A long passage that beautifully defines the essence of revival. Ezekiel 37:1-14 “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath] to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
Modern translation of this verse is that people in a dry land or modern day nation are spiritually dead and they do not have the life of God in them. They no longer pay attention to the bible or the ways of God.
Society slowly begins to remove God out of the schools, the financial systems, entertainment and ultimately the church escorts God out the back door. Men fall in love with men and women fall in love with women.
People in a fallen nation fall away from their first love Jesus Christ. They sear their conscience and call right wrong and wrong right. Doesn’t this sound like our world today? But God knows where the nations are and He will not leave the world in its darkened state.
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. 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. Then he said to me, “Prophecy 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.” 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.
Notice God tells the prophet, Ezekiel, to prophesy life into the valley full of dead bones. What happens? The prophet speaks words of life to the army of dead bones. Sinew and flesh came upon them and they were covered with skin. But they still had no breath in them.
Next, God commands the prophet to speak life into the bones and the prophet complies. What happens? The breath of life enters the bones and they stand up. This is the beginning of a dead nation reviving and turning back to God.
Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”
God tells the prophet in the third section of this passage that the dead bones symbolize Israel. But it could apply to many dead nations existing today. How does revival start in these dead nations? The people of God in those nations prophesy life and revival into their nations.
God will hear from heaven and send His Spirit into those dry nations and begin to breathe His life into their people. Every aspect of these nation’s cultures will be touched by the power of God and begin to revive and turn back to God. Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.”
What happens to those nations that turn back to God in full blown revival they are blessed by the Lord. What nation do you want to live in? Revival is always the answer to a dead nation’s woes. Lord God bring revival to the nations now, in Jesus name, amen.