The Resurrected Church

Throughout its history, the Church has gone through periods of 'death and resurrection.' The prophet Ezekiel presents a dramaic picture of God's fallen people, The Old Testament Church, and of God's plan to Resurrect His defeated people as An Exceeding Great Army.

Why Had God's People Been Defeated?

God's people had been defeated because of their outrageous disobedience. They had fallen back into paganism of the worst kind. They had gone back into idolatry, worshipping many pagan gods. They built again high places for pagan worship. They built pagan altars. They worshipped the hosts of heaven. Pagan altars were built in the house of the Lord. They made sacrifices to pagan gods. They practiced witchcraft. Under king Manasseh, God's people fell lower than they had ever been, into paganism and idolatry. Moreover, they had become hard-hearted, stiff-necked, and stubborn, and would not respond to God's appeal.

God's Judgement on His People

As a result of all this, The Lord brought the Babylonians against His people. The great city of Jerusalem was completely destroyed. The walls were destroyed. The Temple was destroyed. The palace and all the notable buildings were destroyed. The king and all the royal household; all the important people, and most of the population were carried away into Babylon as captives. Only a few were left behind. In Babylon, many of them developed a sense of hopelessness. 'How can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?' They asked.

The Resurrection of God's People
Ezekiel, God's Man for the Hour

God had a purpose that could not fail. For that purpose to succeed, God must Raise up His people again. To Raise up His people, God must have a man through whom He could work. God chose Ezekiel. He was a man of extraordinary faith. He was filled with, and controlled by the Holy Spiit.
He was conscious of the awesome presence of God, and had seen the Glory of God. He was filled with the word of God. He was fearless; a watchman for the people. He was a priest, and a prophet; a man among the people.

The Valley of Dry Bones Ez. 37.

The Lord took Ezekiel down into a valley. It was full of bones. The Lord caused Ezekiel to pass by them, no doubt to take a good look at them. Ezekiel observed that there were many in the open valley, and they were very dry. The Lord was showing Ezekiel the condition of His people. In verse 11, the Lord tells Ezekiel, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel..." Spiritually, they had been long dead.

Then the Lord asked Ezekiel "Son of man, can these bones live?" Ezekiel answered, "O Lord God, thou knowest." Who has ever heard of dead, dry bones coming to life? Humanly speaking, that is impossible. But with You, Lord, nothing is impossible.

The Lord now proceeds to show Ezekiel how those dead, dry bones could be brought to life, and raised up, An Exceeding Great Army. So the Lord said to Ezekiel, "Son of man, prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord...vv. 3-8. So Ezekiel, prophesied. He spoke the word of the Lord. Notice, the Lord Himself did not speak to the bones. He commanded Ezekiel to do so, and He gave Ezekiel the words he should speak. So Ezekiel spoke, and as he spoke, there was noise and shaking in the valley. Bones came together; the sinews, and the flesh came upon them; and skin covered them. There were bodies, but there was no breath in them, Bodies without Life!

Next, the Lord said to Ezekiel, "Son of man, prophesy to the wind... and say...Thus saith the Lord God, come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain that they may live." So Ezekiel prophesied as he was commanded, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, An Exceeding Great Army."

God's dead people were Resurrected as a great Army, by his Creative Word and by the power of the Omnipotent Holy Spirit, spoken by a man filled with that word and empowered by that Spirit.

What Kind of People Was This?

When we read through the rest of the book of Ezekiel, from chapter 37 to chapter 48, we find a number of characteristics of the Resurrected People of God, which are important as we consider the Church today.

They were: a United people; a Holy people; a Covenant People; A Life-giving People; a People to Whom the Nations Came; the Glory of the Lord was among them; they had New Leadership; they had a New Temple and a New Priesthood; The City was given A New Name - Jehovah Shammah - The Lord is There. They were an entirely new people. The old ways had vanished. All things had become new.

Contact: Martin C. Roberts
Rose Hill, Marigot, Commonwealth of Dominica, W.I.
Tel. 1-767-613-2201
Email: sendlight@hotmail.com

Copyright@Martin Roberts, Transformation of the Nations