- The God of the Mountains and Valleys
1 Kings 20:28 “This is what the Lord says: “Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord.”
- The Valley of the dry bones
Ezekiel 37:1 (NIV) “The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.”
The book of Ezekiel was written by the prophet bearing the same name, which means “God will strengthen.”
Picture the scene. Ezekiel was carried off in the Spirit and taken to a valley of dry bones.
The Bible says these bones were “completely dried out “
Ezekiel 37:2 (NLT) “He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out.”
These “completely dried out ” bones symbolised a situation that looked completely hopeless.
In the vision, God asked Ezekiel a question. He said, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
Ezekiel 37:3 (NLT) “Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” “O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.”
Next God said to Ezekiel, “Prophesy upon these bones”
Ezekiel 37:4 (NIV) “Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!”
Whenever the Lord speaks, things happen.
Ezekiel 37:7 (NIV) “So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.”
When we proclaim God’s word over our circumstances, it’s going to cause a rattling. Things are going to happen.
Then, as Ezekiel began to be prophesy, there was a rattling. Suddenly, the bones were being pulled back to their original partners as God began the amazing process of reassembly.
At this point all the body parts were in their proper place.
The bones, muscle, and skin were in position, but still there was no life.
Ezekiel 37:10 (NIV) ”So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.”
God gives life
Ezekiel 37:11 (NIV) “Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.”
Ezekiel 37:14 (NIV) “I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.”
The Lord is our only hope
Psalm 39:7 “And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.”
Psalm 25:3 (NIV) “No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame”
- Achor: The Valley of Troubles
Achor means “trouble”
Joshua 7:25 (NIV) “Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.”
1 Chronicles 2:7 (LB) “Achan, the son of Carmi, was the man who robbed God and was such a troublemaker for his nation.”
Hosea spoke of the valley as a future “door of hope” and a place for joyful singing
Hosea 2:15 (NLT) “I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope.”
God can change your trouble into hope
Romans 5:3-5 (Moffatt) “We triumph even in our troubles, knowing that trouble produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope — a hope which never disappoints us, since God’s love floods our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.”
Achor means “trouble” and the “door of hope”
When trouble comes, look ahead for the victory.
Psalm 55:22 (GNT) “Leave your troubles with the Lord, and he will defend you; he never lets honest people be defeated”
“People get into trouble when they look to others to solve their problems. God is our problem solver.” ― Charles F. Stanley,
When problems are so big and your strength is no longer enough to carry them, don’t give up! Because, where your strength ends, The Grace of GOD begins!