A voice for the word of God
Ezekiel
Ezekiel prophesied to a people in exile, far from home and near despair. Through strange and vivid visions he showed that God had not abandoned them and that dry bones could live again. His promise of a good shepherd and a new heart points straight toward Christ.
“Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.”Ezekiel 37:4
His life and calling
His life and calling. Ezekiel was a priest carried away to Babylon among the exiles, roughly in the early sixth century before Christ, before and during the fall of Jerusalem. By the river Chebar the heavens opened and he saw overwhelming visions of God's glory, and "the hand of the LORD was there upon him" (Ezekiel 1:3). God called him a watchman for the house of Israel, responsible to warn the people: "hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me" (Ezekiel 3:17). Ezekiel's ministry was marked by dramatic sign-acts. He lay on his side, ate rationed bread, and enacted the siege of Jerusalem, embodying his message with his own body. He saw the glory of the Lord depart from the temple because of the people's sin, a devastating vision, and later saw its promised return. He spoke first words of judgment before Jerusalem fell, then words of comfort and restoration afterward. He was a covenant watchman, calling exiles to turn and live, insisting, "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live" (Ezekiel 33:11).
His message
His message. Ezekiel proclaimed both the holiness of God that must judge sin and the mercy of God that longs to restore. He held individuals responsible for their own turning: "the soul that sinneth, it shall die," yet the one who repents "shall surely live" (Ezekiel 18:20-21). After judgment came astonishing promises of renewal. In the valley of dry bones God asked, "can these bones live?" and then breathed life into them, a picture of a dead nation raised: "I will put my spirit in you, and ye shall live" (Ezekiel 37:14). He promised a new heart: "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart" (Ezekiel 36:26). And he condemned the false shepherds who fed themselves while the flock scattered, promising, "I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David" (Ezekiel 34:23). His message is that God will personally gather, cleanse, and shepherd His people.
How it points to Christ
How it points to Christ. Ezekiel's promise of one shepherd from David's line finds its fulfillment in Jesus, who declared, "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep" (John 10:11). Where Israel's shepherds failed, Christ came to seek the lost and feed the flock. Ezekiel's promise of a new heart and God's Spirit within is realized in the new birth Jesus described to Nicodemus and in the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost. The valley of dry bones, though first a picture of Israel's restoration, points beyond itself to the resurrection life that Christ brings, for He is "the resurrection, and the life" (John 11:25). The glory that departed from the temple and was promised to return is answered in the One in whom "dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9). God spoke by this exiled priest, and has now spoken in the Son who gathers and gives life (Hebrews 1:1-2).
Questions people ask
What does the valley of dry bones mean?
In Ezekiel 37 God shows the prophet a valley of bones brought back to life, explaining that these bones are the whole house of Israel, seemingly dead in exile. God promises to put His Spirit in them so they live, a picture of restoration that also anticipates resurrection life in Christ.
Who is the one shepherd Ezekiel promised?
Ezekiel foretold that God would raise up "one shepherd... even my servant David" (Ezekiel 34:23) to feed the flock. Christians see this fulfilled in Jesus, the son of David, who called Himself the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11).