Ezekiel 37 Explained: Israel's Dry Bones Prophecy Fulfilled?

Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. And again, it's so good to see so many of you come out for these tapings, and we've got several new faces with us today, and we want you to feel welcome. Hope you enjoy the afternoon as much as most of us always do. And for those of you joining us now on television, again, we just want to make you feel at welcome. We want you to take your Bible and follow with us, take notes and study, because after all we cannot grow in grace and knowledge unless we stay in the book and study it. And that's the only reason I teach. I just trust that we can help people to understand what the Bible is saying. We aren't trying to twist arms, as I've said so many times on this program. We're not trying to change you from one group into another. But regardless of where you're working or how you're serving, that whatever we teach might somehow help you. We appreciate hearing from Sunday school teachers that they're taking our material into their Sunday school class. And after all, that's all I consider myself to be. I'm just a layman, and I'm just another Sunday school teacher, but the Lord has opened up the avenue of television to us. All right, for now, you in the television or in the studio audience, we'd like to have you turn with us to Ezekiel. And I guess by popular demand, we're going to stop on our flow through the Scripture instead of going on into Matthew, which I'd intended to do. We are going to fulfill the wish. Remember I mentioned several weeks ago a dear lady, 80-some years old, had written that she hoped I would teach the book of Revelation before too long because she wanted to hear me teach it before she passed off the scene. And there's been a lot of others who have been expressing that same thing. Oh, just hurry up and teach Revelation. So we're going to do just that. We're going to stop on our trip through the Bible, and instead of going on into Matthew, we'll digress for a few weeks or however long it takes to continue studying prophecy, and especially as we see it in the book of Revelation, which is not all that difficult. But before we go to Revelation and the timeline as it unfolds with regard to that last seven years, I'm going to have you look at an event in Ezekiel 37, which of course I think we're seeing happening right before our very eyes, especially these last few years. And Ezekiel 37 is dealing with the awakening again of the nation of Israel, how that they have come out of complete obscurity as a nation, they've been out there buried amongst the Gentiles, but this chapter prophesies that one day they're going to come alive, and they're going to come back to the land, and they're going to again become a viable nation. And we are certainly seeing at least the beginnings of that. They haven't come to the full culmination yet, that's still future, but we're seeing its start. All right, Ezekiel chapter 37, we'll just start at verse 1. Now I'll be doing a lot of reading in this chapter, and again I always appreciate that even the television folks don't mind the fact that we read a lot of Scripture, so we're not going to apologize for that. The beginning of verse 1, "...the hand of the Lord," Ezekiel says, "...was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones." Now a bunch of us were in Israel not too long ago, and of course we just had a blast, didn't we? But our guide pointed to the Valley of Kidron, and he made reference to this chapter that this is what the Jews call the Valley of Dry Bones. And of course there are multitudes of graves as you look from Mount of Olives down across the Kidron Valley up to the old wall. But that's not what Ezekiel 37 is talking about. Ezekiel 37 is talking about the nation of Israel out of the land, out amongst the Gentile nations scattered from one end of this world to the other, and Israel out of the land is a nation that's in its grave. And that's the whole concept that you have to remember as you read Ezekiel 37. This is dealing with the nation of Israel as they are scattered out amongst the Gentile nations, at least at this time, without a land, without an altar, without a priesthood, which of course we know has been the lot of the Jew ever since 70 A.D. But it's not going to stay that way. Alright, now let's read on. Verse 2, "...and he caused me to pass by them round about, and behold there were very many in the open valley, and they were very dry." Now, if you know anything about bones and decayed carcasses, you realize that the longer that bone or that skeleton lays out in the sun, the whiter they get and the drier they get. So what is emphasized here is that Israel has now been out of the land, the place of blessing, for a long time. And we know they were out there over 1,900 years. Always remember from 70 A.D. when Titus destroyed the city and the temple, and the Jews were scattered throughout the then known world, and they've been scattering throughout the whole world ever since. So they were very dry. They've been there a long time. