The Master's Touch small group Bible studies
The Hope of Resurrection and Reunification, Ezekiel 37
Recommended Procedure. Timeline. Map. Go to today’s Bible reading
Idea for the Bible teacher or discussion leader: You may want to bring in a dry skeleton bone and a couple of sticks tied together to illustrate the Bible study. Show the skeleton bone and can ask if any of your group, perhaps like yourself, have ever lost hope like a dry dead bone or (taking up the tied sticks) have ever wished for reunification of a friendship or other relationship. If so, this Bible study is for you. As an alternative, you can show them this video and ask them how it might apply to their lives.
Review.
The prophecies of Ezekiel 33-48 provide hope for Israel. The year was 585 B.C.. Months after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., the exiles received word that their beloved city had fallen to the Babylonians (they used runners to transmit messages back then). The destruction of Jerusalem was the lowest point in Jewish history so they needed hope. God first provided hope for the nation of Israel by saying he was replacing the bad shepherds of Israel, meaning the leaders or kings, and accepting the responsibility himself. It is he that would be the good shepherd. He would feed and heal the flock, and search for the scattered sheep and bring them back to safe pasture (the protected land of Israel).
Second, in our last lesson we learned that God gave hope to the Israelites by prophesying that he would turn the tables on their enemies, who rejoiced and sought to profit from her demise. In today's lesson God provides a third reason for hope.
Read Ezekiel 37. What hope did God offer for Israel? What images did he use?
How is the valley of the dry bones similar to the creation of man? Compare Ezekiel 37:1-6 with Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:7; Job 33:4; Isaiah 42:5; 64:8
What happened after Ezekiel prophesied to the dry bones? Ezekiel 37:7-10?
How was the situation of the Jewish exiles and the land of Israel at this time like the valley of dry bones and how did God encourage them? Ezekiel 33:28-29; 2Kings 25:1-21; Ezekiel 33:21; Ezekiel 37:11-14. Think about your life or someone you know who has lost hope. How could Ezekiel 37:1-14 encourage you or them?
What is the second object lesson God uses to illustrate hope for Israel? What does it mean? Ezekiel 37:15-22; Isaiah 11:13; Jeremiah 3:18; Hosea 1:11; John 10:16
How would this reunited Israel be different from the past? Who would once again be their leader? Ezekiel 37:23-28
Lessons to Live by: (ask for members' input first)
Today's Bible memory verse: Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (NIV)
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A1: God gave hope for the Israelites that their nation would be resurrected and unified, illustrated by dry bones that came to life and two sticks joined together.
A2: God makes man and God can resurrect him, God breathes into him the breath of life so that he lives. It is by the Word of the LORD that they are created or brought to life.
A3: The bones rattled and came together, then tendons and skin came upon them. Then, after Ezekiel prophesied to the wind in the name of the LORD, breath came into them and they came to life, a huge army.
A4: Remember at this time period Jerusalem was destroyed, her people killed or exiled or destroyed as they tried to flee. The hope of the Jewish exiles had been that someday they would return, but now their hope was dead, dead as a valley of dry bones. God said he would resurrect Israel and bring her back to her land. This happened in part when Israel was allowed to return to her land during the reign of Cyrus and Darius, kings of Persia. God also said he would put his Spirit into her and she would live. This was national salvation. Though Israel would be physically delivered during Persian reign, this would not be the national salvation the Jewish people are yet to experience in its entirety just before the Millennial reign of Christ.
Have you or someone you know lost hope? Is your soul dry and dead? There is salvation in Christ. He can give you forgiveness, peace, and spiritual life (more...). Someday, he will resurrect your body, change it to a spiritual body, and you will be reunited with your soul in heaven (more...).
Perhaps your lost hope is not related to salvation but to a lost hope in a relationship or opportunity. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees that you may have that restored. However, in some instances with the LORD's intervention and through repentance and reparation it might be possible. God is able to do the impossible, however, we should find our hope and peace in him, not in a relationship or opportunity.
A5: God told Ezekiel to take two sticks of wood, write the names of Ephraim and Judah upon them and join them together so that they would be one in his hand. This would symbolize God binding the two nations of Judah and Ephraim together so that they would once again be one nation. This had partial fulfillment when the Jewish exiles came back to the land of Israel during Persian rule. Ultimate fulfillment will come at the beginning of the Millennial reign of Christ (Isaiah 11:13; Jeremiah 3:18; Hosea 1:11; John 10:16)
The God who is able to not only resurrect the hopes of a dead nation can also bring together factions in a family, church or other organization, no matter how unlikely that may seem. Sometimes tragedies bring us together but genuine sorrow, regret, and repentance is necessary to heal wounds. Fortunately, God would soon cause the godly sorrow that leads to repentance and restoration for the exiles. The seventy years of exile would come to an end and many young exiles would be alive to see it. Hope would be revived and God would do the work. God is working even now though we can't see it. Is this healing God your God? He can give you forgiveness, peace, and spiritual life. He can help you heal relationships (more...).
- There would be a spiritual regeneration of Israel but no backsliding, and a new relationship with the LORD (v.23; Ezekiel 36:26-29; Romans 11:25-27). Do you have one? (more...)
- David will be their king once again (v.24). How would this be possible, you say? God will resurrect him. God is the author of life and can raise the dead.
- God will keep the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants, giving the land back to the Israelites, and giving David an eternal reign (v.25) (Genesis 17:7-8; 2Samuel 7:16).
- The LORD will make a covenant of peace with them (something new); it will be an everlasting covenant, and Israel's numbers will increase. No longer will they suffer scorn, derision or war (v.26, Isaiah 11:6-9; Ezekiel 36:15; Micah 4:2-4 ).
- God's dwelling will once again be with his people with his sanctuary among them forever. This is a probable reference to the millennial temple at the end of the age (v.26-28). This is described in Ezekiel 40-43; Isaiah 2:2; 66:20; Micah 4:1-2; and implied in Zechariah 14
Have you or someone you know lost hope? Is your soul dry and dead? There is salvation in Christ. He can give you forgiveness, peace, and spiritual life (more...). Someday, he will resurrect your body, change it to a spiritual body, and you will be reunited with your soul in heaven (more...).
Our God who is able to not only resurrect the hopes of a dead nation can also bring together factions in a family, church or other organization, no matter how unlikely that may seem. God is working even now though we can't see it.
Sometimes tragedies bring us together but genuine sorrow, regret, and repentance are necessary to heal wounds. Is this healing God your God?
- In the Millennium God will bring peace not only to Israel but to the entire world. Salvation is available to all those who seek Him for it (more...)
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