Copyright ©2018 by The Good Elder. All rights reserved.
In recent weeks, I have come to see this period in history as a difficult period of transition, which I have likened to the proverbial "valley of the shadow of death." But, since there is no transformation without conflict, I recognize that this journey through a harrowing place, no matter how temporary, is ultimately for a good reason. So, whether God sends us through the valley to learn, or whether we go there on our own due to sin, the only way to live is by hearing and accepting the Word of God. Let us now express and expand upon these musings.
Anyone who has had the privilege to raise children has undoubtedly experienced many moments of contemplation, where the childrens' actions cause us to reflect upon our time as children. Children, especially young children, are full of wonder and curiosity, and as they venture outside of themselves and into the world, we find them testing boundaries. They touch everything, and are almost willing to try anything. Of course, parents and caregivers are responsible for setting proper boundaries. This often includes some sort of punishment for repeatedly overstepping a boundary. The message is this, "Do what I say, or get in trouble and still do what I say!" It's up to them whether to leave the trouble out.
As they move into adulthood and become responsible for continuing their own growth and establishing their own boundaries, these children--now young adults--must endure some difficult lessons while we stand on the sidelines. We have to watch as they learn about love and heartbreak, about friends who betray them, about working to pay bills, about the struggle to raise a family of their own... Regina Belle's song, "If I Could" so aptly describes the feelings of parents watching their child grow up. So, while parents can't cry their childrens' tears or protect them from pain and heartache, they stand behind them as silent but staunch supporters, ready to step in to provide comfort and guidance when called upon; comfort and guidance forged in the fires of life.
These common, yet poignant moments in life help us to approach similar dynamics that apply to our spiritual growth and aspirations (or lack thereof). None of us came here to stay; in fact, we came here this time around to get even closer to, if not to cross over into the Promised Land. But, before we can seriously talk about entering the Promised Land, there is a far more urgent question that must first be asked: can these bones live?
Ezekiel 37 is one of the more familiar scriptures in the Bible. We can see, in our mind's eye, a dreary, desolate valley, a wilderness (if you will) full of dry, lifeless bones. It could be a sad, depressing sight, or even an unsettling, scary sight. And, amid this macabre landscape stands a prophet of God being asked an unsettling question, "Can these bones live?"
I can imagine a brief yet intense internal dialogue within Ezekiel. Upon hearing the question, he may have thought, "Why am I even here in this God-forsaken place! It sure doesn't look like anything here is alive..." And yet, being a prophet of God, he knew well enough not to doubt God's power to perform the miraculous. In fact, he knew that, just like any good attorney, God already knew the answer to the question before He asked: "Can these bones live?" Perceiving that a Word was coming, Ezekiel wisely yielded to the Omniscient--"O Lord GOD, Thou knowest!"
The vision continued, with God instructing Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones, commanding the winds to blow... and amazingly, the bones revived!
But one thing that is not included in this vision is this: how is it that the bones got to be in the valley? How is it that they needed to be revived in the first place? And, for our instruction presently, how did we become dry bones in the valley?
As we search for an answer to this interesting question, we move our attention to Psalm 23:4:
[4] Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.
Many turn to this scripture in times of trouble and distress; and, in truth, it is comforting to know that the LORD is my Shepherd, especially when we find ourselves in the valley and the shadow of death! Let us glean two illuminating nuggets from this scripture, and apply them to the context of the barren, valley of bones depicted in Ezekiel 37.
Often, we take the phrase, "valley and shadow of death" literally, presuming that it refers (only) to physical death and the trauma and grief that we experience when a loved one passes. Certainly, we look hopefully to the LORD to guide us through such difficult times. But, if we look beyond the physical to a spiritual reality described by this prophetic allegory, then we can appreciate the fact that when we enter the valley and the shadow of death, we always enter of our own accord!
"Yea, though I walk..." "Why would we do this...?" you may ask. Let us explore...
James explains in chapter 1:
[13] Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man:
[14] But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
[15] Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
In other words, one who lives outside of the Framework of the Covenant, one who tests (and lives outside of) the boundaries that God has set up, especially one who knows the way and knows the Law, is sentencing himself to spiritual death; for as James taught later, "Faith without works is dead..." Or, as I like to say, "After you believe, then what?"
