Ezekiel 37:8
And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
The vision shows bones taking full bodily shape as sinews and flesh come upon them and skin covers them, yet they remain lifeless because there is no breath in them, so form alone is not life. No human power can make them live, but God gives life by breathing His Spirit upon His people, and when Ezekiel prophesied to the wind the slain lived and stood as a great army, proving that no ruin is too hard for God to restore. The dry bones are the house of Israel in its dead and dry state. The same forming points forward to when God will call the dead forth and give the breath of life again, preserving personal identity and individual features so friends know one another, yet raising a new, finer spiritual body free from disease and defect rather than the same particles laid in the grave. Outward religious form and ceremony and mere legal religion cannot give spiritual life, and without the Spirit's deep work in the heart truth remains a dead letter. Churches can lie like that valley in a dead, asleep and unready condition, and they live only when the breath of God's Spirit enters them through the life-giving message of sin and atonement and Christ and His righteousness, awakening them to stand, to know the truth by experience, and to carry the light to others in earnest prayer and organized work for souls.
Bodies Formed Without Breath
The bones take shape as sinews and flesh come upon them and skin covers them above, yet they remain lifeless because there is no breath in them, so bodily form alone does not bring life. The dry bones take on sinews, flesh, and skin while still lacking breath, showing that outward form alone is not life and that without the Spirit's deep, life-giving work truth remains a dead letter. The formed bodies show that human power cannot give life, and life comes only through God's power breathing upon them in the following verses, as God breathes the Holy Spirit upon His people to energize them so they can stand and live.
In its wider setting the vision shows that God can restore life to what is utterly ruined, for when Ezekiel prophesied to the wind at God's command the slain came to life and stood as a great army. No work of restoration is too hard for God, and those who trust Him need not give up hope. The dry bones are the house of Israel, described as dead and dry.
The verse points to the future time when God will call forth the dead, give again the breath of life, and bid the dry bones live. Personal identity is preserved, with each person's character preserved with God and restored so that every man will have his own character and the same form will come forth bearing the same individuality of features so that friend will recognize friend, but free from disease and every defect. God does not give back the same identical particles of matter that went into the grave but gives the righteous dead a body that pleases Him, composed of much finer material as a new creation and a new birth, sown a natural body and raised a spiritual body like a planted kernel that decays and brings forth a new kernel.
Form Cannot Give Life
Outward religious form and ceremonies and mere legal religion cannot give spiritual life, for sinews and flesh and skin may cover the bones and still leave them without breath or life. Icy hearts that have only a legal religion are padlocked by prejudice and unbelief, like dry bones without life. Those who profess to believe the truth while without an experimental knowledge of its power have outward form while form has taken the place of power and simplicity has been lost in a round of ceremonies.
Without the Spirit's deep, life-giving work and influence in the heart, truth remains a dead letter, since outward form alone is not life and the Lord must breathe life into the dry bones. The breath of God's Spirit must enter His people so they can stand and live, and God's backslidden people as dry bones with no breath in them are spiritually asleep and at ease and unready until the Lord breathes upon them with His Holy Spirit to awaken them to live, to watch and be sober, because the end is near and steals upon sleepers stealthily and noiselessly to suddenly surprise those off guard. That breathing is needed to bring the vitalizing, sanctifying power of truth into experience with an experimental knowledge of it, and the image applies to churches that need spiritual renewal.
That life comes through a life-giving message of sin and atonement in the Bible light, showing the better things provided, Christ and His righteousness. That message gives life to the dry bones so they can give the light to others and have the privilege of being workers together with God in gathering in and bringing home the sheep of His fold.
Reviving Lifeless Churches
A church can become like the valley of dry bones, having outward form but no spiritual life and needing to be stirred by divine power to give it life. Churches are in a dead level like the bodies with sinews and flesh and skin upon them but with no breath in them, remaining spiritually inactive. The church in Battle Creek is in that lifeless condition, and unless something is done many souls will be lost.
God's backslidden people without breath are spiritually asleep and at ease and unready. The Lord must breathe upon them with His Holy Spirit to awaken them that they shall live, to watch and be sober. The end is near and steals upon sleepers stealthily and noiselessly like the muffled tread of a thief in the night to suddenly surprise those off guard.
The breath of life coming into these churches means their revival out of that dead condition. That life comes through receiving the light and knowledge needed, even when those in responsible positions close the door against it, so earnest work and prayer are required to gain a hearing for the life-giving message. That breath will come through regular, organized efforts to lift them by work for others, by sending workers into every church and putting young men and young women to work in the churches. It will come by combining medical missionary work with the proclamation of the third angel's message, by setting the principles of health reform before them, and by doing the long-neglected work of temperance and health reform.