Ezekiel 37:1-14

Ezekiel 37:1-14 is surely the most familiar passage from this prophetic book. The popularity of the spiritual song, Dem Bones (Johnson, 1928), is a good reason for this, even if most people could not cite chapter and verse – or perhaps would not even associate it with Scripture! Several contemporary Christian songs have picked up the theme as well: Come Alive (Dry Bones) (Daigle and Farren, 2015) and Rattle! (Lake, Brown, and Furtick, 2020).

Ezekiel 37 follows an extended litany of judgment pronouncements against Israel[1], with particular attention given to the fall of the Temple and of Jerusalem. Surrounding nations are not exempt from God’s judgment (see chs. 25-32) but the primary focus is that the people of God are subject to God’s judgment because of their idolatry and rebellion. Such idolatry is often graphically described in terms of adultery and prostitution (for example, chs. 16, 23). Babylon is depicted as God’s sword of judgment (ch. 21) and indeed, the Babylonian Exile has begun (see 1:1-2). God’s hand of judgment is already extended against God’s people.

In this vision, the exiled Ezekiel is “set … down in the middle of a valley” (v. 1). Perhaps the return to a valley is meant to connect this scene with Ezekiel’s initial calling when God commanded him, “Rise up, go out into the valley, and there I will speak with you” (3:22). From there, the signs and pronouncements of judgment began. The valley scene of ch. 37 now opens by describing a scene lacking even a glimmer of life or hope.

The valley in which Ezekiel finds himself is “full of bones” (v. 1). As a priest, Ezekiel was prohibited from coming into contact with the dead. Yet here, God leads him all around the valley filled with bones! Earlier, when God instructed Ezekiel to cook bread over a fire made with human dung, Ezekiel protested that he had never defiled himself in any way (4:14); God conceded the point of human dung and Ezekiel was allowed to use cow dung as a substitute (much better!?). But perhaps by this point, Ezekiel had become accustomed to shocking scenes and signs for there is no record of protest here in the valley of bones. However, we should neither overlook nor minimize the impact that such a vision likely had on this priest-prophet and his hearers.

The valley of bones depicts a massive battlefield where multitudes were slain and left without burial. For Israel, bones left exposed to the ravages of elements and creatures was a sign of shame and humiliation. In Jeremiah 8:1-3, the exposure of bones is clearly a sign of God’s judgment and this passage may have been a reference point for Ezekiel’s vision.

The valley in which Ezekiel now walks is not merely filled with dead bodies but is “full of bones.” In fact, there are “very many” bones and they are “very dry” bones. Corpses have long since become skeletal remains, devoid of sinews, muscles, flesh, and skin. These are not simply dead; they are long dead! No hint of life, no markers of identification or individuality remain.

Then God asks a seemingly absurd question: “Mortal, can these bones live?” and Ezekiel responds, “O Lord GOD, you know” (v. 3). Is Ezekiel’s response a deflection, or perhaps a deferral back to God? Is it an affirmation of the sovereignty of God; thy will be done? Perhaps by this point Ezekiel has experienced enough apparent absurdity to believe that anything is possible yet still does not presume that he knows the mind of God in all things.

From vv. 4-12, an interaction of divine initiative and human action is emphasized. God commands Ezekiel to prophesy (vv. 4, 9, 10, 12) and Ezekiel prophesies (vv. 7, 10). God invites Ezekiel to pronounce the prophetic word to the bones (v.4) and to the “whole house of Israel” (vv. 11-12). Clearly the initiative to act and the power to effect the prophesy are God’s. Nonetheless, then as now, God invites mere mortals to participate in the grand act of redemption, recreation, and restoration.

The thread that holds together the entire passage is the Hebrew word ruach. The word appears 10 times in these 14 verses and is variously translated “spirit,” “breath,” and “wind.” “Spirit” clearly refers to God’s Spirit (vv. 1, 14); “breath” is essential to life (vv. 5, 6, 8, 9, 10); and “wind” is “powerfully moving air” (Wright, 2001). Wright highlights the central use of ruach in verse 9, where the breath that Ezekiel is “commanded to summon by prophetic word, has the ambiguity that it doubtless means the Spirit of the living God, but also accomplishes the miraculous act of artificial respiration by which the corpses begin literally to breathe again and stand up alive and vigorous as an army” (Wright, 2001). The NRSV supports Wright’s assertion by using “O breath” in the text, while allowing for “wind” or “spirit” in the footnote. All possible meanings are clearly present in this particular use of ruach. The Greek pneuma carries the same possibilities; for example, John 3:5-8.

