The situation at the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37:1-10 can be described as chaotic. In this miracle, God took Ezekiel to the Valley of the Dry bones, in the spirit and revealed the vast dry bones. God caused Ezekiel to walk round about all the dry bones so that he can behold the helplessness and hopelessness of the dry bones. The observation of Ezekiel was that the bones were in deed very dry. Why did Ezekiel come to this conclusion? It was because of the nature of dryness of the bones. It was because of the disorganization of the state of the skeletal bones in the valley. The skull had disjoined from the neck-bones. The tarsal and metatarsals had separated. The hand bones had got out of the socket, the pelvic bones have scattered. The carpals and the metacarpals cannot be located. The tibias and fibulas have broken in to pieces. In decoding this spiritual metaphor, we can deduce that, some who were on fire for the Lord before were as cold as ice in the spirit today. Perhaps you are experiencing spiritual dryness. And it is as if you do not hear from God anymore. You find it so difficult to pray, you do not have time at all for reading the word of God. Beloved you are at the valley of dry bones. Some who were very rich yesterday with chains of business, and suddenly their business have collapsed and are now living in abject poverty. Some with a peaceful home before is now operating in the broken home. It’s fighting and argument galore in the home. Perhaps the falcon cannot hear the falconer in his home. A married couple before but now divorced. Families with well behaved children before are now struggling to persuade their children who have gone astray in the world to come home. Beloved you are in the valley of dry bones. Perhaps you have been diagnosed with a hopeless terminal disease and you are taking one day at a time waiting for the moment of death. Perhaps you have a good job before but now you are settling for an unemployment benefit. Perhaps you were CEO before but you are now looking for clerical job, brother you are at the valley of dry bones. Generally speaking, there was a situation of disorientation in the valley of dry bones. Perhaps you are so sad, and depression had set in. The future seems bleak and you feel like quitting the land of the living and commit suicide. Brother you are in the valley of dry bones.

Then God asked Ezekiel a simple but difficult question, “Son of man, can these bones live?” The question was a simple one for a “no” answer judging the helplessness in the valley, but was also a difficult “yes” answer because of the limitation of man. Ezekiel was spiritually smart. In the physical Ezekiel knew that whatever is dead always become decomposed and cannot live again. At the same time, in the spiritual realm which he was only privilege to see and where he did not know much about, he answered God, “O Lord God, thou knowest,” indicating that he totally resigned the perplexing situation to the hands of Almighty God. Ezekiel was limited to the natural situation of the bones, but there was no limitation whatsoever with God Almighty. However his journey with God in the spirit has taught him that whatever seems to be dead to a man operating in the physical realm is not dead to God Almighty who operates in the spiritual realm because its God only that sees reality. The mystery of the dry bones experience is that God is proving a point to mankind, that whatever their situation had become, He is the Lord God Almighty over their situation.  

The event in the valley of the dry bones is one of the great revelations in the Bible that all is not lost if you can have direct access to the Throne of Grace. It revealed how God manifests His great works through His spoken words. It also revealed the creative power of God and the extent of privilege that God can give unto a faithful man to become partners with God in order to change a deplorable situation around to bring forth glory to God. There are two important lessons we can learn from this great revelation. We have to be in the spirit before we can effectively do the work of the Spirit. (Ezekiel 11:24; John 6:63) It is only when man is in the spirit that he can effectively demonstrates the power of faith. (John 11:25-26)

God that knows all things told Ezekiel what to do. It is also a pointer to the children of God that whenever we are opened to a revelation, God intends that something should be done about it. God told Ezekiel to prophesy on the bones and “say ...” He did as the Lord bid him and said, “O ye dry bones hear the word of the Lord.”  Can the dry and dead bones hear the word of God?  What is dead to human beings is alive to God.  “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.” (Deuteronomy 32:39) Remember the book of Isaiah 55:8 “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways . . .”

