October 14, 2025 - Ezekiel 37:3 - "Can These Bones Live?"

Ezekiel 37:3

"And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O LORD God, thou knowest."

Ezekiel 37 is part of the prophet’s visions given during the Babylonian exile (circa 593–571 B.C.). Ezekiel ministered to the Jewish exiles in Babylon after Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 B.C. by King Nebuchadnezzar. The people of Judah had lost their homeland, their temple, and their national identity. They were spiritually desolate and without hope, much like the “very dry bones” Ezekiel sees in the vision.

The valley of dry bones symbolizes the utter hopelessness of Israel’s condition—politically scattered, spiritually dead, and cut off from God’s covenant blessings. When God asks, “Can these bones live?” He confronts Ezekiel (and through him, Israel) with a question about divine power and faith. Humanly speaking, the situation was beyond recovery. Yet the question directs the prophet to affirm that God alone can restore life to what is dead.

The LORD brings His servant into the valley — a place full of bones, very many, and very dry. There is no sign of movement, no trace of life, no sound but silence. This is the picture of man without God, a nation without the Spirit, a soul without Christ. Ezekiel looks upon the bones and sees death everywhere, yet he does not answer according to sight. He does not reason, nor does he presume. He lifts his eyes to the LORD and says, “O LORD God, Thou knowest.” That confession is faith bowing before divine sovereignty. It is the acknowledgment that only God can make the dead live again. What Ezekiel cannot do, what no preacher, no nation, no power of man can accomplish, God alone can perform.

We were the dry bones, scattered, lifeless, and without hope (Ephesians 2:1–5). Sin had stripped us bare, and death reigned over us (Romans 5:12). Yet God, Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness (2 Corinthians 4:6), still speaks life where there is none. The same LORD Who asked, “Can these bones live?” now says, “Live.” His Word is creative and powerful. When He speaks, the bones come together, bone to his bone; flesh covers them, breath enters them, and they stand upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

Here we see Christ, the Word made flesh (John 1:14), the very breath of God come into the world. He is the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25). In Him is the answer to the question. Can these bones live? Yes — through Christ Who died and rose again (Romans 6:9–10). In His death He entered the valley for us; in His resurrection He filled it with life. He spoke to the tomb and said, “Lazarus, come forth” (John 11:43), and the dead man lived. He spoke peace to the thief on the cross, and a condemned sinner entered paradise (Luke 23:43). When the Son of God speaks, the dead hear His voice and live (John 5:24–25).

The LORD asked the question not because He did not know the answer, but to bring Ezekiel to see that the hope of life does not rest in the bones, nor in the prophet, but in God Himself. “O Lord God, Thou knowest.” This is the language of trust. The LORD knows how to make the dead live. He knows how to revive His people. He knows those He has chosen in Christ, for whom Christ paid their sin debt and does, in time, give them life, by His Spirit to raise them from spiritual deadness into newness of life in Christ. This He did already when Christ died and rose again (Ephesians 2:6), and now from glory He is calling out each one for whom He died.

The Word and the Spirit always work together. The LORD said, “Prophesy unto these bones” (Ezekiel 37:4). The Word went forth, and then came the breath — the Spirit of God moving where He wills (John 3:8). So it is in the Gospel. The Word of Christ is preached, and the Spirit brings that Word to life in the hearts of the hearers. Flesh cannot create life, but the Spirit gives life through the Word (2 Corinthians 3:6). That is why Christ said, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).

The question still echoes across every valley of despair and unbelief: “Can these bones live?” The answer is not found in man’s strength, in religion, or in resolve. It is found in CHRIST ALONE. When He breathes upon the slain, they live. When He speaks, the grave yields. When He commands, the heart of stone becomes a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).

“Son of man, can these bones live?” Yes — because the LORD Jesus ever lives to intercede for each one for whom He paid the debt (Revelation 1:18).