This spiritual death may not be immediately revealed on this plane, that is to say that, one can live in sin and may still be rich, may still prosper, may still be popular with the ladies/men, may even still live a long life. But, as Jesus so often said, "Verily, they have their reward." Whether in this life, or in the world to come, we will be held to account for our sins, including the ones we hide and lie about, and especially those which we don't even try to overcome. Paul says in Galatians 6:7, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
As James taught, when we live outside the framework, we are willingly walking down that road that leads to the valley and the shadow of death. God may lead us beside the green pastures and still waters, but God does not lead us through the valley. In fact, our constant prayer is, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." So, yes, we willingly (and sometimes happily) walk that dark path on our own.
And, just like the child who tests boundaries with his parents, if God is merciful, He won't leave us in sin, but will smack us with His rod of correction. Proverbs 3:12 tells us, "For whom the LORD loveth He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth."
Sin, however, is not the only way we can end up on the valley. Let us explore...
Perhaps we find ourselves at a transitional period in life, a time when the immediate future is unknown, a time of breaking old habits and establishing new patterns. It could be going off to college, getting our first job or house, getting married, having a baby, having a mid-life crisis... any number of significant life moments can be an opportunity for us to grow spiritually.
If the truth be told, most of the time, we stay on the horizontal level of life, just going along with the flow, hiding in the crowd, doing what most everyone else is doing. It may be boring or monotonous or uninspiring, but it is also predictable and "safe." But, if we are to grow, we have to break from the mundane and the usual and take up the vertical of the crosses in life. As my mentor taught, "There cannot be transformation without conflict."
We stir up conflict with the outer man when we put down the bottle, when we put down the needle, when we stop running the women, when we restrain ourselves from that gossipy phone call or text, when we restrain ourselves from responding spitefully to pettiness and jealousy, and even when we go out of our way to help someone else. And in these very same moments of our lives, we go forward, taking a step up on Jacob's ladder. Just as the Children of Israel coming out of Egypt were charged to go forward in faith, sight unseen, so must we, too, go forward in faith, sight unseen.
When we are seeking growth, God will be with us; but He does not lead us directly. We have to do it, because by our act of will to initiate the change, we are demonstrating to God that we "...are persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God." (Romans 8:38-39)
Make no mistake about it; when we enter new, unfamiliar, untamed, uncomfortable territory, when we open up and examine old wounds, when we seek forgiveness from others (or from ourselves), when we break old habits, when we stir up the outer man, the emotional and mental upheaval can seem like death! In fact, we are killing off our old self and mourning its passing. But, true to the Word, God follows us with His staff of power, giving us new life to do a new thing. "Behold I will do a new thing! I will make a way in the wilderness..."
We, a people who celebrate and claim freedom, must make deliberate choices. We either choose to sin, or we choose to grow. "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing..."
On the surface, the immediate consequences of both can look the same. The sinner is working his way down to perdition, and the seeker is trying to get through that dark and lonely night of the unknown (to that morning joy). Both walk through the valley and the shadow of death; but the question before us today is:
Whether one is a sinner or a seeker, can these bones live?
Who can tell which is the seeker, and who is the sinner, for we all have been both? And, whom among us have a heaven or hell to put them into? Can these bones live? Only the Lord GOD knoweth!
True to His divine pattern, we find that, in both cases, whether it be the sinner who repents, or the seeker who overcometh, the only way out of the valley, the only way to restoration, the way only to life is the Word of the LORD! We must not only hear, but do, for as Prophet William S. Crowdy said: "So, I was show by Seven Keys the work of God pertaining to salvation... that if the one who will read it and do it, will surely reach eternal life without fail..."
Maybe we feel stuck... maybe that sin or vice seems to strong to break, maybe that test seems to difficult to overcome, maybe that night seems like it's going on forever. Regardless of how helpless or weary we feel, regardless of how we ended up in the valley in the first place, the LORD said to Ezekiel (chapter 37):
[4] ...Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, 'O ye dry bones, hear the Word of the LORD.'
[5] Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; 'Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live...'
[11] ...[but] they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
[12] Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O My people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
[13] And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves,
[14] And shall put My spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
If you found this post to be uplifting, inspiring, or instructive, feel free to share the link.
