Them Bones
- In a vision, God sets Ezekiel down in a valley full of dry bones. He asks Ezekiel if these bones can live, and Ezekiel replies, saying that only God himself knows. Right answer.
- God tells Ezekiel to prophesy, telling the bones that they'll live, that the breath of God will enter them, causing them to put on sinews (tendons and ligaments) and flesh again.
- So Ezekiel prophesies and the bones all rattle together, forming skeletons. They have flesh and muscle grow on them, forming complete human bodies, but they're still not alive, with no divine breath in them.
- God tells Ezekiel to prophesy for the breath to enter the bodies, and when Ezekiel does so, they all come alive.
- Zombie Apocalypse? No.
- God explains that these are the bones of the House of Israel. The people believe that their fate is sealed and that there'll be no restoration of their kingdom and their land. But there will, and this is the meaning of the dry bones coming to life.
Them Sticks
- God tells Ezekiel to take two sticks and make them into one stick (by binding them together or whatever).
- He's supposed to write on one stick that it represents Judah, and on the other that it represents Joseph (or Ephraim) and the Israelites associated with it. (That kingdom had been long gone courtesy of the Assyrian conquest.)
- God says the meaning of this is that these two peoples will be made into one. He will lead them both back into their lands, making them into a single kingdom.
- This time they'll be obedient, observing all of his laws and giving up idol worship.
- David will be their king, and they'll all have one ruler. They'll never leave the land again, and their children will inhabit it forever.
- God will dwell with them, blessing them and making sure they multiply.