However, Jeremiah had warned against such presumption and now with this vision of Ezekiel it becomes clear why the Jerusalem temple cannot endure. The Spirit of God brings the prophet to the temple and shows him several ways in which it is being desecrated: All of this means that the wrath of God will be unleashed against the city and its temple. However before this the glory of the Lord must depart and the prophet is allowed to witness this event. Once again the description is of bizarre creatures and gleaming wheels and a throne. It departs from the city and stands on the Mount of Olives to the east.
The symbolism is designed to show that while the glory of the Lord did indeed rest on the house of God, this presence could no longer remain because of the sins of Israel. With his departure the way is cleared for the inevitable destruction of the sanctuary. The Valley of the Bones After their darkest hour, a new day is dawning and this will be the work of the Lord who gives life to all living things. The only way they can be brought to life is by the breath of God in Hebrew the same word ruah is used for spirit and breath and that is what happens.
The valley of the dry bones becomes a place where a vast army stands upright. The vision is then explained as God raising his people out of their graves in order to bring them back home. Those who have been without hope now find themselves renewed by the spirit of God that has breathed life back into them. The New Temple in Jerusalem In this the longest and most detailed of the visions the catastrophe of the destruction of the temple is finally undone.
Ezekiel is brought to a high mountain from which he can see the new city and temple that the Lord is building. As he witnessed the glory of the Lord leaving the temple, so now he witnesses the return. The vision not only describes a new place of worship but also a renewed sense of the life-giving presence of the God who dwells there. The water that from flows from the temple has the power to transform even the Dead Sea. There is healing for the people in the leaves of the trees that grow along its bank and there is constant and abundant nourishment in their fruit.
The vision shows how when God is truly at the centre of the lives of his people then they flourish and grow. In his own time Ezekiel described the disastrous destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in terms of the glory of the Lord departing from the city Likewise in showing the faithfulness of God who will restore his people and bring them to life again he describes the glory of the Lord returning to the Temple The suffering that the people endured with the Babylonian captivity was understood by Ezekiel as a punishment for sin; however if the people were to be obliterated altogether what would that say about their God?
So the prophet argued that while each individual must accept responsibility for his or her sins, the God of Israel also had to act for the sake of his name. Thus God would act to save his people who were as good as dead, he would bring them to life through the Spirit which would be breathed into them. From the restored temple where the glory of God abides would flow the waters of life bringing abundance of growth and healing Though the destruction of Jerusalem was a catastrophic event the prophet saw in it a new stage in the development of the unique relationship between Israel and its God.
In this way Ezekiel made a profound contribution to the theology and faith of Israel and his message inspires hope to this day. Contact Us Shop About. An online source of Information and Inspiration.
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Like the attitude of those African kings who supported and aided slavery, these enslaving taskmasters get 'involved in capturing fellow Africans for commercial gains' Adamo The condition of the oppressed is best captured by the empirical observation of the Jewish Qoheleth: Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun.
I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless. The hopeless socio-political and socio-religious contexts that warranted Ezekiel taking on the imagery of 'Dry Bones' share some semblances with the African situation of its disparaged citizens.
Book of Ezekiel - Wikipedia
To this extent, this article employs an exegetical-theological approach to engage Ezekiel It resonates the semblances, relatedness and relevance of Ezekiel's theology of 'Dry Bones' to the African situation. It also explores how the theological essence of this imagery, used as a restorative principle to describe the state of the Babylonian exiles and the Jewish race at large, can find relevance to the declining political, social, economic and moral climate of most African societies today. Lastly, it questions why the continent still struggles with political, social, economic and moral issues despite the increase in its developmental indices.
The structure of Ezekiel According to Boadt, 'Ezekiel is one of the most highly ordered books in the Bible' The weaving thread in Ezekiel chapters , described as the gospel of hope according to Ezekiel Block It accentuates the central theme of the glory of Yahweh as the most fundamental concept of the book of Ezekiel De Vries The actualisation of the hope of restoration from exile was to encapsulate a unification of both evanesced Judah and Ephraim.