This passage describes the then-current state of utter hopelessness of the people of God. “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely” (37:11). Displacement from the land of promise was figuratively regarded as death. The interpretation of Ezekiel’s vision (37:11-14) clearly depicts this reality through repetition of the term “graves” (twice in v. 12 and twice in v. 13); the exiled people are entombed! The disobedient and rebellious people of God are in despair; reality appears hopeless. They are helpless in the face of Babylon’s armies. They have forsaken God and chosen to follow gods of their own choosing even while many claimed that God would not allow the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. God tells them, through the prophet Ezekiel, that they are wrong. Judgment is at hand.

In the midst of rebellion, idolatry and spiritual death, and with no apparent repentance on the part of the people, God promises life – re-creation – so that “you shall know that I am the Lord” (vv. 6, 13; see also v. 14).

The two-part restoration and resuscitation that occurs in this passage refers back to Genesis 2:7. God formed adam from dust, but only when God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” did adam become “a living being” (Gen. 2:7). This pattern is repeated in Ezekiel 37. Upon God’s command, Ezekiel prophesied to the bones which came together, followed by the attachment of sinews, then flesh, and finally skin. [Stephen King, be in awe!] But now instead of standing among very many, very dry bones, Ezekiel stands in the midst of an army of cadavers. There has been no improvement in the quality of existence! For only the breath, the wind, the spirit originating in and from God the Creator brings life. (Note the connections with other passages for this Sunday: Romans 8 and John 11.)

Though some early Christians interpreted this passage to refer to the final resurrection, the vast majority understand it as a prophetic vision directed to the defeated and exiled people of God. Yet, this passage is also widely regarded as an important link in the theological chain of the doctrine of resurrection and new life.

On this 5th Sunday of Lent, and in the context of the seemingly overwhelming troubles on local and global scales, many people may be genuinely caught in the grip of despair and hopelessness. Trauma of all kinds may be a lived reality for some – if not many – in your congregation. Trauma often breeds a sense of hopelessness where one cannot see how life will ever be qualitatively different than it is now experienced. Hope seems an absurd notion peddled by those who refuse to face reality head-on, or for those who have not truly suffered. In some cases, death is not only a spiritual reality but may also present itself as an attractive alternative to one’s current physical existence.

You are invited to proclaim the prophetic word that summons breath/wind/Spirit to those who feel they have been slain by life – whether by their own sin or by the sins of others. You do not need to resort to an allegorical interpretation of this text to do so. Yes, this passage addresses the 6th century BCE children of Israel who, by their own rebellion reaped the consequences of judgment. One can easily remain true to the text while also recognizing that the promise of new creation is a theme that blossoms to full fruition out of an empty tomb. However, do not rush ahead to Resurrection Sunday, for death is a pre-requisite for resurrection. But the truth found in Ezekiel 37 is the same truth found in Romans 8: true life – re-creation, new life – is possible only by the empowering, enlivening Spirit of God. And this is sheer grace: God initiates new creation even as God initiated the first creation. God fulfilled the promise of Ezekiel 37 by returning the exiles to the land. God’s greater promise is fulfilled in and through Jesus Christ who re-creates humanity in a way that Israel never did and never could. Breathe, O breath of life!

[1] “Israel” will be used as the primary reference for the people of God, even though the precise political and historical reference is the Kingdom of Judah since the northern Kingdom of Israel had been conquered by the Assyrian Empire more than a century earlier.

Daigle, L. and Farren, M. (2015). Come Alive (Dry Bones). Capitol Christian Music Group, Capitol CMG Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group.

Johnson, J. W. (1928). Dem Bones. Creative Commons Attribution – ShareAlike 4.0 license.

Lake, B.; Brown, C.; Furtick, S. (2020). Rattle! Bethel Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC.

Wright, C. J. H. (2001). The Message of Ezekiel. Bible Speaks Today Series. Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity P.