Can These Bones Live?
- Guy Cohen
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Harvest of Asher
Akko, Israel
In a vision, 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, but also 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 hopelessness. Later in the chapter it explicitly states: “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost” (37:11). This is the voice of exhausted Israel, and also the voice of anyone who feels disconnected and empty. It is possible to appear alive on the outside, function in our daily activities but feel devoid of the spirit (ruach).
The prophecy does not stop there. God commands the prophet: “Prophesy over these bones” (37:4). As Ezekiel speaks the word of the Lord, bones come together and tendons and flesh miraculously appear. YET: “There was no breath in them” (37:8). Yes structure, yes, some restoration, but still no real life.
This recalls Genesis 2:7. “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.
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”’” (37:9). Then the transformation takes place: “The breath came into them, and they lived” (37:10). Here we see the heart of the prophecy, not just physical restoration, but resurrection. Not just outward rebuilding, but inward life.
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), nor national sovereignty and 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” (37:12). Many see in this a clear picture of the ingathering of exiles and the national rebirth of Israel. Yet that’s not enough: “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.
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).
The call for each of 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 in Him.
