You may have heard the phrase “skeleton in the closet”, it means to hide something regretful, something someone did that they are ashamed of, or wish to forget and keep secret. Well Israel had a whole valley full of them. Israel had lived wickedly before God. They were the chosen people, the example of God to the rest of the world, and as such when they chose to live like they weren’t, they replaced the life they were supposed to have in them with death.

Ezekiel, a prophet of God, was brought to this valley filled with dry bones. Though they represented Israel’s failures, God wasn’t finished with them yet. He wasn’t going to let that be their end. He asked Ezekiel in verse 3, “Can these bones live?” God wasn’t interested in letting the past be the past, letting bygones be bygones. If He did, He would’ve buried or simply destroyed the bones, not let them fill up a valley exposed to everyone. No, He had something greater in mind.

God told Ezekiel to speak life into the bones. God wasn’t interested in some sort of ‘live and let live’, ‘laissez-faire’ type of life which would have invariably lead to more bones in more valleys. He wanted to take what was dead and bring it back to life, restoring tendons, attaching skin and ultimately breathing the breath of life in them once again. More than restoration, resurrection was His aim and it all began in verse 7, with a word and a rattle.

God finished his work with the bones, and instead of there being a valley full of shame, regret, and lost hope, there stood before Ezekiel as it says in verse 10, “a vast army”.

No person did it, no one was out there gluing the bones together wrapping them with skin like a taxidermist in reverse. Beyond Lego’s, this Master Builder did more than just put the pieces together. It was the work of God. Only He can take what was once dead and bring it back to life, only He can make it a source of blessing restoring hope.

Whatever you may have that only reminds you of failure, shame, or regret, trust it in His hands. He changes what was once dead and brings it to life. What was once a pile of loss, in His hands became a vast army of blessings. Likewise, through His Son Jesus, what was once a curse as in Galatians 3:13, became a door to eternal life. Call on Jesus today, make Him your Lord and Savior. Listen for the rattle when you do, for that’s His work begun in you.