If you have seen Peter Jackson's “The Lord of the Rings” you may remember the scene along the “Paths of the Dead” where Gimli realizes that the crunching sound beneath his feet is the sound of dry bones.
Ezekiel finds himself in a similar world of horror and fear as he is brought by the Spirit of God into “the valley.”
“The Valley” – the last time Ezekiel was here was in Ezekiel 3. The Valley is near the Chebar Canal – not far from where the exiles live in Babylon. But what Ezekiel sees here is all the ancient dead of Israel.
Why do I say ancient dead? Because the bones are “very dry.” This is not the scene of some recent slaughter.
Israel is not a “fresh” corpse. Israel is long dead. And what is more, Israel is unburied dead!
As a priest, Ezekiel was not supposed to defile himself with the dead. Human bones are unclean – and so Ezekiel is surrounded by death and uncleanness. But he is not allowed to stand at a distance. The Spirit of God leads him around the valley so that he can see very clearly that Israel is very dead!
“Can these bones live?” Ezekiel clearly understands that he is seeing the house of Israel here. Can Israel live again?
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