This hope was to be realised on the basis of Yahweh's covenant fidelity and his mercy and compassion for the people. Ezekiel 37, a chapter that deals with an 'extraordinary vision' Taylor Its 'theological content is primarily eschatological' Alexander Described as 'the valley of the shadow of death' and 'a scene of total desolation' Duguid The first section visualises the dead state of Israel vv. The second announces the restorative hope for Yahweh's people in exile, visualising the eventual realisation of postexilic eschatological 'reconstitution' Robertson The literary pericope of verses also divides itself into two other literary subunits - the introductory epilogue presented in a prophetic reported speech vv.
Also, the remaining verses branch into two streams by a graphic epigraph on two sticks vv. Here the prophetic enactment clearly crystallises 'the message of national reunification as an aspect of Israel's restoration' Robertson Such language was not used by the Jewish prophets merely to fulfil prevailing literary conventions but was rather employed purposefully. Israelite prophets also engaged in stylistic and artistic use of imageries to achieve the point of symbolisation Day Besides, they sometimes employed imageries when expressing a condemnable act with strong language like in the case of Ezekiel Grabbe Similarly, they took on the language of imagery not just to colour their product with literary styles but specifically as an aspect of poetry.
Because prosaic expression was inadequate ' … poetry as an emotional, deep expression of faith and worship became a necessity' Osborne Significantly, the prophetic engagement of imageries largely has recourse to the relationship of Yahweh with his covenant people. The core of imaging linguistic expression in Ezekiel captures this weaving thread and controlling centre, and the vision of 'Dry Bones' is one among the many stylistic literary imageries found in the book of Ezekiel. He uses elaborate symbolic actions, visions and literary allegories and images Boadt As a leading restorative hope imagery, this vision appears as the most striking in Ezekiel, a communicative device captured in visionary mode, which forms an integral part of Ezekiel's prophecy VanGemeren Ezekiel himself, in view of his crucial role, is described as 'the most remarkable individual during Israel's period of exile' Boadt Here, the visionary imagery of dry bones deals with the idea of life and existence against an irreparable exilic context.
Its theological import for exilic Israelites is pursued in the subsequent section. The exegetical-theological analysis of Ezekiel The revelatory vision of the valley of dry bones, vv. Yahweh's covenant people had been in exile for years, a condition described as 'the biggest crisis of Israel's history' Coetzee Ezekiel begins this visionary section by making reference to the theological representation of the divine presence. The reference to divine agency Allen These recurring phrases are crucial literary expressions in Ezekiel.
The first occurs in Ezekiel 1: Pneumatology in Ezekiel functions both as a transporting agency and as a renewing force De Vries In this particular visionary experience, 'the prophet finds himself carried away and deposited in a valley' Block Also, acting as a life-giving agent, Yahweh's command to the prophet to 'prophesy' v. The theology of Yahweh's presence in Ezekiel outside his city and shrine by the representation of his voice and Spirit replaces the hitherto held view of him as a localised deity with his mobility.
Ezekiel describes the state of the bones that he saw in the valley as very dry Exposed bones indicate curse and desecration 'as scattering an enemy's bones or leaving them unburied was common in the ancient Near East' Taylor Such an adverbial word usually stands mostly with nouns to describe the status or condition of the object of association. In this case, it is the dry bones 4 in the valley. By implication, the emotive picture that the reader visualises of the degree of the dryness of the bones is to the effect that they would not even attract a dog sniffing them.
This symbolic representation is descriptive of the extremity of Israel's condition in her exilic state as 'helpless and hopeless, cut off from God's life giving presence' Duguid Such conditions led Ezekiel 'to an overwhelming realization that this is the place where death holds triumph' Eichrodt According to Joyce, the imagery of dry bones 'sums up well the situation of the exiles … [ as ] the personification of the bones reflects the fact that they represent the exiles' This is well captured by the exile's expression, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off' v.
For certain, the vision in chapter 37, described as 'the doctrine of resurrection of the dead' Feinberg Yet, despite such socio-psychological conditions, dead national and spiritual Israel in the Babylonian captivity would physically be resurrected Hs 6: As Tuell confirms, 'texts from around the time of the exile use gazar for separation in a more abstract sense' It is in such a hopeless condition following the demise of Jerusalem and all its political and religious institutions that Ezekiel took on this vision as a 'moment to comfort the godly [ of national Israel ] with the hope of the restoration and transformation' VanGemeren Here, Yahweh's vision of the condition of his covenant people is said to be very dry, so dry and completely dry.
