'As if valley was full of zombies'

This week has been sort of a "perfect storm" for me. I'm having the worst cold and sinus pressure I ever remember, forcing me to take all kind of over-the-counter stuff, including Sudafed, Vicks Sinex, Mucinex and Robitussin DM.

I can't get a good sleep from all the coughing fits (and breathing through my mouth because my nose gets plugged) and yet I am working each day because this is busiest week of the whole year for my job and there is no one to fill in.

So, all I can do is hope for better tomorrow. I have to say the worst part, even with the constant hacking, headaches, stopped-up and ringing ears, intermittently stuffed up and then running nose and feeling sluggish and weird from the medications, is that I can barely taste anything. All this to say, I am still working on new article to post.

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"The details of the text (in Ezekiel 37) are nothing short of ghoulish — or, better, cadaverous. The unit is famous for its possible relationship to notions of resurrection in ancient Israel, but before any talk of resurrection is raised (pun intended in this case), the intensely morbid nature of Ezekiel’s vision must be fully reckoned with.

"And the downright chilling vision of a valley full of bones doesn’t yet mention the equally unnerving depiction of these disarticulated bones coming together, bone by bone, then sinew by sinew, then covered by flesh, then skin, but still somehow dead — as if this valley was full of zombies."

--Professor of Old Testament, Emory University

There are two places the nation Israel is scattered in Ezekiel 37. The bones are scattered out in the field, in the valley. Some are just kind of dispersed in the way James says "to the 12 tribes scattered abroad."

"Then there are some that are in the graves--some that are not at large, as it were, but these, rather than being enlarged, they're captives and the nation Israel has been in that condition and will be in the last days," explains Richard Jordan.

"It's pretty clear from verses 11-14 that what we're talking about here has to do with the future restoration of the nation:

[11] Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
[12] Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
[13] And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
[14] And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.

"There's a fascinating way he describes the way the nation's going to be restored. First, you have the bones. The bones reunite; they come back together. Verse 7: [7] So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

"You know the old spiritual song Dem Dry Bones:

Toe bone connected to the foot bone

Foot bone connected to the heel bone

Heel bone connected to the ankle bone

Ankle bone connected to the shin bone

Shin bone connected to the knee bone

Knee bone connected to the thigh bone

Thigh bone connected to the hip bone

Hip bone connected to the back bone

Back bone connected to the shoulder bone

Shoulder bone connected to the neck bone

Neck bone connected to the head bone

Now hear the word of the Lord.

"That song is about Ezekiel 37, or at least it comes from there.

"The second thing, the sinew and the flesh and skin cover the bones: [8] And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.

[9] Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

"The third thing that happens is He breathes on them and the breath goes in; it produces life.

"You take the bones, cover them with a covering that makes them pretty, attractive. But even though now they're not just a bunch of old bleached-out bones. and not some kind of skeleton running around (you know, that's kind of a spooky thing), there's still no breath in them. It isn't completed until you get down to where life comes.

"That's the three-step process. First, the national structure of Israel will be restored. Then they're going to be restored religiously. Finally, they're going to restored spiritually. It's looking at the nation being restored back into its wholeness.

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"What's going on back there in the Book of Judges is not designed to just be in the Scripture to fill up pages. It's not there just so you have information to teach in Sunday school.

"All this history back in the Old Testament is selected out of all the things that happened in Israel because it has doctrinal instruction with a prophetic meaning attached to it. There are things that are patterns for things coming in Israel's future.

"If you go to Psalm 83 and Isaiah 9, you'll see these passages in Judges 7 and 8 are used as specific references to things taking place in the 70th Week of Daniel with the nation.

"Jotham was the 11th king of Judah and son of King Uzziah. His parable starts in Judges 9:8: [8] The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.

"This is a parable, so the parts of the parable are going to have meanings to them. It's as if the nations of the earth go out to find a king. 

"If you take trees and you run it through the prophetic Scripture, Ezekiel 17 and so forth, you'll find trees in prophecy are often used to represent nations. I've always loved the references to the cedars of Lebanon. There's some fascinating things in Scripture about the cedars and especially the ones grown up in Lebanon. What they are often used to represent is nations."