“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.” (Ezekiel 37:1-5 ESV)
No English translation can do justice to the Hebrew word ‘ruach’. It occurs 400 times in the Old Testament (and is translated as different English words in this passage – ‘breath’ (verses:8–9), ‘wind’ (verse 9), and ‘spirit’ (verses 1,14). This Spirit brings new life: ‘I am going to open your graves and bring you from them… I will put my Spirit in you and you will live’ (verses 12,14). This resurrection power lives in you, bringing you new life: ‘the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you’ (Romans 8:11).
There is a rattling sound as bones come together. The sound of divine connections forming once again. The sound of God breathing new life into his church by his Spirit. The church is a rising giant, a vast army of Spirit-filled people, full of power, unified in purpose.
And that’s the memo.
