Israel," he asks, "How many? All of them." The vision includes the entire nation.
Watch the Teaching: Ezekiel 37 Explained: Israel's Dry Bones Prophecy Fulfilled?