Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 389
36:27–37:7
E ze k iel
377
stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will
put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to
obey my regulations.
“And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You
will be my people, and I will be your God. I will cleanse you of your filthy
behavior. I will give you good crops of grain, and I will send no more fam
ines on the land. I will give you great harvests from your fruit trees and
fields, and never again will the surrounding nations be able to scoff at your
land for its famines. Then you will remember your past sins and despise
yourselves for all the detestable things you did. But remember, says the
Sovereign Lord, I am not doing this because you deserve it. O my people
of Israel, you should be utterly ashamed of all you have done!
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I cleanse you from your
sins, I will repopulate your cities, and the ruins will be rebuilt. The fields
that used to lie empty and desolate in plain view of everyone will again be
farmed. And when I bring you back, people will say, ‘This former waste
land is now like the Garden of Eden! The abandoned and ruined cities
now have strong walls and are filled with people!’ Then the surrounding
nations that survive will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruins and
replanted the wasteland. For I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what
I say.
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am ready to hear Israel’s prayers
and to increase their numbers like a flock. They will be as numerous as the
sacred flocks that fill Jerusalem’s streets at the time of her festivals. The
ruined cities will be crowded with people once more, and everyone will
know that I am the Lord.”
The Lord took hold of me, and I was carried away by the Spirit of the
Lord to a valley filled with bones. He led me all around among the bones
that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the
ground and were completely dried out. Then he asked me, “Son of man,
can these bones become living people again?”
“O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.”
Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say,
‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign
Lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live
again! I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will
put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I
am the Lord.’”
So I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there
was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came
