October 6, 2004

Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-10

 

“There was a noise, and suddenly a rattling” (7)

 

Too many people, when they think of Ezekiel, this is the only passage that comes to mind, but, if asked, have little understanding as to its meaning and application. Songs have been written about it, and preachers love to preach on it, howbeit with various interpretations.

Recently, while reading this account, my thoughts were taken up with the phrase “There was a noise, and suddenly a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone” Ezek 37:7 (NKJV). I immediately thought of Acts 2:2, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.”

A common interpretation of Ezekiel 37 is that it applies to the reestablishment of the House of Israel in the last days. With this I agree, however, I am guided in my application by such scriptures as Gal 3:29, “If you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” The Israel of God is the church, the Body of Christ, and the promises of the Old Testament apply to this wonderful Body Jesus Christ is currently establishing.

The sounds spoken of in our text are the sounds of construction. To use a different biblical analogy, Christ is building His church—He is the Chief Cornerstone and we, believers in Him, are the bricks, the “living stones”—“You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house” 1 Peter 2:5.

Jesus has assumed the sole responsibility for the construction of His church (Matt 16:18), and, no matter the degree of opposition, He will be successful. The gates of hell and Satan himself may devise ways to oppose this construction, but Jesus will succeed. He has already overcome Satan’s greatest plan to destroy this building, and, while history records some devastating blows, the church continues to grow under the creative hand of the Master Craftsman (Prov 8:30).

Open your ears to the sounds of history—listen to the fearless preaching of Peter and Paul along with the sounds of hell as the executioner’s axe beheads God’s people. Listen to the sounds of singing form the lips of those being torn apart in the Roman Coliseums. Hear the false accusations leveled against Polycarp, John Huss, William Tyndale, Bishop Ridley, Hugh Latimer, and many others, and the crackling of the fire as flames consumed their tortured bodies. Listen to the sound of their prayers as their last words prayed for God to forgive their executioners. More recently open your ears as spears pierced the bodies of missionaries in Ecuador and Brazil; the thud of a terrorist bullet as it entered the heart of Martin Burnham, missionary in the Philippines. Such stories can be duplicated thousands of times over. Through it all, faithful preachers preach the everlasting gospel throughout the world.

Jesus is building His church. The noise of construction is all around us. That rattling sound is the sound of men, women and children being brought together to form the Body of Christ. Do not feel sorry for the church—construction is doing well and is on time. Meanwhile, let us not be weary in the preaching of the Word of God. Let the sound of our testimony sound forth and rejoice the angels as souls are added to the Body of Christ. Remain faithful until we hear that sound we long for: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” 1 Cor 15:52.