it was full of bones. He 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. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “O Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the work of the Lord!
This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.
I 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.'”
So 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. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them,
but there was no breath in them.
Then 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.’ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them;
they came to life and stood up on their feet–a vast army.
Then 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.’ Therefore 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. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord,
when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I 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.'”
Ezekiel 37:1-14
I have been reading through Ezekiel lately. It is a very depressing book. Only a verse here and there gives a picture of hope to the remnant of Israel. After so much doom and gloom, a chapter like 37 sticks out so bright! As I was reading it the other day, it made me think of Swaziland. This is a country that has a 44% HIV/AIDS rating. That means that every other person that I have met here has HIV/AIDS! The statistics say that if Swaziland keeps going, by 2050 it will no longer be a country because everyone will have died! The country is dieing and because of lies that have been told, the country keeps on the same path. Lies like if you have HIV/AIDS and have sex with a virgin you will be cured. Abstinence is promoted all over the country, but nothing is taking effect. Many of the women we have met have children but are not married. It is too expensive to get married because the men have to pay a dowry of at least 15 cows, then they have to pay for the wedding and pay to take care of their new bride. I know that a lot of the men use that as an excuse not to marry the women. Here it is culturally ok for men to have more than one wife and just today one woman said that she wished her “drunk, no-good” (my paraphrase) husband would have another wife so that the wives could take care of each other. There is so much land here that is not being used, yet people are starving to death. The average life expectancy is 29 for men and 30 for women. Pastor Gift is 35 and he is considered an old man! Actually, I am considered a old woman, in that case! With such a short time to live, people have adopted the mentality of live for the moment because life is very short. Everything I hear points to how hopeless the people feel. As I look out over the people and the land of Swaziland I see very dry bones. It is such a hopeless situation. They are so poor and dieing and most of the world does not even know they exist!
Praise the Lord we have a heavenly Father that loves these people and this forgotten land! He does not see this as hopeless! Our God is a God of resurrection and restoration. This country may be a country of dry bones right now, but God is doing a mighty work. He is reviving a remnant of believers who love him and wants to see his name glorified. Those here at the Nsoko Project are just a few of those people. They are reaching out to the sick and dieing, to the orphans and widows, and to anyone who needs help.
These verses in Ezekiel have made my heart glad, because I see that if the people of Swaziland (or the people of America) humble themselves and cry out in desperation to the One true and mighty God, they will be saved. How amazing are the words of God that show us how he wants to revive those who have fallen and restore the things that have been lost! Isaiah 26:19 says, “But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.” And another amazing verse, Psalm 104:30 says, “When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.” Deuteronomy 32:39 says, “See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.” God will make his name known through the weak and least likely here on earth.
Please pray for me this Sunday as I will be giving the sermon at church. I will be talking about Ezekiel 37. Pray that a message of hope will go out from my mouth. Pray that the people hear God’s words and that they will humble themselves before God. Pray that nationals will be raised up to intercede on behalf of Swaziland! Pray that the overwhelming peace of God will settle on these people and that they will hear His voice and follow it! The people here are amazing and I want to see them and their children and grandchildren live and be fully alive in Christ!
The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.
For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; upon them he has set the world.
He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness.
It is not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the Lord will be shattered.
He will thunder against them from heaven; the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.
1 Samuel 2:6-10
