God’s Glory Revealed in His New Creation

In Ezekiel 36:22-23, the Lord spoke of healing Israel’s spiritual life for the sake of His Name so that His great name would be hallowed among the nations. In Ezekiel 36:24, He spoke of bringing them back from exile to the Promised Land. In Ezekiel 36:25, He spoke of sprinkling them with clean water and cleansing them from their idols. In Ezekiel 36:26-27, He spoke of giving them new hearts by placing His Spirit within them. His Spirit would empower them to walk in His statutes and keep His judgments to do them. In Ezekiel 36:37, He spoke of increasing their men like a flock.

The God who created and sustains the whole universe is a miracle working God. He is also a loving and compassionate God. But what was going to change among His people?

Israel had never been able to walk in God’s ways collectively and consistently. All her political leaders, priests, prophets and people fell short of His glory.

The difference maker was going to be His Son sent into the world to be a ransom for her sins. When the perfectly sinless Son of God became an offering for their sins, when He removed their sins, Satan could no longer claim them as his people. Even Job, though he did not deny his faith in God, he too fell short of God’s glory.

When their sins would be laid on Christ and God’s righteousness would be imputed to them, then God’s Spirit could come and live in them and empower them to walk as God’s Son Jesus walks. He would make of them new creations.

In Ezekiel 37, the Lord speaks of dry bones coming together, developing flesh, and becoming fully human. Then, the breath of life comes into them. This miracle is reminiscent of when God created the first Adam from the dust of the earth and breathed into him the breath of life.

In Ezekiel 37, the Lord speaks of making one nation out of the previously divided tribes. This miracle happened in great measure in the Gospels and in the Book of Acts, but according to the Book of Revelation, even greater days are ahead for Israel. In Revelation chapters 7 and 14, Jesus revealed to John 144,000 elect evangelists composed of 12,000 men from each of the tribes of Israel. The Book of Revelation also speaks of multitudes of people brought into the Kingdom of Heaven during the last and great tribulation period on earth. Praise the Lord!

“The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed, they were very dry. And He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ So, I answered, ‘O Lord God, You know.’” Ezekiel 37:1-3

Neither Ezekiel nor any other preacher could cause a dead congregation to resurrect unless the Lord intervened and by His grace in Christ Jesus, by His Spirit and by His Word. Thus, we pray.

“Again He said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.’ So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. Also He said to me, ‘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.’ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.” Ezekiel 37:4-10

God’s Word combined with the Holy Spirit brought about this resurrection. The word for “breath” in Hebrew is the same word for “Spirit.” The third element of this miracle was that God directed it to happen. He gave Ezekiel a command to keep. A prophecy to prophesy! God initiated and saw this miracle brought to pass.

“Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ Therefore prophesy and say to them, thus says the Lord God: behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it, says the Lord.’” Ezekiel 37:11-14

According to Matthew 27:52-53, many saints were resurrected from the dead on the day Jesus was crucified. Their graves were opened by an earthquake and their bodies came back to life. After Jesus’ resurrection, these newly resurrected saints emerged from their tombs, went into Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.

The above passage speaks of one kind of resurrection... a physical one, but there is also a spiritual resurrection which God faithfully gave to Israel in the form of new life in Christ.

Ephesians 2:4-6 says, “God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” When God forgives a person his or her sins, He places His Spirit within them. Then, they see, hear and know that He is GOD. Doubts are replaced with faith. Indecision is replaced with singlemindedness to believe in Christ and to proclaim His Gospel to others.

After I was born again by God’s Spirit, I knew that I knew that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is alive! He shall return! He is with me. My Good Shepherd is leading me to His Father’s house.

“Again the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: for Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions. Then take another stick and write on it, for Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions. Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand. And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not show us what you mean by these?’— say to them, thus says the Lord God: surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand. And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.” Ezekiel 37:15-20

Judah represents the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Joseph and Ephraim represent the ten northern tribes. The twelve tribes were going to come together in Messiah and be one people.

My wife asked me as she read this passage, “Could it be that the two sticks were put together in a crisscross manner so that they formed a cross?” I believe that the Lord would have led Ezekiel by His Spirit to do just that because He said that all Scripture points to Jesus Christ. It is in the cross of Christ that two become one.

“Then say to them, thus says the Lord God: surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one King shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel 37:21-23

The Lord promised to appoint one King to reign over them and that their nation would never be divided again. The King that God is speaking of is His Son Jesus Christ from the line of Jesse, a descendant of David.

“David My Servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one Shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever.” Ezekiel 37:24-25

This is quite a miracle, but God promised to them something even greater than these things. He promised to take idolatry from their hearts and cleanse them so that they would be happy to be His people, and He to be their God. God promised them one King and one Shepherd to guide them. The government would no longer be divided between political and spiritual leaders.

The name David means “Beloved” in Hebrew. The Beloved shall be their prince forever. In 2 Peter 1:17, Peter recalled, “For He [Jesus] received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” God the Father called Jesus “Beloved” during His baptism in Matthew 3:17 and also during His transfiguration in Matthew 17:5. The voice from heaven said, “This is My David [My Beloved] Son, in whom I am well pleased.” God never spoke from heaven about anyone else like He did for Jesus.

“Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed, I will be their God, and they shall be My people. The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” Ezekiel 37:26-28

His everlasting covenant of the Prince of Peace with Israel is peace. He will be their sanctuary. He will tabernacle among them. His holy place will be in them. In His people! Not in brick and mortar! All nations will know something has changed in Israel. This is a reference to Jesus Christ.

In Matthew 26:27-28, Jesus “took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.’” In Romans 5:1, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The truth that we are justified by the merits of Christ and not by our own merits, gives us peace with God. We know that we are justified by what Jesus did for us, and not by our own flawed works of righteousness.

The bringing together of people with God and with one another in love is the work of David, the Beloved One of God, in whom we all find acceptance and peace with God. In Christ, God tabernacles – indwells – is with us. Emmanuel is a Hebrew word that means “God with us.” Jesus Christ is Emmanuel. He sanctifies us and makes us one with God and one another.

My prayer is that more people will receive and believe this truth and be born again into a new and living faith in Christ Jesus. All things are possible with God!