WEEK 4 / SON OF MAN, CAN THESE BONES LIVE? DAY 1 Karen Kirk This week we will be taking a closer look at Ezekiel s vision of what is commonly called The Valley of Dry Bones READ: EZEKIEL 37:1-14 Please Note: For this week, the NIV Translation of the Bible may be most helpful to answering the questions. If you have and use another version you may want to search Ezekiel Chapter 37 NIV to help with some of the answers. How did Ezekiel get to The Valley of Dry Bones? We find this week s question in Ez. 37:3 Look it up and write it here: Who is asking the question? {Hint: You will find the answer in two words near the end of verse 3} What is Ezekiel s answer to the Lord s question?
WEEK 4 / SON OF MAN, CAN THESE BONES LIVE? DAY 1 Every story in the Word that includes a question is intended to point us to a place of knowing God in a deeper way. With this in mind, what do you think this story and this question were meant to show Ezekiel? In verse 3 Ezekiel answered this way O Sovereign Lord, You alone know. Say that phrase over a couple of times and then write what it means to you. If it would be helpful, you may look up the word Sovereign and write a short definition of it here. READING DIFFERENT TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE: Take time to read Ezekiel 37:1-14 in a few different Bible versions by going to www.biblehub.com. Using this study tool, you will see the same verses using different words and phrases. This can help you gain a better understanding of the entire Scripture reading. PRAYER: Lord God, I open up my heart to You during this study. I ask for understanding of these Scriptures from Your Holy Word. Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I want to hear the Word of the Lord speak to me.
WEEK 4 / SON OF MAN, CAN THESE BONES LIVE? DAY 2 LET S LOOK A LITTLE DEEPER AT THIS PASSAGE: He asked me, Son of Man, can these bones live? Ezekiel 37:3 The dry bones represented a nation that God announced, through the prophet, would be restored to her land. What was that nation? READ VERSE 11 What three things were the people of Israel saying about themselves? Again, verse 11. 1. 2. 3. BACKGROUND FROM THESE SCRIPTURES: God s people, the Jews, had turned against God, and He allowed them to go into captivity once again. Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army invaded Israel. They had reduced Solomon s Temple to ashes, and had taken many of the Jewish people back to Babylon as captives. Seemingly, Israel could not get itself out of Babylonian captivity. Hopes dashed, no hope of resurrection, this is the condition they find themselves in. And not unlike the dead, dry bones that lay scattered in the valley..seemingly, the Nation of Israel was DEAD. Restoration seemed impossible. BUT God gave to the Prophet Ezekiel the vision of dry bones as a sign! What is the first thing the Lord directed Ezekiel to do? READ AND WRITE OUT EZEKIEL 37:4
WEEK 4 / SON OF MAN, CAN THESE BONES LIVE? DAY 2 To PROPHESY: In its Hebrew origin is naba Strongs # 5012 It is a verb which means to speak by divine inspiration. What two things did the Sovereign Lord tell Ezekiel to say to the bones? Read verse 5. 1. 2. From the NIV translation of verse 6, the Lord said 6 things would happen to the bones. Here are the first three: 1. I will attach tendons to you 2. Make flesh come upon you 3. Cover you with skin FIND AND WRITE THE LAST THREE MENTIONED HERE: 4. I will 5. You will 6. You will While Ezekiel was prophesying to the bones, what three things happened? Read verse 7. 1. 2. 3. Listen to this anointed song: Search Dry Bones Are Rising by Chris Shalom at https:/youtu.be/mx_vu-zhp7g. Something was beginning to happen as Ezekiel spoke the Word of the Lord to the dry bones. The Word spoken to the bones contained power. Such power that the bones could not stay dormant, they had to move. Something physical started to happen, and bones came together, bone to bone. PRAYER: Spend some time in praise and worship thanking the Lord for the Power of His Word.
WEEK 4 / SON OF MAN, CAN THESE BONES LIVE? DAY 3 LET S TALK ABOUT OUR OWN LIVES: Here are some examples of dry bones: A marriage is failing. It seems hopeless. A son or daughter has turned away from God. It seems hopeless. You yourself, or one you love has struggled long with addictions, be it drugs, alcohol, gambling, or pornography. You are weary and afraid. It just seems hopeless. Your own relationship with the Lord is not where it once was. It seems hopeless. Depression. It seems hopeless. You have waited for healing. It seems hopeless. Unsaved loved ones with no desire whatsoever for the things of God. You have given up hope. Do not rush this next section - Give some thought to where there are dry bones in your own life. Sometimes we are tempted to hide these places from those around us in an attempt to bring life back to them ourselves. A good starting place in identifying these is to be honest about the places that feel hopeless to you or beyond ever being whole again. So much so that you may have even stopped praying concerning these things because it seems they will just never change. Take Time - Let yourself feel these - and write those dry places here:
WEEK 4 / SON OF MAN, CAN THESE BONES LIVE? DAY 3 NOW HEAR THE LORD S QUESTION TO YOU? Daughter, can your dry bones live? WRITE YOUR HONEST ANSWER HERE. QUIET TIME WITH THE LORD: Take a moment right now to commit these to the Lord. Ask Him to SPEAK to you - to SPEAK to these dry places through the Power of His Word. Remember, you are not depending upon yourself, you are leaning totally upon the Sovereign Lord and the Breath of the Holy Spirit. Lauren Daigle sings a prophetic song that seems so fitting here. Search it - and spend some quiet time with it - let the words build your faith. Come Alive (Dry Bones) by Lauren Daigle at https://youtu.be/vuclqoxigna. In the song the words CALL OUT means to say what God says - with great expectation. And so as you listen - begin to say outloud to those places By the Power of Jesus I call out to dry bones, COME ALIVE! BREATHE NOW BREATH OF GOD is where we are heading tomorrow - Sleep Well!
