Of Man and Death, of God and Life
Rev. Richard A. Bolland

Ezekiel 37:1-14
(March 13, 2005 Sermon Transcript)

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        Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

        From our Old Testament reading, from the 37th chapter of Ezekiel, these words. Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.'"

        Dear friends in Christ, the holy city of Jerusalem had been conquered by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar in the year 597 B.C. He did that in retribution for King Jehoiakim’s rebellion against that powerful empire. When they did that, they took 10,000 of the Jews into custody. And making them captive, they took them back to Babylon. They took the brightest, and the best, of Israel. The prophet Ezekiel was among them.

        Zedekiah was the vassal king of Jerusalem. And he served in that capacity until he too, before more than a year or two passed, had rebelled against them. And, in retaliation, the great armies of Babylon, came marching down from the north and laid siege to the great city of Jerusalem. And after three years, it fell.

        On August 14, 586 B.C., not only did the city fall, but it was utterly destroyed. Burned to the ground. Hardly a stone left on another. Israel’s monarchy was finished. The City of David and the Lord’s Temple no longer existed, other than the smoking ruins.

        It was much like some sort of post-apocalyptic movie that we see these days, after some terrible enormous natural disaster or nuclear holocaust. Even the ground had been salted by the Babylonians so that nothing would grow. Devastation and hopelessness was all they had.

        How could this happen to the Chosen People of God?

        How could the seed of Abraham come to this?

        Had God abandoned His people? Or had the people abandoned God?

        May I say to you, our text today demonstrates with stark clarity that it is man who brings on such death and destruction, not Himself. But it is God only who speaks His Word, and brings life out of death.

        Man, in his sinful rebellion, abandons life and chooses death. He doesn’t do it knowingly, but he does it nonetheless. And sometimes, he may even do it knowingly.

        Consider the results of Israel’s rebellion against the very God that called them into being, and sustained them as a people and as a nation. All that had been outwardly distinctive about Israel had virtually vanished. The temple rituals were simply no longer possible, since there was not temple.

        And what’s more, the rituals had really become nothing other than rituals anyway. The heart of the people just weren’t in them anymore. They were empty forms.

        Another thing, tithing had simply ceased to exist. And that only, of course, marks a thanklessness against a Holy God and His blessings. More than that, the priesthood appointed by God no longer functioned, since there was no longer a temple to function in. And so, all those things that had made, outwardly, the nation of Israel be distinctive, seemed to be gone. Even the dietary laws had fallen out of disuse by most, and few observed them.

        Additionally, we’d have to say that the outward only showed what happens on the inside. For all that was inwardly distinctive about Israel was destroyed as well. The outward signs of faith are always the inward signs of decay. The faith, given by God, to unify the people, was mostly gone. And, of course, as a result, people fell into disunity. The influence of the idolatrous Chaldeans who surrounded them, who, by the way, seemed much more successful as a nation, had been wearing the Israelites down. And many opted, instead, turning away from God and turning toward pagan worship.

        And so, into this setting of disunity and despair and destruction, the Lord comes to Ezekiel. And He shows them this powerful vision of a valley filled with dry bones. Dry bones lying sun-bleached in the desert, with absolutely no sign of life attached to them whatsoever.

        It was telling. For the morality of Israel had crumbled. Doctrine had been forgotten. God’s promises ignored. Indeed was Israel nothing but dry bones in likeness.

        Today we might say the same about mainstream Christianity. It has become so very easy to adopt the values of the culture that surrounds us. That, indeed, we want to look successful, so we do what the world does in order to achieve it. Indeed, many denominations have succumbed to the sweet siren-song of doing anything and everything just to get bodies in the door, whether it honors God or not.

        Doctrine has become compromised in order to become more relevant to a godless society in which, in fact, only succeeds in making the church look more worldly. And indeed, it is more worldly.

        Our culture observes us and remarks, "You guys need to value all religious ideas as equally valued. We need to be more inclusive. We need to be more tolerant. We need to celebrate religious diversity of everyone."

        And so, the vibrant, life-giving Word of God, as it was for Israel, is ignored. And worship is watered down. And the Sacraments our Lord instituted have become meaningless, as all are welcome to the table regardless of what they believe. Perhaps God needs to send us a vision as well.   