In essence, the bones were exceedingly dried; they were greatly dried; lying waste in their lifeless state in the valley; and were therefore good for nothing. The prophet's being led back and forth among the wasting bones that were exceedingly dried in their state of severance v.
What is to follow then would display Yahweh's sovereignty. This theological understanding is critically tied to Yahweh's question to Ezekiel, 'Son of man, can these bones live? Such a 'surprising' Eichrodt Such an enigma is heightened by the fact that: Would such a mortal know the answer? Ezekiel knew of course, as anyone would, that dry bones do not live. He pondered on the illusive possibility of a restored life to such bones and responded appropriately to Yahweh's enigmatic question; 'O Sovereign LORD, you alone know' Although Odell thinks that 'the prophet's reply to Yahweh's question may therefore contain a tacit acknowledgment of his own failure' From Ezekiel's priestly background, such a response could well be grounded in the concept of reverential awe, trust and dependence on Yahweh.
Blenkinsopp considers such a response to mean the prophet's expression of confidence and his knowledge 'that the power of God extends even into the realm of death' To the prophet's mind, he reasoned, 'If Yahweh can bring life back to those dead, dried, scattered bones, then he can bring life back to anyone, including scattered, defeated Israel' Hays Here, Ezekiel acknowledged Yahweh's sovereignty and omnipotence over cosmic order or events, and hence his response is that of resignation of his inability into divine ability.
According to Eichrodt, in responding to such question of any possibility of a life-giving force to the dry bones in verse 3, he wasted no words regarding the potencies of the divine power of resuscitation of Israel. Ezekiel shifted the responsibility of answering the question 'on to God's shoulders' because he was convinced that 'even death does not set a limit to the manifestation of his power … [ for he is ] the Lord over life and death' Verses are Ezekiel's report of the divine command for his participation in the restorative agenda.
He was commanded to 'address the defunct bones around him and to announce their imminent reanimation' Allen Ezekiel was obliged by the divine command to prophesy the spirit of obedience and life to the dry bones v. The series of imperative perfects that govern 'breath', 'tendons', 'flesh' and 'skin' vv.
Both Ezekiel and his fellow exiles were incapable, but Yahweh was very capable to resurrect them both physically and spiritually Feinberg The impact of the prophet's obedience to the divine command, vv. Ezekiel's role 'as agent of the process' Allen Like Jonah in the city of Nineveh Jn 3: Bullock summarises them thus, 'The valley of dry bones and their resuscitation primarily constitute a message of return from captivity and restoration to the land … ' The rattling sound of the bones, their coming together, their having tendons and flesh put on them and their covering with skin in response to the prophet's declaration is indicative of a resurrection theology.
Ezekiel – Prophets and Prophecy
Accordingly, Yahweh's promise of reanimation serves here 'as a framework for the reclothing of the bones with bodies made up of sinews, flesh and skin' Allen The condition of the Israelites in exile in Ezekiel's day was apparently helpless, hopeless, pitiful and practically irreparable. It was a total collapse of the priesthood and its rituals, the monarchy and its respect, the temple and its glory, the city and its integrity, Yahweh and his honour and glory, and the people and their national and cultic pride.
These national repertoires had all been lost following the dispossession of Israel's ancestral land and subsequently her forceful rending and deposition in a foreign land. And worst of all, the people now 'lived in an alien culture that denied the truth of their ancestral faith' Gowan Accordingly, there was practically no 'likelihood that they could achieve and maintain an identity that could preserve the uniqueness of the Yahwistic faith under these conditions' Gowans The lamentation of the exiles, then, that 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off' Ezk But the imagery of the 'Dry Bones' was to reverse this condition.
Although the bones became skeletons, and tendons and flesh were put on the exceedingly dry bones, and skin covered them following Ezekiel's declaration, yet they were still lifeless corpses vv. Consequently, in the second phase of the resurrection, this imagery conveys an embedded resuscitative theological element vv. Ezekiel's obedience to Yahweh's imperative to prophesy to the dry bones vv.
