A. THE LACK—vv.

1. Spirit—v. . The Spirit showed the prophet Ezekiel the valley of dry bones. It was a symbol of Israel being dead spiritually. Since all men are born in sin they are spiritually dead—.

2. Showing—v. . There was a valley of dry bones. There were no bodies, no flesh, and no life. The Bible says that those who live in pleasure are dead while they live—.

a. Look—. Such people are commanded to wake up, and arise from spiritual death.

b. Life—, . There is spiritual life only in Christ.

B. THE LIFE—vv.

1. Prophesy—vv. . God asked Ezekiel “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel was told to prophesy God’s Word to the bones.

2. Promise—v. . “Behold I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live.” Note the spiritual parallels here—.

3. Power—vv. . New life was put into the dead, so they would know the power of the Lord. The bones began to rattle, and began to come together.

4. Problem—v. . Now the bones came together. They had flesh, but they had no life. In the same way, a man may be alive physically, but dead spiritually.

5. Plan—v. . Ezekiel was told to prophesy, and ask the wind to blow upon the bones.

6. People—v. . Life came into the bodies. They became a great army, filled with life and power.

C. THE LIVING—vv.

1. Picture—v. . The bones were symbolic of Israel, which was spiritually dead. There appeared to be no life—no hope!

2. Power—v. . God promised that the Jewish people, scattered among heathen nations, would return to Israel. In the same way, though a man is dead in sin, God can restore him to life.

3. Personally—v. . God promised that Israel would come to know Him personally.

4. Personality—v. . God said He would put His Spirit within man. Man would have God’s law written on his heart, and would obey the Lord.