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? Well the normal answer from a human standpoint would have been what? No way. No way could a nation as tiny as Israel, completely subjugated by her Gentile enemies, could ever come back on the scene. Now, I guess when you have an agnostic or someone who has trouble believing the Bible as the Word of God, one of the most viable proofs that this book is supernatural, it is the Word of God, is the Jew. He is living proof today that this book knows what it's talking about. And so always keep that in mind, that this little nation should have been completely obliterated. They should have been totally assimilated into the various nationalities of the world. But they haven't. And they have maintained their identity, and of course we now in our day and time have seen them going back to their land. And another miracle, whether you're aware of it or not, is the Hebrew language was dead. Even the Jews didn't speak Hebrew for hundreds and hundreds of years. But when some of the Zionists first anticipated going back to what we call the land of Palestine and making it a Jewish homeland, they just demanded that they were going to require people to again learn and speak Hebrew. And so if you go to Israel today, all the billboards and all the highway signs are Hebrew and English. And if Ezekiel or Daniel or any of these Old Testament characters would walk up to the ticket counter in Tel Aviv today, they could converse in their own language, Hebrew. And it's never happened before in human history. Never has a dead language ever been brought back to life as it has here. Another absolute proof of the prophetic Word. So he says, prophesy, verse 4, "...Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O you dry bones, hear the word of the Lord." Now the bones that people know about Ezekiel 37 is the Negro spiritual, isn't it? The dry bones, the hip bone connected to you and so on and so forth. Well, that's where it came from. It's from this chapter. But it's speaking of something far more important than just a skeleton. Remember now, we're talking about the nation of Israel as they have been out there amongst the Gentile nations. Verse 5, "...Thus saith the Lord God, unto these bones," in other words, to these Israelites scattered throughout the world, "...Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live." In other words, a national breath. They're once again going to become a nation of people. Verse 6, "...I will lay sinners upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you." Now remember, this is a symbolic language. And so it's merely speaking of that which was dead and seemingly without hope, all of a sudden is coming back. And remember, they're in the news every day. Seven days a week the nation of Israel is in the news for some reason or another. But they haven't reached it yet that all this is looking forward to, but they're certainly well on their way. "...I will put flesh upon you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord." Now it's amazing that in spite of all that Israel has accomplished, the tremendous increase in agriculture production, and they're building everywhere, high-rise buildings are going up, freeways are being built. It's just unbelievable. And yet as unbelievable as well is the fact that they really do not give God any of the credit. They just claim that they're doing it on their own. But see, the Lord says that one day they'll realize they didn't do it on their own, that it was the work of their Almighty God. Alright, verse 7. "...So I prophesied as I was commanded, and as I prophesied there was a noise, and behold a shaking." Now naturally we want you to see the illustration. This great valley floor just laying covered with dry bones. And that's what we want to mentally picture. And all of a sudden those bones begin to move. And they begin to shake and rattle, and they begin to come together and form skeletons. And then pretty soon the flesh comes on them, and then the skin, and the day is coming when the life will come upon them. Now all of this is just symbolic language with regard to the nation of Israel out there away from their homeland, scattered amongst the nations, seemingly with no hope of ever having a homeland, and little by little began way back in the late 1890s when a Jewish fellow by the name of, I think it was Herzog, if I'm not mistaken, who began to dream of a homeland for the Jews. Well, the British government and some of the other powers at that time thought, well, they could set them aside some area, maybe in Africa someplace. But these Jews said, no, we don't want something in Africa, we want our own homeland. We want the land of our forefathers. And of course we know now from history that it was quite a battle. The British fought them tooth and toenail all during the days after World War II. Very few people are aware of that. That as the Jews were escaping Europe from the Holocaust, the British Navy patrolled the Mediterranean Sea day and night trying to intercept any of the boat people of that day, which of course were the Israelites or the Jews coming out of Europe. And if they intercepted them, they would intern them on the island of Cyprus, literally put them in refugee camps. But the few that got through, of course, went into the land of Israel and began by building the kibbutzes. And if you go to Israel, you'll more than likely visit a kibbutz, which is basically a farming community. But from their farming enterprises, they have expanded to where they have begun manufacturing. And some of them have tourist trade. They'll have their own hotels. But it was the kibbutz people, of course, who were the mainstay of that little ragtag army that defeated the Arabs then in 1948. It was quite a bit like our own Revolutionary War. Just the ragtag of farmers and common people with no military acumen whatsoever. And yet, with the overhanding power of God, with just small arms, no tanks, no artillery, no air power, they, of course, fought the war in 1948 and established themselves as a little nation once again. Well, that's the shaking of the dry bones. All right, now let's read on. Verse 8, "...and when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them." That much they've accomplished. But the last part still hasn't happened. And there was no breath in them, or I should say that is still the case. There is no spiritual breath as yet. Then verse 9, "...and he said unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four winds," see, "...and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." Now, we're dealing now with the spiritual aspect. And so we see them in the land. They have their own