The vision of dead bones returning to life becomes a symbol of the spiritual rebirth and renewal that await the Jewish people after the captivity. At the center of this process are the Messiah, allegorically called David here, and the new—or more precisely, renewed—covenant with God, which...
The vision of dead bones returning to life becomes a symbol of the spiritual rebirth and renewal that await the Jewish people after the captivity. At the center of this process are the Messiah, allegorically called David here, and the new—or more precisely, renewed—covenant with God, which Ezekiel calls a “covenant of peace.” This does not speak only of universal reconciliation and the absence of wars and hostility, although these too are implied. In this case the absence of hostility is only a consequence. The biblical concept of peace is much broader. It concerns above all the inner state of a person who abides in constant communion with God—constant rather than occasional, as is characteristic of most of us today.
Such inner peace is actually attained simply by consistently observing the fourth commandment, the commandment of the Sabbath. This commandment is not only about refraining from everyday business for at least one day a week, but also about forgetting it altogether, if only for one day. It means stopping the ceaseless whirl within us and coming to a stop ourselves, because otherwise we cannot hear God. Otherwise we cannot sense God's breath, the breath of life given by the Creator to each of us at creation. Yet it is essential to sense it, because without this, communion with God is impossible. That communion takes place in the heart, in the very spiritual “I” that is the center of the human person. But we can hear the voice of our own “I,” hear ourselves, only when the noise coming from outside grows quiet in the soul. This is why the rest of the Sabbath is needed—a rest expressed by the same Hebrew word that also means “peace.” It is on this very peace, or rest, that the new covenant binding God to His people and to everyone belonging to that people is founded.
The inner peace that for us is most often only episodic must become our usual state. Then the new covenant, a new quality of relationship with God and a new level of communion with Him, will also become real for us. Without this no spiritual renewal is possible, for it presupposes not only grace poured out in full measure, but also a person's capacity to receive that grace, likewise in full measure. Then the covenant with God will become truly new: a covenant of peace and a covenant of the Kingdom.
37 The vision of the resurrection of the dry bones, Eze 37:1-10.
The explication of it, Eze 37:11-14.
A type of the happy coalition which would be between Israel and Judah, Eze 37:15-22.
A prediction of the kingdom of Christ, and of the glories and graces of that kingdom, Eze 37:23-28.
37:1 And set me down - So it seemed to me in the vision. Which is a lively representation of a threefold resurrection: