“Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?” What were you doing on this day 10 years ago when you first heard about the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C.? Like the invasion of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 2, 1963, most of us remember exactly where we were and what we were doing on September 11, 2001 when we first heard the news about the worst attack on American soil in our nation’s history. That day will always be etched in our personal and national memories! It is hard to believe that it has been 10 years already!
Like us, there were a few national crises that were stamped into Ezekiel’s memory. In June of 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, carried out his first attack on Jerusalem. King Jehoiachin of Judah, his family, his officials, and 8,000 leading men of Israel, including Ezekiel, a 25 year old priest, were captured and taken into exile in Babylonia. Ezekiel never forgot the day that he was forced to leave the temple in Jerusalem, where he worshipped God every day.
Then, in September of 586 BC, after Ezekiel had been in Babylonian captivity for 11 years, Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem again, destroyed its walls, burned its buildings including the beloved Temple that Solomon had built, murdered many of its inhabitants, and deported the rest of the people back to Babylon, where they would remain in captivity for the next 70 years. The fall of Jerusalem in September 586 BC was etched in Ezekiel memory just like the tragedy of September 11, 2001 is engraved in ours.
The Calling of Ezekiel (1-3)
But even in the midst of these major national crises, God poured out his blessing on Ezekiel. In June of 593 BC, after six years in Babylon, Ezekiel experienced another life-changing event that he never forgot. At age 30, God changed his occupation. He had been a priest, but now God make him a prophet.
Ezekiel 1-3 tells us that God came to him in a vision and called him to be a prophet and preach to his fellow Israelites who were living in exile. God appeared to him in a brilliant, fiery chariot that was surrounded by four strange creatures and supported on wheels that were supported by other wheels. This vision was a declaration of God’s glory and sovereignty. The wheels within the wheels were a graphic representation of God’s ability to move anywhere at any time he pleased. The nature of the creatures surrounding him also showed that he was the God of everything in creation, not just human beings.
As God commissioned Ezekiel to preach to the rebellious nation of Israel, God told him to open his mouth. Then he saw a hand stretched out before him holding a scroll. On both sides of the scroll were written words of lament and mourning and woe. God told him to eat the scroll and then go and preach to the house of Israel. The scroll represents God’s Word. Now that God’s Word entered him, Ezekiel was called to preach that Word to the exiles, even though their hearts were hard and stubborn.
Ezekiel’s calling reminds us that God calls different types of people into his service. Jeremiah was only 14 years old when God called him to preach; Ezekiel was 30. Age has no bearing on God’s call. Likewise, background doesn’t have any bearing either. Ezekiel served as a priest, but as we will see in a few weeks, the prophet Amos was a farmer.
Regardless of your age or your background, God just might call you to some type of preaching ministry. If he does, he will show you his sovereignty and put his Word in your mouth. If God called you to preach, would you be willing?
The Book of Ezekiel
Well, now that I have introduced you to the person Ezekiel, I would like to tell you something about the Book of Ezekiel. The Book of Ezekiel records all of Ezekiel’s visions and all of the sermons that he preached. In the days leading up to the fall of Jerusalem, he primarily preached messages of judgment. In the days after the fall of Jerusalem, he primarily preached messages of hope. Chapters 3-24 record his sermons of judgment on Israel for its sin. Chapters 25-35 record his sermons of judgment upon the nations for participating in Israel’s fall. And chapter’s 36-48 record his sermons of hope and restoration for God’s people after the exile.
Since the Book of Ezekiel is too large to cover in one Sunday, I am going to share Ezekiel’s most famous sermon and his most famous vision with you today: his sermon about a heart transplant and his vision of some dry bones!
A Heart Transplant (36:16-38)
In chapter 36, Ezekiel preaches a sermon about a heart transplant. Now we know he means a spiritual heart transplant, not a physical one. The first successful physical heart transplant was performed by Christiaan Barnard in 1967, but God has been doing spiritual heart transplants for millennia.
God sent Israel into exile because they defiled their land by their detestable conduct. They were consumed with violence and bloodshed and wickedness and idolatry pervaded their lives at every turn. Their lifestyle was abominable to the Lord. God had set forth in Israel’s constitution, the Mosaic covenant, that if she persisted in her disobeying the commandments God gave to her in that covenant, he would scatter her people among the nations in discipline. (Deut. 29:1-30:10) The Lord kept his promise.
God was so concerned that Israel be restored to a proper relationship with him that he sent his people out of the Promised Land and that they might learn the importance of following his ways. But God would not allow his people to profane his holy name forever. After 70 years in exile, God would bring his people back to the Promised Land and restore their relationship with him. He would cleanse their souls from impurity and perform a divine heart transplant on them.