The pronouncement of life to the dry bones, against natural laws, rational human imagination and common sense, resurrected and resuscitated the bodily forms into living humans as a 'vast army' v. According to Eichrodt, this vision of salvation, inward recreation and national restoration of Israel is 'so full of dramatic power' Block explains that the corpses were revived by the specific direct act of Yahweh, for it is him who infused them with breath.
Hence, 'the two-phased process of resuscitation also serves a theologico-anthropological function, emulating the paradigm of Yahweh's creation of [ Adam ]' Block The identity and resurrection of the dry bones, vv. According to Allen, this section consists of a thesis of despair and a counter thesis of hope The despairing lamentation of the exiles here was as a result of their cessation as a nation.
The demise of Jerusalem 'as the ultimate guarantee of their survival as a nation' had 'given them up to be the prey of death'; consequently, exilic Israel had been 'deprived of the last remnants of life' Eichrodt Conversely, 'the restoration of life to the bones is a parable of Israel's national resurrection' Bruce The prophetic narrative reveals that the promised restoration, captured in the imagery of the grave, would begin with Yahweh's excavation of the graves and the exhumation of the dead bones from them v.
Yahweh was to soon demonstrate his miraculous acts by breaking through the prison door of Babylon and bringing forth those imprisoned in the tomb then actualising their revivification and departure Eichrodt Such a miracle was to demonstrate God's gracious act of transforming his covenant people from a Gentile context Robertson The symbolic imagery of the grave here is obviously not a literal one but a reference to 'the lands to which they had been exiled' Bruce The ancient tradition of reopening the varied family rock-cut tombs every time another family member died, so the person could be gathered to the ancestors Block Figuratively, Yahweh was instead to revive his exiled covenant people, the 'Dry Bones', into corpses, give breath and life to them and then bring them out of the tombs of their exilic state.
Here, then, a despairing living is 'overcome by the consoling forces of the divine promise' of an infidel covenant Yahweh Eichrodt Israel is restored to her earlier unitary state, vv. Dead national Israel is restored to life and would no longer experience disunity or an acrimonious relationship. Block grounds the necessity for a restorative theology on national losses when he said national Israel had 'lost all hope in their future and all hope in God. The nation obviously needs deliverance not only from their exile in Babylon but also from their own despondency' This physical national resurrection, then, would culminate in the reunification of the Jewish race, pictured by the symbolic act of the prophet's inscribing on two separate wooden sticks and of joining them together to become one stick vv.
Yahweh's self-revelation to the prophet in the divine drama of the theology of his presence, resurrection and resuscitation and restoration was to culminate in a recognitive theological import vv. The basic theological motivation for this revival, which was to later culminate in Yahweh's eschatological restoration, is situated in the prophet's use of the recognition formula, 'Then you will know that I am the LORD' vv. All the occurrences of the recognition formula or motif in Ezekiel are directed either to all the Gentile nations in view of their oppressive relationship to national Israel or specifically to Israel in view of her infidel covenant relationship with Yahweh.
According to Ralph Alexander The most important consequence of Israel's restoration would be the spread of the knowledge of the Lord throughout the world. The nations would unequivocally know that Israel's God had accomplished this great restoration. They would know that he was not a weak god but the only God who does exactly what he says v.
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Israel herself will humbly acknowledge that the one who restored her was the Lord her God v. It is significant, then, that we understand the import of this formula or motif in the context of Ezekiel as such a theological element plays out crucially in the vision in chapter In Ezekiel's text, the function of the recognition formula serves to achieve an awesome recognition and admission of the greatness, power, and supreme authority of Yahweh on the part of the targeted recipients of the prophetic message.
Also, it functions to achieve the purpose of clarification in perception of the unique personhood and acts of the divine as the latter are seen displayed in the cosmic order or historic events.
In this regard, the recognition formula functions as an enhancer to achieve a deepened understanding of Yahweh in all the embodiment of his glory, dignity, and majesty. The ground for Ezekiel's frequent use of this prophetic formula specific to national Israel, then, is unambiguous: The recognition motif points to Yahweh's faithful commitment to his covenant with the people and to reveal as well his ownership of the people … This therefore clearly articulates Ezekiel's use of the shepherd metaphor within a covenantal context with a decidedly fixed eschatological motif.
