Undefeated by Death

Ezekiel was standing in the valley. The valley was gray and colorless, barren and dry. There was no life in the valley. No grass growing. No flowers blooming. No birds singing or critters skittering.

The decay of death hung heavy over the valley.

As Ezekiel walked through the valley, he had to step carefully. Before him was a ghastly sight. The valley was covered with dry, bleached bones.

There were no voices laughing or talking in the valley – only silence. There were no fragrances of perfume or perspiration – only expiration. There was no movement – only dried up, old bones.

God had deposited his prophet into a valley full of dry bones.

God told Ezekiel to preach to these bones. He was to preach the Word of life to people who were dead. Ezekiel preached:

“Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord God says to these bones. I am about to make breath enter you so that you will live. I will attach tendons to you. I will put flesh back on you. I will cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:4-6).

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Immediately, Ezekiel heard the silent valley filled with sound. It was the sound of rattling. The still valley was filled with movement. Ezekiel saw the bones coming together, bone to bone. Tendons and flesh appeared on the bones and covered them.

But there was no life in them. Because there was no breath in them.

God told Ezekiel to preach again. So Ezekiel preached, “From the four winds, come, O wind, and breathe into these slain so that they may live” (Ezekiel 37:9).

The valley was immediately filled with a sound like the rushing of a violent wind that came from heaven (Acts 2:2). It filled the whole valley. The wind was the breath of the Holy Spirit.

The breath of life filled each of the newly formed bodies. The silent valley suddenly was filled with voices talking and laughing. The still valley was filled with movement, with people hugging and children running. The barren valley was filled with vibrancy and color.

The valley of dry bones was transformed into a valley filled with the vast army of the Lord (Ezekiel 37:10).

Death is an uninvited visitor to this world. It is an unwelcome intruder into lives. It is a terrible rending of the soul from the body. It tears apart families. Death barges in to create chaos and grief.

But history proves that God is undefeated by death.

Elijah stretched himself over the widow of Zarephath’s son and cried out to the Lord until life was returned to the boy (1 Kings 17:17-24).

Elisha lay on top of the Shunamite woman’s son until he became warm and sneezed seven times (2 Kings 4:32-37).

A dead man was thrown into the tomb of Elisha. When his corpse touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man came back to life and walked out of the tomb (2 Kings 13:20-21).

Jesus stopped a funeral procession to raise a man from the casket (Luke 7:11-17).

Jesus grasped the hand of Jairus’ daughter and told her to rise (Mark 5:35-43).

Jesus called to his friend Lazarus to come out of the tomb (John 11:39-44).

Many deceased saints arose from their graves when the Son of God died (Matthew 27:52-53).

Peter prayed for Tabitha to get up (Acts 9:40).

Paul revived a man who died during one of his sermons (Acts 20:9-10).

Death had claimed all these people. God reclaimed them with his Word and breath of life. Death was forced to release each of them. Since death could not hold the Son of God (1 Corinthians 15:1-8), it could not hold those who belonged to the Son of God.

Jesus defeated death when he walked out of the grave – alive.

The breath of life had returned! Jesus walked through the dark, barren valley of death and came out on the other side. He walked that dark valley so he might know the way and lead all the dead to the other side to the green pastures and quiet waters in the valley of paradise.

But history proves there were a few times where Jesus led people back through the valley of death so they could be returned to the land of the living.

For our God is undefeated by death.