The Book of Genesis is generally considered prophetic, in that the events which are recorded in Genesis foreshadow events that later recur in Scripture (as well as in history). Notice, then, that Genesis Fifty records how the patriarch Yosef (Joseph) made the children of Israel promise to bring his bones with them, when they came to the Promised Land.

 

 

 

Then, when Moshe (Moses) led the first exodus, he did bring Yosef’s bones (עַצְמֹתַי) with him.

 

 

 

But why does Scripture tell us that Yosef made the children of Israel swear to bring his bones up out of Egypt? Was it just that he wanted to be buried in the Promised Land? Or was there something more?

In the Nazarene Israel study, we show how the House of Israel (Ephraim) is represented by the patriarch Yosef. Accordingly, that a Melchizedekian priest such as Moshe HaNavi would bring Yosef’s bones out of Egypt perfectly symbolizes what is beginning to take place in the present day, with the first resurrection.

 

Scripture tells us that the life is in the blood.

 

 

 

While the life is in the blood, blood is created in the bone marrow. By extension, then, we ought to be able to see that life is ‘regenerated’ in the bone marrow. What is so interesting, then, is that the eastern medical arts (such as Chinese Medicine) tell us that a person’s bones are a kind of a repository for their spirit.

 

Westerners often have difficulty accepting the fact that the Israelite faith is an eastern (and not a Western) faith, just as the Land of Israel lies in the Middle East (and not in the Mid-West). Eastern symbolism is used all throughout Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, and also here in Ecclesiastes.

 

 

 

In Hebraic thought, the spinal cord is sometimes called the ‘silver’ cord, while the skull is called the ‘golden bowl,’ and etceteras. The meanings of these Hebraic symbols are lost on most readers, however, because most readers read with Western eyes. The average Western reader is therefore confused about the meaning and symbolism of bones in Hebraic thought.

 

Notice that the righteous King Josiah exhumed and burned the bones of false priests, as a punishment for their having sinned against YHWH. Why?

 

 

 

In eastern thought, by burning their bones (עַצְמוֹת), Josiah was effectively condemning these false priests forever. This is because to burn someone’s bones is to destroy any opportunity that they may have for spiritual renewal or regeneration (i.e., spiritual resurrection).

 

Understand: Since YHWH is completely sovereign, He can assuredly resurrect anyone to spiritual life that He wants, whether their bones have been burned or not. For example, if a devout believer was cremated, this is not necessarily the end for them. However, we should consider this eastern concept of bones-as-repositories-for-the-personal-spirit when we read the so-called ‘Dry Bones Resurrection’ of Ezekiel 37.

In verse one of Ezekiel 37 we find that special phrase, “in the Spirit.” This phrase alerts us to the fact that we must be careful to understand that what we are about to read is not to be taken literally. Rather, we are about to read a purely symbolic vision.

 

 

 

When we read “in the Spirit” about a valley whose face is covered with bones that are “very dry,” we should understand that this passage is speaking in symbolism. It must be symbolism that is being spoken here, because there is no valley here on earth whose face is literally covered with “very dry” bones (עֲצָמוֹת).

 

As we will see below (in verse eleven), these bones are symbolic of the bones (the spiritual repositories) of the whole House of Israel (Ephraim). The reason these spiritual bones are so ‘dry’ is that the Ephraimite people have been spiritually dead for the past 2,730 years.

 

As we explain in Nazarene Israel, when the House of Ephraim was taken into the Dispersion, they did not die out physically. Rather, it was just that their children no longer thought of themselves as Ephraimites; and so their Ephraimite spirits died. Then, since they were no longer distinguishable from the rest of the gentiles, the Jews ruled that they should be called ‘gentiles.’

However, it is not as if the Ephraimite people physically died out, and ‘gentile Christians’ have replaced them. Rather, the physical descendants of Ephraim live on, albeit with a tremendous amount of in-and-out-grafting. However, since we are still dealing with the physical (and prophetic) descendants of Ephraim, all that is really needed is a renewing (or a resurrection) of the House of Ephraim’s spirits; and Ephraim will live again.

 

This, then, is precisely why Ezekiel 37 speaks of a spiritual resurrection (or ‘renewal.’)

 

 

YHWH knows Ephraim’s dry bones can live, because He plans to renew them (or resurrect them) spiritually. That is, YHWH says He will renew the spirits in the descendants of Ephraim all over the world (whether they are of literal or ingrafted descent): and if we take a good look around us at the world, we can see that this is (in fact) what is taking place even now.

 

In Hebrew, the word for breath is the same as the word for spirit: “ruach” (רוח): there is no difference. So, when YHWH tells us that He will cause breath (רוח) to enter into the dry bones, He is also telling us (at the exact same time) that He will breathe a new spirit (רוח) into the House of Ephraim: it is the same event.

 

 

 

First there was a noise, as some people started talking about the Two Houses of Israel. Then there was a rattling, as people began talking about re-organizing, so we can go back home to the Land. Now the leaders are beginning to join together, bone to bone; and soon His Body will be covered with sinews and skin, as people begin to understand that we need to obey the whole Torah (and not just a part of it). As this process continues, His Body will slowly be reformed.

 

 

 

 

YHWH promises that He will breathe new spiritual life into the House of Ephraim, and that we will ‘come up from our graves’ in a metaphoric sense.

 

 

What this passage gives us is the following sequence of events within the House of Israel (Ephraim):

 

 

 

We will talk more about the specifics of the unification process in coming chapters. However, before we can talk about the unification process, first we need to understand the prophecy of the ‘Two Sticks’ that is spoken about in the second half of Ezekiel 37.