Israel's rejection of Yahweh for other gods would be reversed by the acknowledgement of his being after they had recognised his acts in history. Yahweh's display of his divine actions and sovereignty on behalf of his covenant people was to earn honour and gain glory for himself, a glory the divine shares with no mortal Is According to Odell, 'in the poetic literature, the metaphor of bones represents the totality of the human person' This in turn is used as a representation of the Jews as a covenant people.
The coming back to life of these dry bones, a representation of the eschatological restoration, as well as the reunification of Yahweh's covenant people, is a clear demonstration of Yahweh's sovereignty and the display of his absolute power of control over the cosmic order and history. It reveals the essence of Yahweh as the 'I am that I am' Ex 3: The expression of Yahweh's sovereignty brings him to clear view not only as the one who directs history and historical events in human society, but it also testifies to such events as possessing theological import for the careful participant or an observer.
Only Israel's Yahweh is capable of doing what the gods of other nations and what humans are incapable of doing. This section closes with the use of 'covenant language' Bruce The Davidic leadership paradigm revisited, vv. Verses of Ezekiel 37 divide into two parts, the first concerning itself with the Davidic princely rule over the restored covenant community vv. Scholarly consensus regarding the actual identity of this Davidic prince is lacking. Some hold to a Messianic age Alexander Iain Duguid explains that the reference to 'my servant David' here 'focusses not so much on the nature of the leader as on his significance as the foundation of unity' Duguid But the question of identity still remains unresolved.
It appears this description more appropriately suggests the revisitation of the traditionally held paradigm of a Davidic ideal kingship, to be effected by Yahweh himself over his restored people in the eschatological existence, where the restored community would willingly oblige to the stipulations of the Mosaic covenant. This period would actualise Yahweh's honouring of the fourfold ancient promises of ruler, land, covenant and temple Blenkinsopp The second section concerns itself with Yahweh's renewed covenant of shalom which is an everlasting one vv.
It also reveals Yahweh's taking residence among the restored community, and consequently, the Gentile nations would acknowledge his sanctified ministry for his covenant people hitherto abused, molested, humiliated, brutalised and dehumanised by them v. Existence in this new redeemed community requires that the restored community would be purged from their attitude of covenant infidelity, acts of idolatry and from the theological dirt of their foreign sojourning.
Yahweh himself would re-create Duguid The implication of Ezekiel's vision of 'Dry Bones' for the African condition. Increasing global threatening events and catastrophes 5 signal a possible hopeless existence for the future.
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Africa is no less a victim. As rightly observed, 'despite the immense blessings of natural wealth, many African nations are inescapably marked by misery, material distress, deprivation, disease, and chaos' Kaunda Kekerie corroborates that, 'the present African world, [ is ] full of natural and human disasters, political conflicts, economic misdirection, and globalization' For example, Van Wyk reports Swanepoel's The author equates the situation as cancerous, eating up the moral fibre of the core of society.
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The continuous deteriorating African condition indicates a hopeless state which leaves disenfranchising and shattering effects on the citizenry. Consequently, a majority of religious and nonreligious Africans struggle endlessly with the insecurity of economic, social, political, moral, relational and religious issues of life. Some of these despondent Africans cannot find solutions for their predicaments. The prophetic message from this vision resonates well with the African condition and Ezekiel himself acts in several ways as an African prophet of hope.
Being himself a Babylonian deportee who lived among the exiles Ezk 1: As we articulated earlier, Ezekiel's use of the imagery of the 'Dry Bones' was necessitated by the lamentation of the disenfranchised Babylonian exiles about their hopeless condition. They had lost all their institutions, and any thought of their repatriation or restoration, either in part or in full, was merely a mirage Biwul Such a psychosocial condition shares some affinities with what plays out in most African societies. Although the institutions of those African societies such as family, kingship, clan ties, religion, customs and cultures remain physically intact, their present condition can best be captured in the Ezekielian vision of the state of 'Dry Bones'.
Many are asking whether they will yet benefit from better days ahead in their unique conditions. Among them are also those who resort to lamentation when they remember the glory and fortunes of the past. The hope principle in the theology of 'dry bones shall live' in Ezekiel It is a text that serves to restore hope and acts as an inspiration to those Africans 'who like the exiles experience life to be more like death' Taylor