David Bahn – Reflections

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Today’s readings: Daniel 10-12, Psalm 98.

Daniel 10:1-14

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict. And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision.

² In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. ³ I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. ⁴ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris) ⁵ I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. ⁶ His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. ⁷ And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. ⁸ So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. ⁹ Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground.

¹⁰ And behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. ¹¹ And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. ¹² Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. ¹³ The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, ¹⁴ and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.”

A father of three prays for a job. He’s out of work and can’t feed his family. The answer doesn’t come. He prays. And waits. A wife watches her husband struggle against cancer. She prays for healing. He goes through chemotherapy. He joins her in that prayer. And they wait. A child wants her mom and dad to get back together. She prays with simple childlike faith – the faith Jesus praises – and she waits. The answer doesn’t come.

Not all prayers are like these. We don’t always have to wait long for God’s answer and the relief we seek. But sometimes we do. And so we wait.

When I first came across this chapter in a more studied way – more than two decades ago – a light went on in my mind. Wait! If Daniel’s prayer had been heard on the first day he offered it, how come it took 21 days for the answer to come?

The answer, at least in part, is that life here on earth is broken by sin. There are so very few straight lines between trouble and answers. Sometimes there are no lines we can see connecting the needs we bring to God with the answers he gives. Some answers will be revealed only in the life of the world to come.

And even when there are direct lines between our needs and God’s answers, there are other things at work of which we may be completely unaware. Daniel 10 gives us a remarkable glimpse behind the curtain. There are powers and principalities, angels and demons, forces in the spiritual realm opposing God and his purposes. They cannot finally defeat him. One day all opposition will be brought to an end.

As Daniel 12:2–3 says, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”

Who are those wise people who will shine like stars forever and ever? They are those whose hope is in the God who has promised to hear us when we pray. And he has sent his Son – greater than the mightiest angel – who himself waited in the darkness of the tomb.

But only until the third day.

Jesus has been vindicated. He lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit. That means our waiting is never empty, even when we cannot see what God is doing. Some answers come quickly. Some come after 21 days. Some may not come until the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.

But the risen Jesus assures us that the waiting will not last forever. Until then, we can entrust to him every need we face and every prayer we pray as we await his answer.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

Listen to today’s devotion

Today’s readings: Daniel 10-12, Psalm 98.

Daniel 10:1-14

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict. And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision.

² In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. ³ I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. ⁴ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris) ⁵ I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. ⁶ His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. ⁷ And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. ⁸ So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. ⁹ Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground.

¹⁰ And behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. ¹¹ And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. ¹² Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. ¹³ The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, ¹⁴ and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.”

A father of three prays for a job. He’s out of work and can’t feed his family. The answer doesn’t come. He prays. And waits. A wife watches her husband struggle against cancer. She prays for healing. He goes through chemotherapy. He joins her in that prayer. And they wait. A child wants her mom and dad to get back together. She prays with simple childlike faith – the faith Jesus praises – and she waits. The answer doesn’t come.

Not all prayers are like these. We don’t always have to wait long for God’s answer and the relief we seek. But sometimes we do. And so we wait.

When I first came across this chapter in a more studied way – more than two decades ago – a light went on in my mind. Wait! If Daniel’s prayer had been heard on the first day he offered it, how come it took 21 days for the answer to come?

The answer, at least in part, is that life here on earth is broken by sin. There are so very few straight lines between trouble and answers. Sometimes there are no lines we can see connecting the needs we bring to God with the answers he gives. Some answers will be revealed only in the life of the world to come.

And even when there are direct lines between our needs and God’s answers, there are other things at work of which we may be completely unaware. Daniel 10 gives us a remarkable glimpse behind the curtain. There are powers and principalities, angels and demons, forces in the spiritual realm opposing God and his purposes. They cannot finally defeat him. One day all opposition will be brought to an end.

As Daniel 12:2–3 says, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”

Who are those wise people who will shine like stars forever and ever? They are those whose hope is in the God who has promised to hear us when we pray. And he has sent his Son – greater than the mightiest angel – who himself waited in the darkness of the tomb.

But only until the third day.

Jesus has been vindicated. He lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit. That means our waiting is never empty, even when we cannot see what God is doing. Some answers come quickly. Some come after 21 days. Some may not come until the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.

But the risen Jesus assures us that the waiting will not last forever. Until then, we can entrust to him every need we face and every prayer we pray as we await his answer.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

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Today’s readings: Daniel 7-9, Psalm 97.

Daniel 9:16-19

“O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. ¹⁷ Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. ¹⁸ O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”

My Granddad Dodson was a Baptist preacher. I remember watching Gunsmoke with him at their farmhouse outside Marble Hill, Missouri. I recall his bristly whiskers when we greeted him on our visits. I believe we attended his church once, though I don’t remember much about it. But one of the special memories I have is hearing him pray. He would end his prayers, “…for Jesus’ sake. Amen.”