The book of James reveals that “the power of life and death is in the tongue.”  The power is not in the physical tongue, but the power resides in the words that the tongue launches into existence. In demonstration that the power of life and death is in the tongue, when Ezekiel spoke life to the dry bones, they harkened to the prophecy of the man of God and the scattered broken bones located each other and came together, tendon and flesh covered them but there was no breath in them. This was a challenge to all who their spiritual ears have lost sense of hearing as a result of their faithlessness. They live in their myopic limitation in the physical realm instead of living in the infinitive abundance of spiritual realm where all things are made possible in the presence of God. Perhaps we wonder and ask, “How could dead and dry bone hear the word of God?”  In the spiritual realm everything obeys the law of the Spirit.

What you speak to the dry bones of your life and your state of mind when you speaking will determine how long these dry bones stay in the valley. So many people do not speak to their situations because they do not know that their situation possess sense of hearing. If you are in the spirit and you speak to your situation, your physical problems that originated from the spirit will respond to divine instruction. The distance between you and your breakthrough is equal the distance between your knees and the ground. If you can dig deep in the well of your life in terms of prayer, you will surely reach the abundance water of blessing. God is a faithful Father, it is impossible to sow into the spirit and reap corruption.

The revelation continued to unfold. The first phase of creation was completed in the first prophecy of Ezekiel. We cannot understand this passage very well until we consider Genesis 2:8 that says, “The Lord formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed in to his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”  There are two stages in creation of man -- the forming of man from the dust and the giving of breath of life. And there are two prophesies of Ezekiel in this passage that completed the divine transformation. The first prophecy caused the dry bones to be joined with tendons and flesh covered it. Whatever transformation that takes place on earth God has given his faithful servants a privilege to partake in the change. Having this in mind, since you do not have anything to lose, why don’t you speak to the dry bones of your life and say, “O dry bones of my life, hear the word of God and begin to respond to the shaping and molding in the hand of the Master Builder right now in Jesus name. Let the nakedness of my dry bones be covered by the creative power of God, in Jesus name.”

In the second phase of the revelation, God told Ezekiel to prophesy unto the wind and say, “Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” Ezekiel prophesied again and the wind also heard the word of God came from the four winds.  In the Gospel of John 3:8, we learn that the wind blows directionally.  We hear the sound of the wind but we don’t know its physical source or where it is going. But certainly we know its spiritual source; it comes from nostrils of Almighty God. It is the sustaining power of God called the breath of life. It refreshes our system and stabilizes all living creatures on earth. The wind from the four winds connotes stability. The wind responded to the second prophecy of Ezekiel and the lifeless body came alive after the breath of life was imparted unto them. In the mood of prayer speak to the lifeless situation of your life and say, “O breath of life, come from the four winds and breathe to the lifeless situation of my life in the authority of the word of God. Let my life receive the divine quickening power of the word of God and live forthwith in Jesus name!” 

This is the mystery of creation that was revealed to Ezekiel when he was privileged in the spirit to see the vision of the dry bones.  Is there anything difficult for God to do? Absolutely nothing!  God is a Spirit and He is the King that rules in the spiritual realm to transform the situation of mankind in the physical realm. Whatever is happening in the physical realm has long been completed in the spiritual realm according to the divine intentions of Almighty God.  At the name of Jesus Christ all knees must bow.  Therefore, seek God in the spirit and in truth because whatever may be the state of dryness of the bones of your lives, His power and mercy can bring forth life in your valley of your dead and dry bones.

THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES

In the valley of the dry bone everything was still and silent
The Spirit of God stirred the valley
The Spirit quickened the dry bones through the Word
The dead bones heard the Word and received strength
The wind heard the Word and released its strength
From the four winds came the breath of live

The Spirit of the Lord God
The power of the Lord’s Word
The faith in the Lord’s Word
And obedience of the Lord’s Word
Made difference in the Valley of dead
From stillness of the to thrilling of the brave

- Michael A. Eleyinafe