1 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. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” ~ Ezekiel 37:1-3NIV
The LORD took Ezekiel to a valley of dry bones, and He asks him a question, “Can these bones live?” What’s Ezekiel’s answer? “You alone know.” Ezekiel’s answer isn’t really an answer when you think about it. God asks him a yes or no question, but instead of answering yes or no, Ezekiel hits God with the “I don’t know.” Why did it work? Ezekiel says it in a special way. Instead of specifically saying, “I don’t know,” he says, “you alone know.”
See, responding with “I don’t know” leaves no room for faith. It leaves no room for God to work. It is a hopeless answer. A faithless answer. Even though Ezekiel didn’t know, and it would have been truthful to answer, it would have been a faithless answer. So, Ezekiel responds with an answer that is full of faith. “Sovereign LORD, You alone know.”
Ezekiel starts by declaring who the LORD is. He declares the LORD is Lord (Adonai) and then calls the LORD by name (Yahweh). Ezekiel referred to God in the same manner in which his father Abraham had when he struggled with understanding the LORD’s promise of offspring for him. Abraham was the first recorded to have called God Adonai Yahweh. And LORD God referred to Himself as such when defending His people from spiritual attack. This is the name by which God referred to Himself when clearing a way for Moses (Exodus 34:5-7). When defending Joshua the High Priest (Zechariah 3:1-2). Why? Because the name of the LORD (Yahweh) is a strong tower, the righteous run into it and are saved (Proverbs 18:10).
Joshua was not just declaring God’s authority and name, but he was running into because he didn’t know the answer. So, instead of speaking hopelessness, he spoke words of faith. Same message, only difference was the delivery. And when the LORD heard those words, He then gave Ezekiel the answer in verses 4-6.
4 Then He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD (Yahweh). 5 Thus says the LORD God (Adonai Yahweh) to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
The LORD told Ezekiel to use that same name he had just used to declare who the LORD is. Adonai Yahweh. Even though Ezekiel wasn’t sure, he didn’t speak in doubt. He didn’t give any room for the enemy. He made room only for the LORD God to work. To move. To do.
When we are asked hard questions, can God really do this? Can this truly happen? Can your prayers truly be answered? Our tongue needs to be bridled so that it might speak words of faith. Words of hope. Words of life. Instead of words of doubt. Fear. Death.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Answer In Faith.