Ezekiel 37

This chapter belongs to the section in the latter part of Ezekiel that promises restoration after the fall of Jerusalem. In the preceding chapter God promised to give His people a new heart and a new spirit (Ezekiel 36:25–27). Chapter 37 unfolds that promise through a vision and a sign (a symbolic action that conveys a message).

Outline

• Verses 1–3 The Spirit of the LORD carries Ezekiel to a valley full of dry bones and asks him, "Can these bones live?"
• Verses 4–8 As Ezekiel prophesies to the bones, they come together, and sinews, flesh, and skin cover them. Yet there is no breath in them.
• Verses 9–10 When he prophesies to the wind, breath enters them, and they stand up as an exceeding great army.
• Verses 11–14 The bones are identified as the whole house of Israel, which has lost hope. God declares that He will open their graves and bring them back to their own land.
• Verses 15–20 God gives the sign of joining the stick of Judah and the stick of Ephraim (Joseph) so that they become one in the prophet's hand.
• Verses 21–28 God declares that He will gather the scattered children of Israel and make them one nation under one king. Further promises follow: David His servant will be their shepherd, God will make an everlasting covenant of peace with them, and He will set His sanctuary in their midst.

Key Verses

• Ezekiel 37:3 "Can these bones live?" — The question of God's power is posed at the very point where human possibility is exhausted.
• Ezekiel 37:14 "And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live" — This verse makes clear that the vision signifies restoration to life by the Spirit of God.
• Ezekiel 37:22 "They shall be no more two nations" — This is the promise that the divided northern and southern kingdoms will be united once again.

People and Places

• Ezekiel: A prophet who ministered among the exiles in Babylon. God addresses him as "son of man."
• Judah: The tribe representing the southern kingdom.
• Ephraim: The tribe descended from a son of Joseph, representing the northern kingdom.
• David: Mentioned as "David my servant," who will rule the people in the future.
• Jacob: Mentioned as the ancestor to whom God gave the land.
• The places mentioned are an unnamed valley and "the land of Israel."

Points for Reflection

• "Breath," "wind," and "spirit" all translate the Hebrew word ruach (a term that can mean breath, wind, or spirit). For this reason the chapter is often read alongside Genesis 2:7.
• The text itself interprets the vision as the restoration of the nation (v. 11). Since the early church, many Christians have also seen in it a foreshadowing of the resurrection.
• Dispensationalism regards this chapter as a prophecy of a literal future restoration of the nation of Israel. The covenant theology tradition emphasizes its fulfillment in Christ and the church.
• The prophecy of "David my servant" was given long after David's death. It is therefore understood to refer to a king of David's line, and Christians read it as pointing to Jesus the Messiah (Davidic covenant).
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints interprets the two sticks as the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Protestant denominations do not accept this interpretation.
• In the New Testament, the following passages are read together with this chapter:
• John 20:22: Jesus breathes on His disciples.
• John 10:16: "One fold, and one shepherd"
• Romans 8:11: God quickens mortal bodies by His Spirit.

In the Korean Church

• The chapter is frequently used in revival meetings and Pentecost sermons as a text of restoration, in which "dry bones come to life."
• The sign of the two sticks in verses 15–22 is often cited in prayer meetings and sermons for reunification, drawing an analogy to the division of North and South Korea.