WEEK 4 / SON OF MAN, CAN THESE BONES LIVE? DAY 4 WHERE THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS THERE IS LIFE: When we pick up the story where we left it in Day 2 we see that while the dry bones coming together and forming into bodies is a great miracle, there is still no life in them. Here s where it really gets EXCITING!!! Are you ready? Return to Ezekiel Chapter 37 and look at the first part of verse 9 {we sometimes write this as 9a} What did the Lord command Ezekiel to do next?. What did the Sovereign Lord tell Ezekiel to say to the breath? Read verse 9b. After Ezekiel prophesied {spoke the Word of the Lord} to the breath, what three things happened? Read verse 10. 1. 2. 3. We are told in verse 9 that the breath came from the four winds. Wind in the Bible often represents the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit MOVED at the Word of the Lord, to the place in which He directed it. Came and breathed life into the dry bones, and the bones came alive! Not only did they come alive - What does the Scripture tell us they became?
WEEK 4 / SON OF MAN, CAN THESE BONES LIVE? DAY 4 LET S LOOK AT SOME OTHER TIMES IN THE BIBLE WHERE THE HOLY SPIRIT BROUGHT LIFE. READ AND WRITE OUT GENESIS 1:2 3. What does this verse say about the condition of the earth? Where is the Spirit of God? When God said Let there be light what happened? Pause here to ponder the beauty of the Spirit of the Living God hovering over your life - places that may seem: Formless - you have no idea how they will turn out Empty or Void - something is missing or broken Dark - places of confusion where you are needing clear direction. THE SPIRIT HOVERS - Just waiting for the Word of GOD to say: LET THERE BE LIGHT! Let s look at one more beautiful promise about the Word of the Lord bringing Life. John 6:63 says this: The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you they are full of the Spirit and life. From this verse, find the answers to these two questions: 1. What are we {flesh} without the Spirit? 2. The Words of Jesus - Spoken to us are of the and.
WEEK 4 / SON OF MAN, CAN THESE BONES LIVE? DAY 5 SAYING WHAT HE SAYS! Today we are going to learn to Speak {prophesy} the Word of the Lord over our own lives. Because the Word {the Bible} is Living and Active, it has the power to change our lives and situations as we speak it out and combine it with faith. As you read the Word, listen and agree with what the Lord is telling you to say. You will be speaking LIFE over everything that concerns you today. It is important to note that while Ezekiel s prophesy to the bones came true immediately, we find many times of waiting in the Bible. The promises you hold onto may come to pass immediately or you may need to keep speaking the Word of the Lord over them again and again. Just like ointment on a wound, keep applying the Word of God until you are completely healed {whole}. Remember the POWER is not in our words - but in HIS WORD - because of the ONE who spoke it first. We are agreeing with HIM when we speak His Word over our lives. LET S APPLY THIS IN A VERY REAL WAY TO OUR LIVES: SPEAK THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD OVER YOUR DRY BONES: DEPRESSION (DRY BONES) Read and fill in the blanks below from Psalm 40:1-3 (NIV): (write your complete name, including middle name) waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to (write your first name) and heard s (write your first name) cry. He lifted (write your first name) out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set s (write your first name) feet on a rock and gave (write your first name) a firm place to stand. He put a new song in s (write your first name) mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in Him. MARRIAGE (DRY BONES) Read and fill in the blanks below from Ephesians 4:31-32 (NIV): Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave (write your complete name, including middle name). Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave (write your first name)
WEEK 4 / SON OF MAN, CAN THESE BONES LIVE? DAY 5 UNSAVED CHILDREN/GRANDCHILDREN (DRY BONES) Read and fill in the blanks below from Isaiah 49:16 18a: (NLT): See I have written your name,, (write your complete name, including middle name), on the palms of My Hands. Always in My mind is a picture of Jerusalem s walls in ruins. Soon s (write your first name) descendants,, (write your child s complete name, including middle name) will come back, and all who are trying to destroy (write your first name) will go away. Look around (write your first name) and see, for all s (write your first name) children,, (write your child s first name), will come back to (write your first name). As surely as I live, says the Lord, they (write your child s first name) will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for (write your first name) to display. John 1:4 in the NLT says this: The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. Turn back to day three and find the answers you wrote to the question of your own dry places. With those in mind.let s finish this week by finding a promise from the LIVING WORD that can speak to your own dry bones. You can find this verse by doing a search or asking your Connect Leader for help in this assignment. You may also email your leadership for help in finding this at realwomen@rockfordres.org. Then, using the examples above, write this verse and place your name in it. Speak this verse over your situation today - and tomorrow - and as long as it takes. Keep speaking HIS WORD to your dry bones. Keep worshiping. Keep praying and one day you will hear the faintest sound of a rattling! And when you do...keep speaking His Word. Keep Worshiping. Keep Praying On repeat! Though written hundreds of years ago, what do we know is still true of the Word today? See Jeremiah 1:12 (ESV) HE WATCHES OVER HIS WORD TO PERFORM IT! The Spirit hovers over your situations - waiting for the Lord to say LET THERE BE... {Gen 1:2 And lastly - We can stand on this promise for those we pray for who are far from us. THAT He sends forth His Word to heal and rescue those we love! {Psalm 107:20} Into prisons. Onto the streets. Into hospitals. Across miles. Across oceans. Into the Darkness.. His Voice can be heard in the POWER of His Word! So is My Word that goes out from My mouth: it will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11 THE WORD OF GOD
WEEK 4 / SON OF MAN, CAN THESE BONES LIVE? DAY 6 NOTES:.
WEEK 4 / SON OF MAN, CAN THESE BONES LIVE? DAY 6