government. They have their Knesset, what we would call our Congress. And they have a sovereignty of sorts. But still, they're so dependent on Uncle Sam and some of the Western European nations for their financial stability. In fact, one of the first things our guide told us, we just consider ourselves the 51st state. And, you know, that was so apropos because they are dependent upon us, even though they are an independent state. All right, then read on. Verse 10, "...so I prophesied it he commanded, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great army." Now, that was the vision that he saw. But in reality, it's the nation of Israel coming back to their homeland out of all the nations of the earth. Now, you say, well, where do you get it? Well, you just read on. And as I've said so many times on this program, if you go far enough, the Scripture interprets for you. Now, look what it says in verse 11. "...Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel." You see that? Not just the two tribes, the Jew, but the whole house of Israel. Now, I'm emphasizing that because there is a great move afoot who maintain that the Jews of today are only the residue of Judah and Benjamin, and the other 10 tribes have been lost, they've been destroyed, and they're no longer a viable entity. But that flies in the face of Scripture. Because even when you get to the book of Acts, when Peter addresses the Jews there on the day of Pentecost, what term does he use? "...Therefore let the whole house of Israel know assuredly..." Now, the whole house of Israel is not Judah and Benjamin, it's all 12 or even 13 tribes, if you want to include the two sons of Joseph. And so here again, we have the terminology that they are the whole house of Israel. "...Behold, they say, our bones are dried, our hope is lost." Isn't that exactly what the Jew felt, especially prior and after World War II? No hope of having a homeland, no hope of having any congealing of their people. They were just isolated, usually in ghettos in various capital cities of Europe, and they thought there was no hope. And then all of a sudden, see, a sovereign God came into the picture. And they said, "...Behold, our bones are dried, our hope is lost, we are cut off for our parts." And then I'd like to, just for sake of time, come down to verse 13, where God says, "...And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves." In other words, out of their place of their dispersion. "...I shall put," verse 14, "...my Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I," God says, "...shall place you," where? "...in your own land." Now, with all due respect to the Arabs, no one likes to give up what they call their homeland. And we certainly don't look down on them for feeling that way, but the Scripture is so plain, whose land is the land of Palestine? It's the Jews. It was promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all of Scripture declares it as their land. Our United States government can go to its doom trying to change that. Other governments will go to their doom if they try to change that, because God has delineated this little strip of ground between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River as the homeland for His covenant people. All right, "...and I shall place your own land, then shall you know that I the Lord have spoken it and performed it." Now He comes on with another illustration, and we might as well look at it, because we're not going to have time to start Revelation in this half hour anyway. So now He goes on with yet another illustration, and He says to Ezekiel, "...moreover," verse 16, "...take a stick, and write upon it, For Judah..." Now that was the southern kingdom, remember, Judah and Benjamin, the southern kingdom after the nation had been divided. "...take one stick for Judah, and then take another stick for Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel and his companions." That was the northern kingdom. So we have one stick representing the southern kingdom, Judah and Benjamin. The other stick is representing the ten tribes to the north, which we normally call the northern kingdom, or Israel, or Ephraim. Now then in verse 17, He says, "...join them one to another into..." What? "...one stick." See? "...and they shall become one in thy hand." A miracle. Just about like when Moses cast down his rod back there in Exodus. Ezekiel takes two separate sticks, one for Judah, one for the northern kingdom, and in his hand those two become one. All right, now God again is showing not only Ezekiel, but us today, a tremendous lesson. Verse 18, "...and when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Will thou not show us what you mean by these? Then say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God." Now you know, I'm always emphasizing what is most important in the life of a believer is faith, isn't it? I think I'm getting to be known as emphasizing faith, taking God at His Word. Now who is saying this? God is saying it. What does He expect us to do? Believe it. And here's a good example. We believe that the nation of Israel is going to come back. They're going to be totally come together as again one nation, no longer divided, but all the tribes will be involved. Now then reading on in verse... Oh, let's drop down to verse 20. "...and the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thy hand before their eyes, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen." Now remember the word heathen in our Bible is just simply another word for Gentile. It doesn't necessarily mean that they're decrepit paganists or something like that. But the heathen are Gentiles from all the nations of the world. "...whither they be gone, and I will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land." Now see, we've been witnessing that ever since, like I said, the turn of the century, but