I wonder what you think of when you think of bones. One of my grandsons was about three when I went with him to a toddler music class. It involved a lot of action songs so there was a lot of sitting down and standing up in quick succession. He was becoming impatient because I was slower than the other parents. I explained with a phrase my mother had often used that Grandma, ‘had a bone in her leg’ as if that was an adequate excuse! This made him hoot with laughter and ever since he’s called me ‘Grandma Bone’.
Our bones are unique and show our history, useful as a forensic clue to identify us. We may have seen photos of mass graves after plagues, genocides, wars or the Holocaust. Or maybe you see an image of boxes and boxes of mixed up human bones dug out of an archaeological site, like Stonehenge, waiting to be DNA tested and sorted.
In Ezekiel 37, the prophet has a vision of dried out bones in a valley that depicted the state of God’s people – drained of life and sick of soul. Can these bones live? is the question. All hope was gone – the bones were not just dead but dried out. A complete reconstruction and renewal was necessary. The transformation was at God’s initiative. The scattered bones were brought together, bodies fleshed up and life breathed in. An army of people revived, restored and standing. A picture of Easter hope.
The record of Jesus raising Lazarus shows His confrontation with sin and death, the consequence of sin. He waits two days after being told of Lazarus’ death to show God’s glory. Jesus, although wholly God, wept at the graveside of His friend. The resurrection of Lazarus is a precursor to His own resurrection. Jesus calls him to come out of the cave, He calls for him to be unbound and let go, echoing the idea of a prisoner being released from a dungeon and his own words when He started His ministry. By this time, Lazarus had been dead for four days, his resurrection is the unlocking of Sheol and the cause of much rejoicing. Jesus calls Himself ‘the Resurrection’ referring not just to His own resurrection but also the resurrection of all on The Last Day prophesied in Revelation. This is just the beginning of what is to come.
So the story of Lazarus, reflects the restoration Israel depicted in the dry bones story. Both stories foretell the resurrection of Jesus. Even though Jesus died an horrific death, crying ‘My God, My God why have You forsaken me?’ from the cross. He was both the cry of the Word of God and its fulfilment. In physical anguish, his clothing was gambled for and all his bones could be counted. But, He had the victory over death (1 Corinthians 15:54).
Back to the bones…. However tired and dried out your bones may be….God can breathe life into them. Forever.
Revelation 1:18 I was dead and see I am alive forever and ever