What measure of faith do you have to believe God for miracles? If one has the God kind of faith all things have meaning. Have you ever asked “Why do tragedies or bad things happen to good people? Why would a loving God allow us to suffer?” I asked God for strength and God gave me tribulation to make me strong. I asked for wisdom and God gave me complex obstacles to solve. I asked for courage and God gave me peril to overcome. I asked for love and God gave me disturbed, distressed people to help. My prayers were all answered.
The prophets are examples to us as friends of God. Prophets have been through many tests to develop their testimony, varied trials, and messes to get God’s message of hope. They have endured great difficult tribulations to develop obedience and an intimate level of trust in God’s goodness so they will only move by His Spirit. God is removing mixture from His body so that we will be holy and never touch the profane.
Ezekiel was a prophet and priest who along with Daniel served God during the Babylonian exile when Nebuchadnezzar reigned as king. Nebuchadnezzar castrated all the young, handsome men from the House of David. He executed a whole army of royal, kingly, leaders because he feared that the Babylonian women would marry them to follow their God. Nebuchadnezzar had their bodies publicly mutilated, dismembered, and ordered their bones to be scattered in an open, barren, valley field for the birds to pick bare. The Talmud teaches that their bones are the famous “Dry Bones of (Ezekiel 37:1-10), “The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord. He set me down (humbled me) amid the valley; and it was full of bones. Then God caused me to pass by (look, see, survey, and wonder with spirit eyes) and around all the very many dry bones. God asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So, I humbly answered, “O Lord God, You know.” “And God said unto me, Prophesy unto these bones and say: O’ dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord.”
God took Ezekiel out of the present back to the Garden to envision and learn from the Genesis of creation how the breath of the Spirit made it possible to resurrect Adam to life from dust and create Eve from a rib.
Then the hand of the Lord came upon the Prophet in this biblical vision. God instructed the prophet Ezekiel to speak the Living Creative Word of God’s spirit-breath to dry bones. We are currently in the era where God’s fiery hand is touching the mouths of His prophets again. It’s not just an angel that touched Isaiah’s mouth with a fiery coal from God’s altar. God Himself is commanding us to speak life by the Spirit of God to the multitude of dry bones that surround us. Ezekiel released an instructed word, a more sure sound of prophesy. “A second time God said to Ezekiel, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely, I will cause My breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you for forward movement, and bring flesh upon you, to cover you with a new wineskin and put My creative life-giving breath in you; and you shall live in the unity of the faith with an overcoming Christ-like identity as a manifested son of God, demonstrating the full measure of Christ’s power and all heavenly authority. Then you shall know that IAM the Lord.”
Dry Bones Realigned
The commanded words of Ezekiel’s mouth caused the dry, scattered bones of these handsome men to move, shake, rattle, and realign as they rolled back together. Ezekiel ministered under the presence of the Holy Spirit’s creative Ruach breath and the Angels of the Four Winds of Heaven. “God said to me, (Ezekiel) “Prophesy to the breath, (Four Winds) prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, (Holy Spirit) ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”’ “So, I prophesied as God commanded me, and the Ruach breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.” It is impossible to stop an army that has already overcome fear and death!
The four winds of heaven are four creative angels of dominion that stand positioned at earth’s four corner boundaries covering the whole world from the north, south, east, and west quadrants. God asked, “Son of man, can these bones live?” and Ezekiel answered, “O Lord God, You know.” Our God is all-knowing!
When Ezekiel moved in the faith of God he prophesied as God commanded him. The four heavenly winds and the Holy Spirit caused all their dry, scattered bones to join, be clothed in flesh and rise as a conquering, united, triumphant army to live again.
Jewish tradition states that Ezekiel’s obedience was more than just a prophetic act, a creative sign, or astounding wonder. Ezekiel’s boundless faith in his God, prophetic decrees, and bold actions, established a heavenly sound that propelled him into the glory realm of creative miracle faith. His life-giving words reassembled the dead, dry, skeletal bones, clothed them with muscle, tendons, and flesh. With the spirit of glory breath that came from aligning with the Holy Spirit’s fire, the four living creatures, and coals of fire from the cherubim’s winds Ezekiel’s commanded words resurrected these beautiful slain men.
Custom teaches that these handsome Hebrew men were resurrected by the breath of the Spirit and lived out their completed destines on earth. Ezekiel’s faith believed God to resurrect dry bones back to life. He heard, saw, felt, and experienced their divine recovery and restoration as it happened right before his eyes. Ezekiel ministered life to dry bones. How much easier is it for us to believe for salvation, deliverance, and to do creative miracles by prophesying abundant life into the dry bones of those who daily surround us in their valley of decision.
The prophets Daniel and Ezekiel both ministered in Babylon during Nebuchadnezzar’s era. The Midrash recounts the story of the three young, heroic, Hebrew men who were thrown into the fiery furnace. The king demanded, “At the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you must fall down and worship the image I have created.”
Daniel 3:16-18, “Shadrach Meshach and Abednego answered and said unto the king, O’ Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer you in this matter. If it be so our God can deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thy hand O king. But if we are not delivered out of the fire, be it known unto you O king that we will not serve your idol gods or golden image. Nor will we worship to the worldly, humanistic sounds which you have produced.”
