Living Skeletons

Q: Who is the most famous French skeleton?

A: Napoleon Bone-apart

Q: Why can’t skeletons be church musicians?

A: The don’t have any organs

Q: Why are skeletons so relaxed?

A: Nothing gets under their skin

Q: What do you call a skeleton who stays in the snow too long?

A: A numbskull

Q: Who is the most famous skeleton detective?

A: Sherlock Bones

This time of year we see skeletons used in decorating, advertising, or coming to our door looking for candy. Part of the appeal of skeletons is knowing they are not real in that they are not living things. Seeing a skeleton walking around is fantasy, not reality. However, in the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, walking skeletons were a reality, not a fantasy.

To be fair, in Ezekiel 37:1 the prophet said the Spirit of the Lord brought him into the valley of dry bones, so this was most likely a vision he saw. The Lord told Ezekiel to look around and see the bones of a slain army, and notice that they were very dry. These brittle bones were not going to be making a comeback on their own, but God told His prophet to prophesy to the bones and the wind; once he did, the brittle bones were brought back together, connected by sinews, and covered with skin. Then they were filled with the breath of life and became a standing army ready for orders.

This vision was about ancient Israel, which had split during a civil war. God told the prophet to take two sticks to symbolize the two kingdoms, and like a magic trick, he joined them together. Taken together, the valley of dry bones and the two sticks showed that Israel, though divided and defeated, would be brought back to life, so to speak, and reunited into one kingdom again (this will be fully accomplished during the Millennial Kingdom).

We are like those skeletons in that we were dead in our sins and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1), but through the power of God are brought to life. Those skeletons were not alive until the wind blew the breath of life into them, and we are not alive spiritually until the Spirit of God enters us (breath, wind, and spirit are the same word in both Hebrew and Greek). Are you a walking skeleton with no life, or have you been given eternal life by the Spirit of God?