In this post we'll focus in on the three weekly Bible passages for the 5th week of Lent. Lent is the period of the liturgical (church) year leading up to Easter. In most Christian denominations it lasts for forty days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. In the Bible and in Christian faith the number forty represents a time of trial, chastisement, and trial. It usually comes to a head in redemption or better understanding of faith in God. The forty days in lent symbolizes the time that Jesus spent in the desert before beginning his public ministry. While in the desert, conditions were hard and Christ was tempted in the worst possible way as Satan did everything to try to make Christ sin, but Jesus did not give in. The fact he faced every temptation and feelings that we as humans feel, and did not cave into that temptation - is how Christ was able to conquer Satan on the cross and in turn forgive use of sin.
Today's readings include Ezekiel 37, referred to as The Valley of Dry Bones - an Old Testament account of Israel's strife, but God's promise of redemption for the nation of Israel and all nations through Christ. The Epistle is a letter to the Romans (8:1-11), and The Gospel comes from John 11.
Old Testament Reading: Ezekiel 37: 1-14 "The Valley of Dry Bones."
Background: Ezekiel was an Old Testament priest who prophesied for twenty-two years in the 6th-century B.C. The Book of Ezekiel recounts his visions while exiled in Babylon. Contextually The Book of Ezekiel takes place in a time of turmoil for the nation of Israel as Judeans have been exiled from their home by the Babylonian Empire. Given the strife and uncertainty surrounding the Judean nation. With a power so strong in Babylon, who worshiped false gods and idols, and yet had power it was easy to be tempted away from the one true God. Ezekiel's prophesies reaffirm God's covenant with Israel and promise that they will be restored again and alludes to the coming of Christ.
Passage:
"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 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 your and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord."
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. But there was no breath in them. 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." 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.
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."
Okay so let's dissect the Valley of Dry Bones. I don't know about you, but when I first read this passage I was confused. It reminded me of a fantasy or ghost story as I visioned the dead, dried out bones suddenly rattling and coming to life. It took me a few reads before I began to understand the meaning of the this scripture, and once I did I was in awe of it's message of hope and the promise of God's commitment to use, even when we stand clinging to life in the desert.
In this passage the Lord appears to Ezekiel in a vision. In the vision the Lord puts Ezekiel into the middle of a dry, dismal valley where a pile of human bones were baking dry and white on the valley of the desert floor. The valley is a symbolism of Israel's despair, exile and the belief they were destined to die as a nation and 'indeed cut off." The bones symbolism the house of Israel.
God asks Ezekiel if he believes the bones can come to live, "Son of man, can these bones live?" Ezekiel by this point in the scripture had previously witnessed the miraculous hand of God and had a strong faith in God's abilities. So instead of answering the way you and I would, "No bones cannot live," Ezekiel's responds with faith: 'O Lord God, you know.'
God then dramatically shows Ezekiel his power over life and death. God first instructs Ezekiel to preach to the bones in an effort for the dead, dry bones to come to life once more. Surprisingly the bones begin to rattle and come together in human form, soon flesh is put on the bones and the four winds of the world blow breath into the bones. Suddenly the valley of dry dead bones is alive because of God and given a new life.
So the desert symbolizes exile of the nation of Israel and a time of trial and uncertainty. The Bones represent the whole house of Israel and though dead at first they come to live and God offers a promise of a new life and message of hope for his people of better things to come and a new life (eventually in Christ)
Fulfillment of Prophecy:
1) 50 years after Ezekiel's prophecy the Israelites began to return to Jerusalem.
2) The long-term promise of God's ability to conquer death (death is a result of sin) by salvation in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice on the cross.
