Today’s passage begins and ends with different expressions of the same message. It is not enough to hear God’s word, to believe God’s word. We must act on God’s word. In between, James gives some examples of what it means to obey God’s word. That means thinking before we speak and choosing our words to bring glory to God. We should not show favoritism to some people over others. That means welcoming strangers among us and treating them as friends. Obeying God’s word means having a merciful attitude, and being merciful, towards those who have done wrong. Remember, the person who commits adultery is just as guilty of sinning as the person who murders. So is the person who tells lies.
Ezekiel’s prophecy to the valley of dry bones reminds me of congregations which have been given up for dead (in particular one near where I grew up). We, as people, look at these congregations which have grown old and become stagnant and think that they will gradually fade away. They have become stuck in their rut and the people are unwilling to adapt to the times. However, such does not need to be the case. God may send a prophet to speak to that congregation, He may send His Spirit upon them and put flesh back on their bones and breath life into their lungs. If there is still one person in that congregation who is faithful to God, that congregation still has a future. I feel called to pray for those congregations which appear to be as good as dead. Let us remember that with God all things are possible.
The wicked are fearful of everyone because they know what they would do if they were in the other person’s shoes. The righteous have no fear for the very same reason.
God’s love for everyone is powerful and enduring. I will praise Him for all the good He has done and encourage others to do the same. If you have not experienced God’s love it is because you are not looking.
James tells us to be quick to listen and slow to speak, and even slower to anger. He goes on to tell us that anger does not produce the type of behavior God desires in us. Instead of getting angry we should get rid of the filth and immorality in our lives replacing them with the word of God. However, it is not enough to listen, we need to act on what we hear. This is true when we listen to other people, but even more so when we listen to the word of God.
If we listen to God’s word but do not act on what God says, the listening will do us no good. We can claim to be religious, but if we do not control the words we speak we are kidding ourselves. True religion means taking care of widows, orphans, and others who cannot care for themselves. It is not enough to tell people that you wish them well. If they are in need, we must do whatever is in our power to meet their needs. Faith that does not cause us to act righteously is worthless.
The lesson that James is trying to get through to us in this passage is that we should listen carefully to what others say they need and to what God tells us we should do. Then once we have heard what is being said to us, we should act according to God’s will.
There are so many lessons that can be learned from Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones. Today, it makes me think of congregations which have become dried up and dead. I remember a man who was serving as interim pastor for a congregation which had been struggling for years. He told someone that there was nothing wrong with letting a congregation die.
He was not exactly wrong… but he was wrong.
There is nothing wrong with a congregation dying, but who are we to say that God does not still have a purpose for a congregation, even one which appears to be already dead. Perhaps if that interim pastor had spoken a prophetic message to that congregation instead of preparing to bury it, the Spirit of God would have moved in it to accomplish a great work.
I currently attend a congregation that was in much the same state as the one that interim pastor said that about, at the same time. However, God sent the congregation I now attend a man who spoke a prophetic message. A man who called on the Spirit of God to breath new life into the congregation. Both congregations were in areas which desperately needed the love of God. In both cases the congregations are still there. But the first one is small and struggling still 30 years later. The other is vibrant and growing. The difference is that in one all leadership saw was dry bones, in the other leadership saw that God’s Spirit could breathe new life. I know of at least one other church leader who was called by God into the area of that struggling congregation, but he looked elsewhere because all he could see when he looked at that congregation was dry bones. I pray to God that He never let me dismiss something as dry bones when He desires to use me to bring His Spirit to breathe new life into it.
I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Ezekiel was given a prophecy containing the metaphor of a valley of dry bones. He was shown a valley full of nothing but bones scattered over the valley, not even complete skeletons any longer. God asks Ezekiel a rhetorical question, “Can these bones be made to live again?” The obvious answer is, “No.” But Ezekiel is a little wiser than most people and knows that the correct answer is, “Only You know the answer to that God.” God then tells Ezekiel to prophecy to the dry bones that God will attach tendons and muscles to them, cover them with skin, and breathe life into them. Ezekiel did as commanded and the bones came together to form skeletons, muscle and flesh formed over the bones, and skin formed over the flesh. But the, now, bodies did not come to life. God told Ezekiel to prophecy once more. He told him to prophecy to the winds to come and breathe life into these bodies. Ezekiel did as he was told and the bodies began to breathe and stood up, now forming a great and mighty army.
In this passage, the metaphor applied to the nation of Israel. Ezekiel was saying that it appeared to be dead and beyond resurrection. Yet God was going to bring it back to life as a mighty army. However, this passage is for all of us who think that some group or organization that can serve God’s purpose has died beyond reviving. Any body that lives to serve God will live, no matter how dried out and dead it may appear to human eyes. It is worth noting that this revival did not happen in a single step. Ezekiel prophesied the revival and the bodies reformed, but it was not until he prophesied to them a second time, calling on the Holy Spirit to inhabit the bodies that they came to life. In the same way, we need to recognize that the job is not done after one proclamation. I believe that God is calling on His servants to call this nation, and the world, to revival. This is not something that will happen in just a few short years, but will require a lifelong commitment from numerous people. If it is God’s will, I pray that He give me the gifts to lead such a revival. If it is not His will that I lead such a revival (which I fervently hope is the case, since I feel that I am completely inadequate to such a task) I pray that He shows me how I may aid the leader whom He is raising up.
