The vision of dry bones in Ezekiel 37 symbolizes the whole house of Israel—God's scattered, seemingly hopeless people—whom God promises to revive and bring back to their land.
In Ezekiel 37:11, God plainly says, 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.' Les Feldick teaches that the vision pictures Israel dispersed outside the land, away from temple worship, blinded, and without hope. The dry bones coming together and receiving breath symbolize God restoring the nation to life and bringing them back to their homeland, which Les says we are seeing in the modern return of Jews to Israel.
Ezekiel 37:11 — This verse directly identifies the dry bones as the whole house of Israel, the key to the vision's meaning.
Ezekiel 37:12 — This verse gives God's promise to open the graves and bring Israel into the land, showing the restoration the vision points to.
Ezekiel is set down in a valley full of bones, and the Bible describes them as 'very dry' (Ezekiel 37:1–2). As the prophet speaks to the bones, 'there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone'; flesh and skin cover them, and the breath comes into them so that 'they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army' (Ezekiel 37:7–10). Scripture then supplies the meaning: 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.' The people's own complaint is 'Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts' (Ezekiel 37:11). God's response is a promise to open their graves and bring them 'into the land of Israel' (Ezekiel 37:12).
Les Feldick teaches that the dry bones in Ezekiel 37 are a symbolic picture—not a literal resurrection scene—of the nation of Israel. He says the valley full of very dry, bleached bones portrays Israel scattered among the Gentile nations, out of the promised land, away from temple worship, blinded, and with no hope of ever becoming a viable nation again. The Bible itself interprets the vision, Les stresses, when God says, 'these bones are the whole house of Israel' (Ezekiel 37:11). Les describes the bones coming together, receiving flesh and skin, and finally receiving breath as symbolic language for God bringing Israel back to life. He connects this directly to the modern return of Jewish people to the land of Israel. In Clip 1 he says the nation has been coming back to its homeland and coming back to life, and in Clip 5 he calls the return 'precursory' to what follows in Ezekiel 37. In Clip 6 he traces the beginning of this restoration to the late 1890s, when a Jewish man began to dream of a homeland for the Jewish people, and to the continuing influx of Jews back to Israel.
Les is emphatic that the vision is symbolic. In Clip 1 he says it was 'merely a picture' of the nation of Israel coming back to life. In Clip 4 he says the Bible interprets the vision in verse 11, and in Clip 6 he calls it 'symbolic language with regard to the nation of Israel.' The bones are the house of Israel, not a literal resurrection of individuals.
Les sees the modern return of Jewish people to the land as the present-day outworking of the vision. He points to Israel being brought back to life over the last 48 years (Clip 1), calls the return to the land 'precursory' to what follows in Ezekiel 37 (Clip 5), and traces the beginning of the movement to the late 1890s dream of a homeland (Clip 6).
God’s Plan for Israel vs. Gentiles: Understanding the Abrahamic Covenant
We're only a little over 200 years old as a nation. How many Americans are still pure from their original nationality? Not very many. We've all intermarried to where there is no longer a pure Englishman or a pure German or a pure anything else. We've amalgamated, and the Jew never did. So always remember, this is what makes the Word of God particularly believable.
Dry Bones as a Picture of Israel
Les identifies the valley of dry bones as a picture of Israel—out of the land, away from temple worship, blinded—and says God is now bringing them back to life.
The Vision of Very Dry Bones
Les describes the bones as very dry and bleached, showing they had been there a long time, and stresses that this is a vision.
The Bones Are the Whole House of Israel
Les reads Ezekiel 37:11, where the bones are explicitly called the whole house of Israel, and notes that Israel's hope was lost while dispersed.
The Bible Interprets the Vision
Les emphasizes that the Bible itself provides the interpretation—the bones are Israel—and warns against stopping before verse 11.
The Vision Points to Israel's Restoration to the Land
Les says the dry bones prophecy is being fulfilled as the dispersed of Israel are brought back to life and back to the land in our own time.
Symbolic Language of National Revival
Les calls the bones coming together and receiving life symbolic language for Israel's restoration, and he connects it to the late-1890s dream of a Jewish homeland.
A Vision That Produces Literal Truth
Les notes that Ezekiel was shown a vision, but out of that vision comes a literal truth about Israel.
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.
This verse shows the bones coming together in the vision.
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.
This describes the revived nation standing as a great army.
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.
This is the key verse identifying the bones as the whole house of Israel.
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 bring Israel out of their graves and into the land.
In Ezekiel 37:11, God tells Ezekiel, 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.' Les Feldick reinforces this, explaining that the dry bones picture Israel scattered among the nations, away from the land and temple worship, with no hope apart from God.
No. Les Feldick emphasizes that this is a vision and merely a picture of the nation of Israel. The bones coming together and receiving breath symbolize God reviving the nation and bringing it back to its homeland.
Les says the dry bones have been coming back to life in our own day as Jewish people return to the promised land, beginning with the Zionist dream in the late 1890s and continuing with the modern influx of Jews to Israel.
Watch the Teaching: God’s Plan for Israel vs. Gentiles: Understanding the Abrahamic Covenant