Deliver means to thoroughly liberate, to free, to assist in giving birth, to surrender to another, to send out to reach an intended goal or target, to give speech, to proclaim, prophesy or utter, to secure something promised, expected, or desired.
These courageous youth had consulted with Ezekiel before they decided not to bow down, but to boldly dare to challenge Nebuchadnezzar’s order to fear him and worship his idolatrous image. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind.
Ascending Into the Image of Christ
The prophet Ezekiel told the three Hebrews he had not heard that God would deliver them from a fiery death or allow him to resurrect their burned bodies from the dead. Armed with this knowledge, the three valiant men still decided to disregard Nebuchadnezzar’s commands. They overcame the fear of death, which is the last enemy, and ascended into the image of Christ, walking in unison with the man of fire.
Once they left Ezekiel’s presence, the Breath of the Spirit, came to His prophet. God told Ezekiel that these three men would indeed live through this horrendous ordeal, but he was not to tell them in advance. God wanted them to stand in faith believing God would deliver them. The words they chose to defy the King, spoke to him of the previous catastrophe where their companions had been murdered, dismembered, and their bones were scattered. These three brave men reminded the king, “Our God is able to deliver us from your hands O’ King, just like He caused Ezekiel to resurrect the bones of the men you previously had executed.” They decreed, “Nebuchadnezzar our God can restore to life dead, dry bones. Therefore, know our God can deliver us from your hands Oh king, from your fiery furnace and also resurrect our burned, charred ash heap bodies. There is nothing that is too difficult for our God.”
If we like these have the faith of God, and exercise exact faith, knowing that a mustard seed (not the size of faith,) though small, will always produce a mustard tree, we will say, pray, prophesy, decree and declare the word of God to the mountains in our life, saying, “Be removed from before me and walls of death will move.” Nothing will be impossible for us when we believe in God, exercise power in His faith and act on His Word. (Matthew 17:20; 19:26)
To come into the presence of God we must enter in by faith believing He is, Who He says He is, and that His Word is true. (Hebrews 11:6), states, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is God, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Diligence is defined as a persistent application, careful attention with continuous, painstaking effort that chooses to endlessly esteem in love.
The Full Measure of Christ’s Glory
We have been called by God’s grace to obtain the full measure of Christ’s glory (grandeur, wonder, beauty, brilliance, success, resplendency) and virtue (to give us His advantage, benefit, merit, integrity, morality, honesty, uprightness) to receive a precious faith that multiplies grace and peace to us by the righteousness and knowledge of Jesus. It is His divine power that has given us access to ALL THINGS that pertain to life and godliness.
These exceedingly, great and precious promises cause us to be partakers of God’s divine nature. Our diligence in seeking God adds to us virtue, knowledge, and self-control, perseverance, godliness, and brotherly kindness. The greatest of these is love because love opens our eyes wide enough to see what the Father is doing so our mouths can speak God’s creative life-giving Word in power (2 Peter 1:1-9). Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed (to us, in and through us), we shall be like Him, (doing the greater works) for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2).
The skeletal bones of the prophets became miracle containers and conduits that generated resurrection power. The level of anointing that was entombed in the dry bones of the Prophet Elisha was enough to revive a dead soldier who simply touched his skeleton. Elisha’s residual anointing quickened the dead man causing him to live again to stand on his feet (2 Kings 13:21).
The multiplied, mighty, dimensional names that open the realms of glory and the weighty Word of God contained within the heart of the prophet Jeremiah could not be held back. The full measure of the Word of God was under so much pressure that it burned like a consuming fire shut up in his bones (Jeremiah 20:9).
Jesus knew who He was. He believed that He was the only begotten Son of God. He recognized that He and His Father were One! This is why Jesus was able to do all the mighty acts and miracles that He performed. Jesus flowed out from within the power of God because He understood He was and is eternally God! Matthew 3:16, When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. Jesus was intimate with His Heavenly Father. He knew we must be born of Spirit and of Water to receive eternal life.
Jesus knew the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in, John 8:55, “Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His Word.” When we seek God with our whole heart, He will be found of us. When God is found by us, and we see and hear Him, the heavens will be opened to us, and we will be like Him, joint heirs resting in His promises, of living in and through Christ.
Decree these verses over yourself with me.
Psalm 138: I will praise You with my whole heart; before the gods I will sing praises to You. I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name. In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul. All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord, when they hear the words of Your mouth. Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord. Though the Lord is on high, yet He regards the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands.
Psalm 119:57, God You are my portion, O Lord; I have said that I would keep Your words.
Psalm 119:101, I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Your word.
Proverbs 4:4, He also taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart retain my words; keep My commands, and live.
Proverbs 7:1, My son, keep My words, and treasure My commands within you.
John 8:51, Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word, he shall never see death.
John 14:23-24, Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.”
We are currently seated with and in Christ Jesus reigning in and from heavenly places. When we die and our bones lay in a grave, field or ocean; God will send His angels to gather us, His elect spirits, from the four winds, from the farthest part of the earth to bring us to the extreme part of heaven to live with Him forever (Mark 13:27). But until then, let’s prophesy the commanded Word of the IAM God to resurrect the dead, dry bones in the valley of the shadow of death so they will resurrect into eternal life to live forever.
Dr. Barbie L. Breathitt
Visitor Comments (0)
