Welcome home, dear one! We are so glad to have you back as we walk through one of the most well-known prophecies of the Bible! When we left off in Part Three, we were talking about faith.
As I mentioned before, stepping out in faith is a bit of a challenge for me. Like, cookie monster avoiding cookies, can't eat just one potato chip, challenge. The inner monologue gets intense. My inner critic tells me all of the terrible things that could go wrong and all of the reasons I am too horrible for the job.
I joke that part of this is a professional hazard. In a previous job, each time I met with my clients, I had to review the risks they could face (some of which I literally had never considered myself before this job). As my professional life evolved, so did my understanding of risk and need to look at the worst-case scenario.
The truth is that I have been looking for the worst-case scenario for decades. I would like to believe that the work made me that way, and to a degree, that is true. That said, I continued advancing through the profession I work in because my mind works that way; I see the worst-case scenario, and I plan for it. That isn't super compatible with faith, and it has made my journey a bit tougher. Abandoning my fears and the million bad outcomes and following the voice of God takes effort for me.
Ezekiel, on the other hand...he either didn't have the same struggle, or we don't see it in the text. Let's continue our reading: Ezekiel 37:7-10:
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.(ESV)
Oh, that faith! There was not even hesitation. Ezekiel carried out God's commands, and he saw the bones became whole before his very eyes! Then came a second command: prophesy to the breath and command the four winds to "breathe on these slain, that they may live". A second time, he followed through, stepping out in faith. An even bigger ask...commanding the wind? Can you imagine? Ezekiel followed God's command and did so, and he witnessed the army come to life before his eyes.
I cannot even fathom what it must have felt like to see scattered and dry bones come back to life! From utter despair to total healing by stepping out in faith.
Tune in next time as we look at the last part of our passage!
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