Can These Dry Bones Live? Ezekiel 37 and the Promise of Spiritual Resurrection Today | Harvest of Asher

The Valley of Dry Bones: A Picture of Spiritual Emptiness

The vision of the dry bones, described in Ezekiel 37:1–14, is powerful and significant. The prophet Ezekiel is carried by the Spirit of the Lord into a valley full of dry bones, and there he is asked the central question: “Son of man, can these bones live?” (Ezekiel 37:3).

This is not only a question for the prophet, it is a question that echoes in every generation, especially in our own, as we face a complex reality filled with pain, fear, and uncertainty. The dry bones represent a state of deep despair and loss of hope. Later in the chapter it is said explicitly: “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost” (Ezekiel 37:11).

Restoration Without Life: When Structure Is Not Enough

This is the voice of a people in exile, but also the voice of an individual who feels disconnected, exhausted, and empty within. It is possible to look alive on the outside, functioning in our daily activities but at the same time to feel that life itself lacks the power of the spirit (breath). But the prophecy does not stop at describing the condition. God commands the prophet: “Prophesy over these bones” (Ezekiel 37:4). As Ezekiel speaks the word of the Lord, a process begins: the bones come together, tendons and flesh appear, and bodies are formed. Yet the text emphasizes a critical point: “There was no breath in them” (Ezekiel 37:8). There is structure, there is restoration, but there is still no real life.

This principle goes all the way back to creation. In Genesis 2:7 it is written: “The Lord God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” Only when God breathes His Spirit into man does he become a living being. True life does not come from physical existence alone, but from the presence of God’s Spirit.

The Breath of God: Where True Life Begins

In the next stage of the vision, God commands: “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.” (Ezekiel 37:9). Then the transformation takes place: “The breath came into them, and they lived” (Ezekiel 37:10). Here we see the heart of the prophecy, not just restoration, but resurrection. Not just outward rebuilding, but inward life.

A Prophecy of Israel and Spiritual Awakening

This vision connects directly to the promise in Ezekiel 36:26–27: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them". It also aligns with the words of Jeremiah 31:33: “I will put My law within them, and write it on their hearts.” Meaning, God’s plan for Israel doesn't end with returning to the land (Aliyah), or national restoration alone, but it includes a deeper inner transformation, a new heart and a new spirit.

Indeed, the vision continues: “I will open your graves… and bring you into the land of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:12). Many see in this a clear picture of the ingathering of exiles and the national rebirth of Israel. Yet the promise goes further: “I will put My Spirit within you, and you shall live” (Ezekiel 37:14). This reveals a two-stage process: physical restoration and spiritual awakening.

From Death to Life: Fulfillment in Yeshua

This spiritual resurrection is connected to the identity and the ministry of Yeshua. He spoke about passing from death to life (John 5:24) and about receiving the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). Just as in Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones coming to life through the spirit; it is in this way that man also receives a new life in the spirit by God's intervention.

In the difficult days we are living through as a nation, when reality can feel like a valley of dry bones, Ezekiel’s message remains deeply relevant. Even when hope seems lost, God is still at work. Even when there is a body without spirit, He promises to resurrect. The process may not yet be complete, but it has already begun.

What This Means for Us Today

The call for us today is to be part of this process, to listen to the Word of God, to open our hearts to His Spirit, and to believe that even what seems dry and dead can live again. "For the Word of the Lord stands forever, and His promise is clear: Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves.  I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:13–14).

What looks dry is not beyond God’s power.

What seems lost is not beyond His reach.

 The question remains for each of us: Do we believe that God can still bring life where there is none?