especially now since World War II as the Jews are just constantly coming back. I read in the Daily Oklahoman here just several weeks ago where a speaker in Oklahoma City, I think it was the head of tourism from the nation of Israel, was speaking to a group of businessmen in Oklahoma City. And he gave this comparison. Now this is shocking, at least it was to me. In order to get an idea of what Israel has absorbed in the last year or two of all these immigrants coming in, especially from Russia and Eastern Europe, Albania, and a few, of course, are coming out of the Arab nations, the number of Jews that have come into that little land, which is, remember, is only 40 miles wide, about 200 miles long at the very extremities. Now that's not very large, but the number of people coming in from all these various parts of the world would be likened to if the whole nation of France would immigrate to America in 12 months of time. Could we absorb them? Just imagine what they're up against, finding places for them to live, a food supply. They have to be put on welfare until they can get on their feet and find a job. It's tremendous, see? But we hear it on the news, and it goes in one ear and out the other. But if you just stop to think of the comparison, if the whole nation of France would just suddenly immigrate to America, could we handle it? And so be aware of this, all right? And so God is bringing them back. And then verse 22, And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel. Now there again, I think that's where it's good for people to get there and to see how much of that land is just utter mountains, see? It's got its beautiful valleys, it's got beautiful farming area, but so much of it is just rugged mountains. But here they are building on those mountainsides, high-rise apartments, just one right after the other. It's just beyond our comprehension, but all right, read on. And one king shall be king to them all. See, now they haven't come to that place yet. This is still future. They're still waiting for and they're looking for their king. And again, as you go up and down now the highways of Israel, there are big yellow billboard signs in Hebrew, that in so many words, I don't remember the exact, but to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. And so there are some Jews that are suddenly aware that everything is being set for their Messiah to come. Now, of course, they don't look at it as we do, as a return, but as His first coming. Remember, they do not recognize Christ as a Messiah, but they are looking for the coming now of their Messiah. They realize the signs of the times are building so rapidly that Israel should be ready for her Messiah. All right, so the day is coming, and that's why we're going to study the book of Revelation, because all of that is going to build to the coming of the King of kings. All right, and so verse 22 again, I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king to them all. They shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all, neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions. But I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned. And God says, He will, what, cleanse them? So they shall be My people, and I will be their God. Now, you see, that hasn't happened yet. Tonight you'd have to say, it's, lo, am I? And what does that mean? They're not My people. You remember I've been showing that as we come up through the Old Testament, how many times even Moses would say, they're not My people, and God says, they're not Mine either. And all the way through, God will use the term to Daniel and others, Thy people. He's not calling them My people tonight, even though we know He has His hand over them, He's watching over them, yet they are completely out of fellowship with Him. Now, probably Jewish people who are listening to me teach this, and that may not go down very easy, and I do have some. You'd be surprised how many Jewish folk are calling me, and most of them are complimentary, and they're beginning to see what the Old Testament is really talking about. But nevertheless, no one likes to be called in a position of, lo, am I? Not My people. But the day is coming when they will be God's people, and they're going to have a new heart, and God is going to cleanse them, and they will... Well, I wanted to go to Jeremiah 31, 31, when the new covenant will become a reality. When God says, I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel. Not like that old covenant of law, but a new covenant, where no one will have to be taught the Word of God. No one will have to be told what the law commands. But under that new covenant, every Israelite will just have the heart of God within them. They will be an obedient people. They will be a people of faith and believing. They'll be cleansed from all their iniquity, and they're going to prosper materially. See, and that's always the way it's been in the Old Testament economy. And when the Jews were obedient, when they were faithful, then what'd God do? He blessed them with material blessings. Now, that's not for us in the New Testament, but for Israel, it was always part and parcel, that when they were obedient, God blessed them. And so we know that the day is coming when they're just going to be showered with all the blessings of their God. They're going to enjoy the king and his kingdom. They're going to be the top of the nations instead of the tail. And they're going to lend to the nations instead of borrow. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a weekly Bible study. If you would like more information about the Les Feldick Ministries, a Bible study in your area, or about this program, write to Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, OK 74552. That's Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, OK 74552. 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