Promises to the Dry Bones: May 14th Devotional

Promises to the Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37:11

May 14th Devotional

 

     The Jews were a people without a nation for nearly two thousand years.  The land known as Palestine was under the control of Britain since WW I and the British government was to relinquish authority over to the Jewish agency. The Jewish people were nearly exterminated under Nazi Germany. It seemed like nothing good could come from the Holocaust, but God works the evil of this world for good. On this day in 1948, in Tel Aviv, the Jewish Agency Chairman named David Ben Gurion (who later would become the first prime minister) declared Israel a free state for the Jewish people. The reaction among the Arab world was quick and harsh. Within minutes Arab armies moved against the nation of Israel. Egypt started an air raid. The cities were told to have a blackout, but that night during the black out the people celebrated. Why? Because on this day in history US President Harry Truman telegraphed to congratulate Ben Gurion.  Only eleven minutes had passed since the official announcement of Israel becoming an official nation.  The United States was the first nation to recognize Israel as a country. This was not an easy decision for Truman to come to. Truman had already been working on reuniting the world after WW II and rebuilding the world economy. Truman faced a battle over the official recognition of the nation of Israel. His predecessor, FDR, was an adamant opponent. His own Secretary of State, General George Marshall strongly withstood him and even threatened to resign, but Truman held firm. Why did Truman go against the opinion of everyone? The reason why was because of a daily prayer he prayed, "Almighty and Everlasting God, help me to be, to think, to act what is right because it is right."  Harry Truman was a passionate Christ follower and understood the promises that God had made to the Jewish people. Truman knew it was the right thing to do and compelled other nations to recognize the nation of Israel.

      Why is this event important in history? This event was a fulfillment of prophecy.  It was a supernatural work done by the hand of God. The Jews had wandered without a home for nearly two thousand years after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by Roman Emperor Titus. Many thought that God forgot them, abandoned them, and had broken the promise that He made to Abraham thousands of years earlier. But God always keeps His promise, including the rebirth of the nation of Israel. In Ezekiel 37 God brings Ezekiel to a valley of Dry Bones and asks him to prophesy over them. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army." Life came back into the dead, and sinews formed over dry bones. Some argue who the dry bones are, but God gives us the answer in Ezekiel 37:11 "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel." This day is not just a day in history, but a day in prophetic history. God keeps His promise!  God isn't just a promise maker, but a promise keeper.  Scripture contains countless promises that God makes to us,  each one of them irrevocable.  If God can keep a two-thousand-year promise to the children of Israel then God can also keep His promises to us.