Bones

Not sure what got me on the subject, perhaps hearing the song “Dem Bones” and having it stick in my mind for a few days.

Of course, that led me to Ezekiel chapter 37 and the story about the Valley of Dry Bones.

King James Version: Ezekiel Chapter 37

1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,

2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.

3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.

4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.

5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:

6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.

9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

These dry bones were reassembled, the body of each brought back and with the breath of life, they lived.
A resurrection it would seem.

Bones seem to be quite important. Jacob would have his bones buried not in Egypt where he died, but rather, returned to the place he had prepared for himself, in the land of Canaan. (Genesis 49:29 – 50:1-14)
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebeka, and Leah were also buried there. Later, Joseph would leave instructions to have his bones buried there. The land had been purchased by Abraham, and seems to have become a place of importance.

Moses had been buried, but no one knew exactly where, contrasted with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, so the place seems not to have been important. (Deuteronomy 34:6)

But then what about Enoch and Elijah? In Genesis 5:24 God took Enoch. In 2 Kings 2:11 Elijah was taken up in a whirlwind. No bones left here.

At the transfiguration, Jesus is standing talking with Moses and Elijah (Matthew 17:3).  With the appearance (in a spiritual body?) of Moses and Elijah, it would seem that bones would have little to do with life after death.  Moses has risen from the dead.  Elijah was taken up.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 we see that the dead in Christ rise first, then the living will be caught up with them.

No bones about it, thinking about bones takes through another adventure in scripture.