God said through Ezekiel, “”‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ez. 36:24-26) The heart of stone (which represents their wickedness, idolatry, and stubbornness) would be removed and it would be replaced with a heart of flesh (which represents the presence of God’s spirit, repentance, and obedience). This new heart would reap a harvest of prosperity.
Ezekiel’s sermon on a spiritual heart transplant for Israel foreshadows the hope of the new covenant with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Like ancient Israel, we too live in a time where wickedness, idolatry, and stubbornness are the norm. In many ways, personally and nationally, we are living in spiritual exile. So few take God seriously or pay attention to his Word.
But just as God offered the hope of restoration in Ezekiel’s day, he offers the hope of restoration today. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we undergo a spiritual heart transplant. He cleanses us from our sinful and stubborn pasts. He takes away our hearts of stone and gives us a heart of flesh: a heart that is characterized by repentance, obedience, and faithfulness! A heart that is filled with God’s spirit! A heart that has the hope of eternal life in heaven, where there will be ultimate prosperity.
Have you experienced a spiritual heart transplant? Have you trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Have you been cleansed from your sins? Does God’s spirit dwell in your heart? Do you have the hope of ultimate restoration and prosperity?
Some Dry Bones (37:1-14)
Now that we have heard Ezekiel’s most famous sermon, let me tell you about his most famous vision. In Ezekiel 37 we learn that the hand of the Lord led him to a valley filled with bones. It was probably a vision of an ancient battlefield where a vast array of skeletons had laid for many years. The bones were very dry.
As Ezekiel gazed at this deathly sight, God asked him if these bones could live. Acknowledging his lack of omniscience, he declared that only Lord knew. Then the Lord commanded him to preach to the bones. This seems preposterous, but I know some preachers today who feel like they are…well, I better not say it! But he prophesied as the Lord had commanded and he heard the sound of rattling and the bones began to form together one by one. Then, tendons and flesh were attached to the bones and skin covered them. And as he continued to prophesy about the restoration of Israel, breath entered the bones and they stood before him as a vast army.
As Ezekiel beheld this sight, I picture him humming along saying:
The foot bone connected to the leg-bone,
The leg bone connected to the knee bone,
The knee bone connected to the thigh bone,
The thigh bone connected to the back bone,
The back bone connected to the neck bone
The neck bone connected to the head bone
Oh hear the word of the Lord!
Dem bones, dem bones, and bones and bones
Dem bones, dem bones, and dry bones
Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk aroun’
Oh hear the word of the Lord
After God gave Ezekiel the vision of the dry bones coming to life, he interpreted the vision for him. God told him that the bones represent the whole house of Israel. The nation of Israel was spiritually dead and dried up, but God was going to bring restoration. He was going to bring them back to life, restore them to their land, give them his Spirit, and fill them with hope. And when their relationship with God was restored, then their nation would prosper again.
This vision of the dry bones highlights God’s power to bring people back to life: nationally and personally. Just as God restored Israel after 70 years of exile, he has the power to revive our nation today. When America’s relationship with God is restored, the weather will be favorable, agriculture will flourish, the economy will rebound, and our land will be healed.
Just think about our nation in the past 10 years since September 11, 2001. Two wars, Hurricane Katrina, a housing bubble burst, a stock market crash, a gulf oil spill, wild fires, tornados, earthquakes, floods, etc. Like the dry bones in the valley, our country is in desperate need of a spiritual revival. We need God to bring us back to life, give us his Spirit, and dwell in our land! May God give us a vision of hope as he did for Ezekiel!
Likewise, God has the power to restore the individual. I suspect there are some hear today who have always been spiritually dead; some who have never had a real personal relationship with the Lord. Your whole life has been a walk through the valley of dry bones. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, he offers us forgiveness for our sins, peace in our souls, and the hope of everlasting life. If you want a new spiritual life and a real relationship with God, respond in faith and commit your life to him today!
Also, I suspect that there are some here today who have already experienced transformation through Jesus Christ, but your spiritual life feels like dry bones and you are in need of a personal revival. Maybe your spiritual passion is gone of selfish choices or sinful actions. Maybe your spiritual zeal has been sapped because of some pressing life circumstance. Maybe you are going through a spiritual funk and you have no idea why. Well, if this is you, I have good news from you: if God can breathe new life into a cemetery of dry bones and he can restore his people from 70 years of exile, he can revive your spiritual life!
Hallelujah, thine the glory! Hallelujah, amen! Hallelujah, thine the glory! May the Lord revive us again!