371 The hand of the Lord had been on me, and he took me out in the spirit of the Lord and put me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones; 2 And he made me go past them round about: and I saw that there was a very great number of them on the face of the wide valley, and they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, Son of man, is it possible for these bones to come to life? And I made answer, and said, It is for you to say, O Lord. 4 And again he said to me, Be a prophet to these bones, and say to them, O you dry bones, give ear to the word of the Lord. 5 This is what the Lord has said to these bones: See, I will make breath come into you so that you may come to life; 6 And I will put muscles on you and make flesh come on you, and put skin over you, and breath into you, so that you may have life; and you will be certain that I am the Lord. 7 So I gave the word as I was ordered: and at my words there was a shaking of the earth, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 And looking I saw that there were muscles on them and flesh came up, and they were covered with skin: but there was no breath in them. 9 And he said to me, Be a prophet to the wind, be a prophet, son of man, and say to the wind, The Lord has said: Come from the four winds, O wind, breathing on these dead so that they may come to life. 10 And I gave the word at his orders, and breath came into them, and they came to life and got up on their feet, a very great army. 11 Then he said to me, Son of man, these bones are all the children of Israel: and see, they are saying, Our bones have become dry our hope is gone, we are cut off completely. 12 For this cause be a prophet to them, and say, This is what the Lord has said: See, I am opening the resting-places of your dead, and I will make you come up out of your resting-places, O my people; and I will take you into the land of Israel. 13 And you will be certain that I am the Lord by my opening the resting-places of your dead and making you come up out of your resting-places, O my people. 14 And I will put my spirit in you, so that you may come to life, and I will give you a rest in your land: and you will be certain that I the Lord have said it and have done it, says the Lord.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 37:1-14
Commentary on Ezekiel 37:1-14
(Read Ezekiel 37:1-14)
No created power could restore human bones to life. God alone could cause them to live. Skin and flesh covered them, and the wind was then told to blow upon these bodies; and they were restored to life. The wind was an emblem of the Spirit of God, and represented his quickening powers. The vision was to encourage the desponding Jews; to predict both their restoration after the captivity, and also their recovery from their present and long-continued dispersion. It was also a clear intimation of the resurrection of the dead; and it represents the power and grace of God, in the conversion of the most hopeless sinners to himself. Let us look to Him who will at last open our graves, and bring us forth to judgment, that He may now deliver us from sin, and put his Spirit within us, and keep us by his power, through faith, unto salvation.