Epistle: Romans 8:1-11 *Note* And Epistle is a letter, and in this case is a collection of letters the Apostle Paul wrote to people in Rome to explain that Salvation is offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Book of Romans is the longest of the Pauline Epistle books within the New Testament
Passage: Romans 8:1-11 "Life in the Spirit"
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
Romans discusses how we struggle with sin and our chance of salvation through Jesus Christ. God's Law declares that all people who sin, thus breaking the law deserve to die. Howeer in this Epistle, Paul concisely summarizes God's reverse declaration for those who follow Jesus Christ. Unfortunately we all become subject to sin and giving into temptation and because of this sinful nature even the best of people cannot fully uphold God's law. In God's compassion and love he sent his only begotten son Jesus Christ to fulfill the law for us, as we cannot do it ourselves.
Christ was able to do what we can not. Lots of people assume that when Christ (God) came down to earth he didn't face the temptations or hardships we face on a day to day basis, but this is not true. Jesus faced every temptation and had the same emotions and experiences as we do. However despite being tempted and having the same feelings and emotions we as humans face, Christ did not cave in. He fully upheld God's Law, and did not give into temptation. Christ did not sin although we see him tempted in many ways: by Satan in the desert and even while on the cross, Christ held firm and died free of sin, therefore allowing us to be saved and have eternal life.
Gospel Reading: John 11 "The Death of Lazarus, I am the Resurrection and the Life, Jesus Weeps and Jesus Raises Lazarus."
Chapter 11 of John is one of the landmark stories of Christ's ministry and his miracles. The miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead directly set the wheels in motion for Jesus unfair arrest and crucifixion. It once again reinforces the power of God, Jesus as a man with compassion and feeling (when Jesus wept it shows how he felt sadness, pain and emotions exactly as we do).
This is a long passage and one that deserves an entire blog entry so for now I'll run down the basic outline of John 11 and highlight key themes.
The chapter deals with the death and resurrection of Lazarus, a close friend of Jesus and the brother of Martha and Mary. Lazarus lived in the small village of Bethany east of Jerusalem. When he fell ill, word was sent to Jesus of Lazarus's illness. When Jesus heard of it he said "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
When Jesus heard that Lazarus was ill, instead of rushing back to save him it was decided to wait an extra two days. This delay was not out of love or compassion for Lazarus, who was a dear friend, in fact it was the opposite. Essentially Jesus saw this as a good opportunity in his last days to show the power of God over death and Christ's manifestation of power and grace obedient to His Father's will. Jesus knew that even if Lazarus died, through his father in heaven, he would have the power to raise Lazarus from the dead.
When Jesus arrived at Lazarus's house, he had been dead four days. This is significant because in Jewish tradition of the time, it was believed the spirit of a person hovered over the body for three days. By the fourth day all life was gone, so to raise someone from death on the fourth day was a true miracle and something only God could do.
Jesus met with Martha who said: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died..." Jesus proceeds to tell her: "Your brother will rise again." Martha replies: "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus then said to her this famous and important statement: "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" Martha said she believed in his words and Jesus proceeded to the tomb of Lazarus. En route he sees Mary and we see how despite being God, Jesus feels human emotion as we do:
"(33) When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he 'was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. (34) And he said, "Where have you laid him?" The said to him, "Lord, come and see." (35) Jesus wept. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
Jesus went into the tomb, a cave, where Lazarus was being held, and it stunk of death and the body was beginning to decompose. Jesus said a prayer to his Father, God "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I Knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around that they may believe that you sent me." When he had sad these things, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
As we draw closer to Easter, this story is a turning point in Jesus ministry. The miracle of the raising of Lazarus, is the climax of John's "signs". It explains the crowds seeking Jesus on Palm Sunday, and leads directly to the decision of Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin to plan to kill Jesus - and is the first domino to drop so Christ's ultimate sacrifice occurs: dying on the cross to forgive us for sin.
Thanks for checking out my blog. In the next few days I will be posting summaries from the Chronological readings in Genesis from the time of the Fall to the Flood. I will also be doing a feature on Episcopal Relief and Development, a non-profit organization headed by the Episcopal Church to help those suffering worldwide.
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