        But, then again, He has.

        This vision was not merely for Ezekiel. It was for us all. One thing seems crystal clear. It is man’s sinful disregard for God’s Word and will that brought such a calamity, both on Israel and on our church today. Like Israel of old, it is our covetousness of the things of the world which, in fact, make us turn away from God’s Word and will.

        St. Paul wrote it rightly and clearly enough. In 2 Timothy, chapter 4, he pens these words. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-- with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

        I would suggest that the character of humanity has not changed. Not since Ezekiel’s time, and not since St. Paul’s time. The latest thing, the latest teaching, the latest version of what seems to be successful entices us away from the blessings of God that He has given us. And caution would be the word which should be given attention.

        God would ask us that which He asks Ezekiel. As Ezekiel looks at the devastation of the valley of dry bones, and corresponding devastation of Israel and Judah, we might say, let us look at the devastation of the modern church, and ask, "Can these bones live?"

        Ezekiel rightly replies, "O Sovereign Lord, You alone know."

        Most certainly, they will not live by means of human power. That I guarantee you. Israel and Judah had used every logical means, every worldly piece of wisdom at their disposal, to maintain this nation and church. Turning away from the will of God, they relied on their own military alliances and wisdom. But in the end, the only thing left was the smoldering ruins of Jerusalem.

        No, human power has it’s limitations. But the power of God does not.

        Listen to the unlimited power of God. From Ezekiel. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'" So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet-- a vast army.

        Alive and well.

        By the Word of the Lord, the dead are called to life. Just as it was in the beginning by the command and the Word of the Lord, life begins, and is sustained.

        So it is for us all. For our dry faithless bones once that had no life in them, God spoke His Word at our baptism, and the bones and the tendons and the sinews and the muscles and the organs of living faith came into being, and we became alive in Christ. Indeed, does St. Paul right proclaim in Ephesians these words. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-- it is by grace you have been saved.

        We can no more claim credit of any kind for having been called to this faith than the dry bones which lay in the dry bone valley of Ezekiel can claim credit for having been called to life.

        God speaks and life begins.

        We might say the same for the church today, this Church of Christ. For I would say to you that He will call us to life too only by the hearing of the Word that the Lord gives to us. To continue to listen to the words and wisdom of men is to remain on the deathplain of the valley floor. But to hear the Word of God and keep it, is to know the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.

        And so, the Word made flesh came into the world so that He could call the dead to life by His righteous power. Seeking nothing from man, the Son of God, Jesus Christ our Lord, strangely stands silent before Caiaphas and Pontius Pilate. He makes no defense for Himself, even though the charges laid against Him are, indeed, utterly fallacious.

        They charge Him, again and again. Indeed, we find out that God, in His mercy, is standing there, accepting every sin that is laid on His shoulders. The reason He says nothing, the reason He makes no protest, is that He is becoming our sin. So He accepts them. Every blasphemous charge against Him, even though He is innocent, makes His own. He will bear every sin they bring to Him, and far more. He will bear every sin you have ever committed, or ever will commit. He will bear every sin every man, woman, and child on the face of this planet has ever committed.

        And if you think that heavy wood cross that sapped His human strength was a burden, it is nothing compared to the burden of sin carried to Golgotha, and there nailed.

        So to the whipping posts, to the beatings, to the mockery, to the cross, that vastly heavy load of our sins is carried. He knows that without Him there is no hope, there is no life, there is no heaven. Thus He does precisely what He said He would do. In John, the 15th chapter, He said, Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

        Dear people of God, in these last days, it would seem that the world is gaining the upper hand, just as to Israel, the Babylonians were the only ones around who had their act together. The bride of Christ, His church, will seem, at the end, to be dried up and out of step with the mainstream of the world, and what it describes as success. But do not be deceived. God is not mocked. The judgment will come, and then all things will be seen as they really are.

        God gives life to His people through the Lamb of God, who has taken away the sin of the world. And this same Lamb of God, who is the bridegroom of the church, will, I assure you, sustain her until the day of His coming.

        When God speaks, He brings life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.