Set to dark modeSet to dark modeThe Bible Says Commentary on Ezekiel 37
Please choose a passage in Ezekiel 37
Ezekiel 37:1-6 records Ezekiel’s vision of the Valley of Dry Bones. God reveals to Ezekiel a valley full of countless bones of a people long dead. He asks the prophet if the bones can live, and Ezekiel answers the Lord, "You know." God tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones to hear God’s word, receive His breath, and they will be resurrected.
Ezekiel 37:7-10 details the resurrection of the bones. Ezekiel obeys the LORD and prophesies to the bones. The bones reassemble. They return to other bones and become skeletons again. Every bone is reattached correctly. Sinew, muscle, and skin grows over the bones. But the bodies remain dead. God tells Ezekiel to prophesy to "the breath" and tell the breath to breathe on the dead. Ezekiel obeys. The breath resurrects the bodies of the dead. They are alive. They stand up, as a host of enormous numbers.
Ezekiel 37:11-14 records how God tells Ezekiel that the bones in this vision represent all of Israel. Israel and Judah were both in exile from their land, and had given up hope on ever returning. But God wants them to know that He will bring them back to the land of Israel. In that day, they will know that God has done this, has restored them as a nation, a people, His people, and that He will put His Holy Spirit in them.
Ezekiel 37:15-19 shows further in the vision that God promises to reunite Israel and Judah. After Solomon's reign as king over the entire land of Israel, ten tribes broke the nation in half and created the Kingdom of Israel in the north, while in the south the kingdom of Judah emerged. Both were separate kingdoms for centuries. But God will combine both kingdoms into one, as He always intended the Jewish people to be one people, His people, in one united land. This is illustrated by two sticks the LORD commands Ezekiel to tie together.
Ezekiel 37:20-23 demonstrates God's promise to bring the scattered Jewish people back to the Promised Land. The people of Israel in the northern kingdom were exiled after Assyria conquered them. The people of Judah in the southern kingdom were exiled after Babylon conquered them. But God explains that He will make them one nation in the land again, with one king. In that time, they will no longer worship idols, but will be delivered from sin and cleansed of sin by God. They will be His people.
Ezekiel 37:24-25 shows God’s promise to establish a Davidic king who will rule over all of Israel when they have been restored to their land. They will live there forever and their Davidic king will be their king forever. They will never be removed from the land again.
Ezekiel 37:26-28 shows that God will make a covenant of peace with His people which will last forever. He will dwell among His people forever. His people will prosper and grow. The whole world will know that God dwells with Israel. This prophecy points forward to when Jesus, the Son of God and heir of David, will rule the earth from Jerusalem in perfect righteous.
Ezekiel Chapter 37 begins with the well-known vision of the valley of dry bones, where God transports the prophet Ezekiel to a desolate valley filled with scattered skeletal remains. In this vision, God asks Ezekiel, "Son of man, can these bones live?" (Ezekiel 37:3). Ezekiel prophesies to the bones at God's command, and they slowly come together, gaining flesh, sinews, and finally the breath of life. This imagery powerfully illustrates God's ability to restore what appears hopeless or lost, specifically pointing to the exile-worn nation of Israel that felt spiritually dead and cut off from their homeland.
The chapter then shifts to the symbolic act of joining two sticks together, one labeled for Judah and the other for Ephraim (representing the northern kingdom of Israel). God promises that He will reunite these divided nations and make them "one nation" in His hand (Ezekiel 37:22). In the historical timeline, the prophet Ezekiel ministered to Jews who had been exiled to Babylon around 597 BC under King Nebuchadnezzar's rule. The northern kingdom had been exiled earlier by Assyria in 722 BC, while the southern kingdom of Judah fell to the Babylonians in 586 BC. This prophecy offered hope that God's people, though scattered due to sin and rebellion, would return to their land and be restored as one unified kingdom.
The promise of restoration in Ezekiel Chapter 37 resonates with broader biblical themes of resurrection and new life. Throughout the Bible, God is depicted as the One who can breathe life into the dead and bring hope amid despair. This foreshadows the teachings of Jesus, who declared, "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25), pointing to His power over sin and death. The imagery of being raised up from lifelessness also echoes the New Testament portrayal of believers being "made alive" in Christ (Ephesians 2:5), connecting the physical revival in Ezekiel's vision to the spiritual revival found in the gospel.
Overall, Ezekiel 37 offers profound encouragement that God's mercy and saving power extend beyond earthly circumstances. Just as God promised to gather the exiles back to the land, He likewise gathers His people from all corners of the world and breathes into them new spiritual life. This chapter stands as a reminder that no situation lies outside God's ability to intervene, strengthen, and give purpose to those who turn to Him in faith.
© 2026 The Bible Says, All Rights Reserved.
Set to dark mode