How well this passage from James fits into the message I understood from the portion of Ezekiel I read today. We must be eager to listen to the word of God which He is speaking to us. This means listening to all of those around us, because how do we know through whom God will choose to speak if we do not listen to what they are saying. However, we need to take our time before we speak what we have heard and we must be cautious about becoming angry. Human anger does not serve God and does not lead us to behave righteously (Divine anger is another matter, but we must be cautious to ensure that any anger we express is truly from God). It is not enough to listen to the word which God speaks to us (no matter through whom He speaks it). Once we have heard, we are to act. God is calling us to be a people of action.
All too many people misunderstand James as saying that our actions save us. That is not his message. His message is the solid food that follows on after we have grown enough to eat it. When we were spiritual infants, we first need to drink the spiritual milk which tells us that we can not earn our salvation. Our salvation comes through our faith that righteousness is a free gift from God. However, James tells us that if we truly believe, this belief will influence our actions. If we truly believe that sinful behaviors lead to our unhappiness and that righteous behaviors will lead our happiness, we will stop sinful behaviors and begin righteous behaviors. You can tell what I truly have faith in by examining my actions. If I say one thing and do another, you can be sure that I do not truly believe what I said.
Do I truly believe this? Am I willing to stand forth with boldness, assured that the wicked will flee? I pray to God that He give me the boldness to do as He wills and declare His word to all whom I meet.
I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I am back to a routine. It is not the same as my old routine, but I think it will work out well. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
Ezekiel prophesied that in the future God would speak His message to the dried and scattered bones that were the people of Israel. By the power of His word, He would put flesh and skin on those bones. Then He would breathe life into them again. When He had done this He would gather His children together and give them the land of Israel once more. When this happened all would know that He is Lord.
Ezekiel then had a different but related prophecy. He prophesied that the divided people would be united once more into one people. Ezekiel prophesied that God would gather the Northern Tribes and the Tribes that composed the Kingdom of Judah into one nation once more. People speak of the “Ten Lost Tribes of Israel”, but there are no lost tribes. When the Kingdom of Judah went into exile, they joined their relatives already in exile from the Kingdom of Israel. The important point of this prophecy is that God was going to bring the people of Israel back as a united people and give them the land of Israel once more. When God does this, He will give them the land until the end of time.
Ezekiel concludes today’s section with a prophecy against Gog of the land of Magog, who rules over Meshech and Tubal. Ezekiel tells us that this leader will gather his armies and that other peoples will ally with him. He will attack Israel in an attempt to plunder the land. Ezekiel prophesied that despite gathering a mighty army from many nations, they would suffer a defeat that was disastrous for their armies. This certainly sounds like the various Arab wars against the modern state of Israel. It could also indicate an even more encompassing war yet to come. The important point about this prophecy is that it tells us that Israel will survive these assaults, not because the people of Israel are deserving, but because God has chosen to honor His name by defending them.
James starts this section by giving us sage advice. We are to be quick to listen and slow to speak. I struggle with this, I want to give people my opinion on issues. In addition to being slow to speak, we are to be slow to anger because human anger does not produce the righteousness (or justice) that God desires. We must get rid of the filth and evil in our lives, a task easier said than done. Above all we must accept the word that God has put within us with humility. It is not, however, enough to listen, we must act on what we hear. We must take the actions that God instructs us to. One of those actions is to control our tongues. That goes in part with the being slow to speak from above, but it is more than that. We must strive to control what sorts of things we say so that all of our words may honor God. James tells us what true religion is. It is caring for widows and orphans, the truly powerless. There is one more bit to it. We are to keep the world from corrupting us.
James further tells us that we should not favor some people over others. In particular, we should not favor the rich over the poor. This is a challenge that every church body will struggle with. You need money to operate. Money to pay the bills. Money to pay for maintenance on the buildings where you meet. So, it is tempting to favor those who have money to give to help cover those bills, but it is wrong. We are to have faith in God that He will provide the funds necessary to pay those bills. If we are serving God’s will, He will provide the resources to continue.
Today’s passage concludes with the key element of the book of James. Faith that does not result in action is no faith at all. If we truly believe something, we will act accordingly. If we claim to care for the poor, but do nothing for them it is clear that we do not really care. My father told a story that illustrated this. I am sure he got the story from someone else, but I do not know where it came from.
A tightrope walker set up a rope across Niagara Falls. As a crowd gathered he walked across the Falls to the crowds amazement. Next, he walked across the rope blindfolded. Then he crossed the Falls pushing a wheelbarrow. Finally, he turned to the crowd and said, “Now I am going to push the wheelbarrow across the Falls with someone in it. Do you believe that I can do it?”
Many in the crowd replied, “Yes, we believe that you can do it.”
The tightrope walker pointed to one of those who said “Yes” and told him, “OK, then hop in.”
My father concluded this story by saying, “Faith is getting into the wheelbarrow.” Are we willing to get into that wheelbarrow? Do we really believe that God can get us safely to the other side?
The wicked are easily frightened because they know what they would do if they had the upper hand. The godly on the other hand do not fear, for the same reason.
