LESSON VII.—SUNDAY, AUGUST 13, 1899.
1 "The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones; and He caused me to pass by them round about; and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and lo, they were very dry."
11 "Then He said unto 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 clean cut off."
3 "And He said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live?
4 And I answered, O Lord God, Thou knowest. Again He said unto me, Prophesy over these bones, and say unto them, O ye 5 dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into 6 you, and ye shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that 7 am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold an earthquake, 8 and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And I beheld, and lo, there were sinews upon them, and flesh came up, and 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 10 slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army."
12 "Therefore prophecy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O My people; and I will bring 13 you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to 14 come up out of your graves, O My people. And I will put My Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land; and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord." Golden Text: "I will put My Spirit within you." Eze. 36:27. (1) In the vision here recorded, what was done with the prophet? V. 1. (2) What then was he caused to do? What does he say of the quantity and condition of the bones? V. 2. (3) Whom did the bones represent? What did they say? V. 11. Note 1. (4) What question was asked of the prophet? What was his answer? V. 3; Job 14:13-15. Note 2. (5) What command was then given to the prophet? V. 4. (6) What was said to the bones? Vs. 5, 6. (7) As he prophesied, what occurred? V. 7. (8) What else took place as the prophet beheld the bones? Yet what was lacking? V. 8. (9) What further prophecy was he commanded to utter? V. 9. (10) When the prophet had prophesied, what was the result? V. 10. (11) Then what application of this result was made by further prophecy? V. 12. (12) Then what would resurrected Israel know? V. 13. (13) What additional promises are given? V. 14. Note 3. 1. "The whole house of Israel."—This prophecy was written during the captivity of Judah in Babylon. Judah was not the "whole house of Israel." Neither did Judah, in connection with the ten tribes (which had been dispersed many years before the captivity of Judah), comprise the "whole house of Israel;" for "they which are of faith, the same are children of Abraham" (Gal. 3:7), without regard to nationality. Therefore this vision can not be confined to Israel according to the flesh, but the spiritual seed.
2. "Can these bones live?"—From a human standpoint, No. "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible." Mark 10:27. See John 5:28, 29; Luke 22:27-38; Acts 24:14, 15; 1 Thess. 4:14-18; Rev. 20:12, 13. The promise included not only a resurrection but a regeneration.
3. "In your own land."—This promise plainly applies after the resurrection; the logic of the vision compels this conclusion, so also does the promises to Abraham, which included the heirship of the world. Rom. 4:13. This promise was to Abraham and his Seed, which was Christ (Gal. 3:16); "and if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (verse 29). But neither Abraham nor his seed will ever inherit the present earth. Abraham "looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Heb. 11:10. This city will be located on the new earth; so Peter says that "we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter 3:13. And John says of his vision on Patmos: "I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people." Rev. 21:1-3. In this chapter, the holy city is described as having "a wall great and high" and "twelve gates." On the gates were the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; and "the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Now note the promise of Jesus to the twelve apostles: "Ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Matt. 19:28. And note that other promise: "Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth." Chap. 5:5. When shall they inherit it?—"When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him," He will "say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Chap. 25:31-34. Thus will the whole house of Israel be placed in their own land. Then will be fulfilled the promise through Isaiah: "As the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before Me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain."