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“Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones and tell them,’ Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath come into you, and you will come back to life. I will hold your tendons and make the meat cover you and cover you with skin; I will breathe into you and you will come back to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord ‘”(Ezekiel 37: 4-6 NIV).
The above statement was Ezekiel’s account of what God said to him in a vision. In the vision, God led Ezekiel into a valley filled with a large quantity of dried human bones. God asked Ezekiel if the bones could live. Ezekiel replied: “Oh Sovereign Lord, only you know it.” (Ezekiel 37: 3). Then God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bone and tell them that God would bring their breath into them and bring them back to life; that God would tie tendons to them and make them flesh and cover them with skin; that God would breathe in them and that they would return to life; and that they would know that God is Lord. (Ezekiel 37-1-6).
Ezekiel prophesied, the bones came together, sinews and flesh appeared, the skin covered them, the breath entered them, and they came back to life and stood up like a vast army. Then the Lord told Ezekiel that the bones were the entire house of Israel, that he had said that his bones were dry and that his hope was gone, and that they were cut off. God also said that He was going to open their graves and take them out of them, and put His Spirit on them to live, and bring them back to the land of Israel so that they would know that He, the Lord, had spoken and done (Ezekiel 37: 1-14).
There is no better image of sadness and hopelessness than that seen by the prophet Ezekiel at the beginning of the vision of the people of Israel in the valley of dry bones. Among other things, this was a vision of the future restoration of the people of Israel to their land at a time when they were being held captive in Babylon, as God’s punishment for their sins, and had lost all hope of returning to their homeland.
There were a large number of very dry bones, stripped of any signs of life, and hopelessly scattered on the valley floor. The sight of the powerful Israeli people and their fighting force, the darling of the Almighty God, reduced in a vision to dry bones scattered on the valley floor, could not have been more pitiful. When God tested Ezekiel with the question of whether dry bones could live, Ezekiel replied that only God knew it.
That was a wise response. In fact, only God knows. Only God knows if dry bones will rise again in our time. Only God knows the extent, scope, and timing of the end of our fight against the coronavirus / COVIID-19. That is why we cannot leave God aside in our fight against this pandemic. Certainly the Life Giver and Sustainer who gave life to humans in creation and did so in this vision cannot be ignored if we must win the fight against a virus that attacks the lungs and weakens the breathing ability of many infected people. .
We should actively seek God as an ally in this fight. We must not despair or be consumed by fear. Instead, in the name of Jesus, we must pray to God and believe that good things will happen, and they will. In the name of Jesus, we must pray to God and believe that the coronavirus / COVID-19 will be defeated, and it will be. In the name of Jesus, we must pray to God and believe that He will bestow wisdom and put good ideas in the minds of scientists, researchers, doctors, pharmacists, and all those seeking a cure, medicine, vaccine, or some way to defeat coronavirus / COVID -19, and so it will be.
My fellow Christians, at times like this, it is important to take note of one of the deepest statements made by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus said: “I have told you these things, so that in me you can have peace. In this world you will have problems. But cheer up! I have overcome the world. “(John 16:33).
Yes, Jesus said that we will have problems in this world. Many of us have not experienced a life-threatening problem like coronavirus / COVID-19. We are in serious trouble. However, stay with Jesus when the problem you mentioned occurs to you, and learn from it. Stay with Jesus for his peace that surpasses all human understanding. Stay with Jesus and rejoice because he has overcome the world. And because Christ lives, we will also overcome the world despite the problems.
If you are not a Christian, this is a good time for you to come to Jesus and stay with him. No matter how desperate you think your own situation is, God loves you and you are the reason God sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross. As the Gospel of John says: “Because God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save him through him.” (John 3:17 NIV). Jesus will be with you in this difficult moment and will show you the way to God the Father in heaven.
The good news is that the gloomy vision Ezekiel saw had a happy ending. The dry bones scattered in the valley united and formed a great army of the people of Israel. Similarly, in the name of Jesus, the coronavirus that has dispersed us through social and physical estrangement and under confinement in the valleys of our homes, will be defeated and we will soon unite as children of God. And so, in the name of Jesus, if we pray and believe in “the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as if they were” (Romans 4: 17b), then dry bones will rise again in our hour .
Prayer is the key. May God grant us the grace to seek Him daily through our prayers.
Dr. Daniel Gyebi, Attorney, Texas, USA. USA, and Founder, House of Prayer Ministry, Kumasi, Ghana.
The House of Prayer Ministry is dedicated to providing a quiet facility for Christians to pray individually without any intermediary priest, pastor, or anyone else. This is a free service. No money is demanded or accepted. One facility is located in Kyerekrom / Fumesua, near the offices of the Highway and Construction Research Institute, one mile from the Kumasi-Accra highway and next to a house called Grace Castle. If interested, contact Agnes at 054-7498653. Another is located in Kantinkyiren, at the junction of Kantinkyiren and Konkori, on the Kumasi-Obuasi road, on the left at the Trede junction. Contact Kwadwo at 020-8768461 / 0246-989413.
