We all know the story of Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones…Ezekiel 37 1-11. It was a case of hopelessness and how God turned it around. Ezekiel, being a prophet could not even give a definite answer when God asked if the bones could live again…he responded “Sovereign Lord, you alone know” vs 3
Is your marriage nothing short of dry bones in a valley?
Are you living together but the essence of the marriage is long gone?
Are you on the verge of a divorce and it seems nothing can stop it?
Are you willing to SPEAK LIFE?
Are you willing to allow the Spirit of God jolt it back to life?
Ezekiel wrote “So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them”
It starts by knowing that ONLY God can fix it and also knowing the part we have to play as well…the issue is, some people pray without doing their part and some get into action, doing everything they can without involving God. God made it happen but Ezekiel had to follow instructions and do his part.
Before a living thing decomposes into dry bones, it must have been lifeless, then stripped, by the elements, of its skin, flesh, the tendons/muscles until it’s left with scattered dry bones.
Before a marriage degenerates into such a state, the couple must have either squeezed the life/spirit of God out of it or allowed it to be squeezed out. This will make everything else fall out of place.
When God brought the dry bones back to life, He did not start with His breath…the same thing during creation, breath came after there was structure. So if you are praying for God to intervene in your marriage, He will…but start by putting the structure in place.
Let the bones come together…bone to bone, Skull where it should be, Tibia where it should be, nothing out of place.
This implies orderliness, going back to the drawing board and rearranging priorities. Putting everything where God intended them to be. As a man, you cannot be praying for a change in your marriage and not be ready to follow the order of God for marriage…same applies to women. The moment you still have another plan, the moment you still have another schematic or building plan different from the master plan, you are not ready.
You ask what the order is?
“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church” – Ephesians 5:21-29
Any algorithm different from this will end up in error.
After the bones aligned, the tendons came…a tendon is a flexible but inelastic cord of strong fibrous collagen tissue attaching a muscle to a bone. This talks about flexibility…
Flexibility means “the quality of bending easily without breaking” or “the ability to be easily modified” or “willingness to change or compromise” The Bible says in Ephesians 4:2 “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love”.
Flexibility goes both ways, otherwise it strains the one being flexible…note the word inelastic in the definition of a tendon; which means there is a limit to which you can stretch your partner. You can’t just take, take and take without giving.
After the tendons came the flesh…
The flesh is the soft substance of a human or other animal body that consists of muscle and fat. To restore the flesh in your marriage, STOP taking your pound of flesh. If/When someone demands their pound of flesh, they make someone give them something that they owe them, although they do not need it and it will cause problems for the other person. This talks about forgiveness and not being vengeful. “He/She must suffer for what they made me go through”. “I will not be pacified”. “Nobody can beg me…I must take my pound of flesh”. The Bible says
“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD” – Leviticus 19:18
“Do not say, "I'll do to them as they have done to me; I'll pay them back for what they did" – Proverbs 24:29
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone” Romans 12:17
“If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge…” Romans 12:18-19a
After the flesh came the skin…
Skin is the outer covering that guards the underlying muscles, bones, ligament and internal organs. This talks about shielding, protecting and covering your marriage and spouse from “harsh elements”. Protect your marriage from family members, friends, ungodly advice and anti-marriage culture (no matter how popular or cool they seem).Part of protecting your marriage is accountability…find an accountability partner, a GODLY marriage mentor (so to speak). Someone you can talk to when overwhelmed. Protect your marriage by guarding your eyes and ears…avoid things that draw your thoughts and heart away from the Lord and from your spouse.
By guarding our eyes and ears, we keep impurity out and strengthen the walls surrounding our marriage. The Bible says “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” – Proverbs 4:23
“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” – Luke 6:45
I beseech you to weather-proof your marriage…cover it with ‘skin’.
Lastly Ezekiel 37:9 says “Then He (God) said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live”
Speak life to your marriage…speak the life of God to it. As Toby Mac said in his song
“So speak Life, speak Life.
To the deadest darkest night.
Speak life, speak Life.
When the sun won't shine and you don't know why.
Look into the eyes of the brokenhearted;
Watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope,
You speak love, you speak...
Raise your thoughts a little higher,
Use your words to inspire,
Joy will fall like rain,
When you speak life with the things you say”.
Proverbs 18:21 says “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits”
I speak life to every ailing and dying marriage/relationship in the mighty name of Jesus
My question to you is “Can these bones live”?
What is your answer?
NB: If you are in an abusive (Physical or Emotional) relationship, seek help
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