Ezekiel 37I've had "Dry Bones" by Gungor stuck in my head for most of the last weeks and it is an amazing song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioMRzpmnl7U) but that's only pretext for why I am all of a sudden writing again. What I really want to share is a thought that came to me in my devotions - and some really good music because it's not too big a thought. This morning I was listening to Rend Collective and "Desert Soul" came on and I thought it had a nice intro and accidentally skipped one song forward but I skipped back and it came to my mind that this dry bones metaphora isn't really an exceptionally desperate or morbid one.
1The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
4Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breatha enter you, and you will come to life. 6I 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.’”
7So 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. 8I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9Then 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.’” 10So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
11Then 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.’ 12Therefore 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. 13Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14I 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.’”
I love You Lord
But I want to love You more
I need You God
But I want to need You more
I'm lost without
Your creative spark in me
I'm dead inside
Unless Your resurrection sings
I'm desperate for a desperate heart
I'm reaching out, I'm reachingfor people without youtube restrictions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD9xdDNX_hk
All that I am is dry bonesWithout You Lord, a desert soulI am broken but runningTowards You God, You make me whole
You are exactly what we needOnly You can satisfy Desert Soul - Rend Collective Experiment
for Germans, the incomplete live version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGgn7uuSihM
After all, God created life in the first place and we live again through his salvation master plan. But what I want to point out is how day-to-day this thought should be for us, to be revived by His spirit, to live only through Him. "I love You Lord" leads to, should lead to --> "I want to love You more" without any need for exceptional desperation.
But I'm waffling again, so let's get to why I started writing this in the first place: Ezekiel 37:5-6
5This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breatha enter you, and you will come to life. 6I 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.’”Our first thought may be: Wow, God really is powerful and what he can do and everything. And that's absolutely true and impressive but what struck me was the last line: "Then you will know that I am the Lord." All the things God is doing that and after that He expects them to know that He is Lord, after making a whole living person out of a skeleton. (I know that you can take that as a metaphora for everyone who is being saved and this is just as life changing but come usually after recognising God as Lord; let's take it literally for now.)
So just think about what God is going through there, all the things He does, so that the bones-now-living-people can know Him! Why do I beat myself up everyday that people may not kow God because of one tiny thing I haven't done to show Him to them? Have you read what God goes through to let them know that He is Lord?
Of course it's still important I show God to others and also I am still important - after all I'm a child of God - but I am also human, and I make mistakes, and God knows that - what would salvation be good without our mistakes to be saved from?
But hey - remember how great God is and what He can do.
And remember that to love God means to want to love Him more.
By the way: In my little jamming session it occured to me that "Break Every Chain" (another favourite of mine, so powerful) has the same chords as "Desert Soul": just in case you care for stuff like that.
Soo, I'm off now, leaving for a 4-day-hike this morning and still had time to write this. So please God, give me enough time now for breakfast and drying my hair. (:
Lots of love to all my wee friends and maybe when I'm back I'll translate it for the German ones. (:
Be blessed very much!