Ezekiel
Ezekiel saw visions during the exile in Babylon, among them a valley of dry bones that came together and lived again.
O Ye Dry Bones · Ezekiel 37:4
Crewneck · 7 colors
Price range: $36.95 through $39.95
O Ye Dry Bones · Ezekiel 37:4
Hoodie · 7 colors
Price range: $42.95 through $46.95
O Ye Dry Bones · Ezekiel 37:4
T-Shirt · 7 colors
Price range: $24.95 through $28.95
About the book of Ezekiel
Ezekiel is a major prophetic book of the Old Testament, named for its author. Ezekiel was a priest from Jerusalem who was carried off to Babylon in 597 BC along with King Jehoiachin and thousands of other Judeans. He lived among the exiles beside the river Chebar, where God called him to prophesy. His ministry ran from about 593 to 571 BC, and he wrote to a people who had lost their land, their king and their temple. The book has 48 chapters and is full of visions, from living creatures and wheels to a valley of bones.
Main themes
The first half of the book is a warning. Through visions, symbolic acts and plain sermons, Ezekiel tells the exiles that Jerusalem will fall because of idolatry and injustice. Many of them hoped for a quick return home, and he told them it would not come soon. When word finally reached Babylon that the city had fallen, the message of the book turned from judgment to comfort.
The second half is about restoration. God promises to shepherd his scattered flock in Ezekiel 34, to give his people a new heart and a new spirit in Ezekiel 36:26, and to bring the nation back to life in the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37. The book closes with a vision of a renewed temple and a river of life flowing out from it in Ezekiel 47. Through all of it, the point is that God keeps his promises to people who feel finished.
Verses from Ezekiel on our apparel
The one verse we print from this book is Ezekiel 37:4: “Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.” Ezekiel is standing in a valley of bones that have lain in the sun for a very long time, and God tells him to speak to them anyway. The power is not in the prophet or in the bones. It is in “the word of the LORD.”
That is the verse on our O Ye Dry Bones design, which comes as a T-shirt, a hoodie and a crewneck. It suits anyone who is praying for a family member who seems far from God, or who is walking through a dry season of their own, and wants a plain reminder that God’s word brings life where there was none.
Frequently asked
Why does Ezekiel have so many strange visions? Ezekiel wrote to exiles who believed God had left them behind, so he was given visions of God’s throne, his glory and his plans. The images are vivid because they had to reach people who had lost the temple and doubted that God was still near.
What did the dry bones stand for? Ezekiel 37:11 says the bones represent the whole house of Israel in exile, who felt their hope was gone. New Testament passages such as John 5:25 and Ephesians 2:1-5 also speak of God giving life to the spiritually dead.