I never really understood that phrase as a way to end a prayer. Give me a simple, “…in Jesus’ name. Amen.” Or, “…through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” Or the more formal, “…through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.” But I have not often used, “…for Jesus’ sake,” or “…for the sake of your name.”

But as I read today’s passages from Daniel, I noticed the near-exact phrase, “for your own sake,” as Daniel calls on God and seeks his forgiveness.

The phrase comes in the context of Daniel’s sincere and urgent confession of sin. He acknowledges that, in spite of God’s many blessings and all the ways God has saved his people in the past, they have rebelled against him. And Daniel acknowledges that God does not owe him an answer because of the quality of his prayer: “We do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.”

God’s answer to our prayers is always based on his great mercy, love, and grace. It’s not even the fervency of our prayers that makes them effective. And this is the key to this interesting idea of praying and seeking God’s answer for his name’s sake. In other words, we want God to answer our prayers to keep his good reputation alive and strong before the watching world.

Moses made a similar appeal when God threatened to destroy the Israelites in the wilderness. Moses asked, in effect, what the Egyptians would think of the LORD if he rescued his people from Pharaoh only to destroy them in the wilderness. Why give his enemies reason to say that he brought them out only to kill them?

There is something of that same appeal in Daniel’s prayer: You’ve done all these good things for us in the past. Why would you want to be known as a God who takes us only so far? That’s an overstatement of Daniel’s approach. But it’s not far off.

I understand praying in Jesus’ name to mean that we come before the Father through Jesus and on the basis of who he is and what he has done for us. That’s why it puts me off when I hear a Christian pray, “I ask this in your name. Amen.” I’m not sure what that means. I want to name the One who saved me, honoring him in that way and seeking to be heard favorably for his sake.

And there it is.

For the sake of Jesus, please hear our prayers, “for we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.”

That was true for Daniel. It is certainly true for us as well.

So we rightly pray, “Hear us, LORD God, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.”

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

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Today’s readings: Daniel 4-6, Psalm 96.

Daniel 6:25-30

[Daniel is thrown into the lion’s den, for continuing to pray to his God rather than praying to the king. He survives the night because “God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they had not harmed [him].” Daniel gives glory to God and the king issues a new decree.]

Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: “Peace be multiplied to you. ²⁶ I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,

for he is the living God,
    enduring forever;
his kingdom shall never be destroyed,
    and his dominion shall be to the end.
²⁷ He delivers and rescues;
    he works signs and wonders
    in heaven and on earth,
he who has saved Daniel
    from the power of the lions.”

²⁸ So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

I love these accounts of Daniel in his encounters with the kings and his minions. One day he is the most favored son. The next day it’s into the lion’s den. One day he’s interpreting the king’s dreams. The next day he is accused of insurrection before the king. Each time Daniel was vindicated. His faith in God’s faithfulness was well placed. God’s rescue and protection of him is the stuff of faith. That’s why we have these great accounts in the Bible.

But the contrast is not to be ignored. Against the backdrop of God’s faithfulness and Daniel’s faith is the fickle nature of these powerful kings. A decree is given: I’m going to kill all the wise men because they cannot tell me my dream and its meaning. Then, when Daniel reveals the dream and its meaning to Nebuchadnezzar, the king declares, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings.”

The same happens with Darius when he – due to the foolish edict he decreed – was forced to throw Daniel into the lion’s den. When Daniel is saved, the same result ensues: the king gives glory to God and recognizes the Most High as the true and only God.

I like to make the point when I am helping churches make strategic mission plans: “Man proposes. God disposes.” We may have ideas about the way things ought to be, or make plans we are convinced will come to pass. But we do not know what tomorrow will bring. This calls for humility and faith. It calls for us to remember God is God and we are not. That’s where humility resides. But we can also remember that God’s will is good and shaped by his steadfast love. That’s the focus of our faith.

Two thousand years ago a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. Little did he know that God would use that decree in the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy that the Savior would come from Bethlehem. Even when a king’s decree is allowed to stand, God has a way to work it into his plan to redeem and save a lost and fallen world. His decree is a decree of grace. And, as even King Darius rightly decreed 2500 years ago, our God “is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end.”

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

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Today’s readings: Daniel 1-3, Psalm 95.

Daniel 2:25-30

[This is a summary of Daniel 2:1-24: King Nebuchadnezzar demanded that Babylon’s wise men tell him both his troubling dream and its interpretation, an impossible task that put their lives—including Daniel’s—in danger. Daniel and his friends sought God’s mercy, and God revealed the mystery to Daniel in a vision.]

Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” ²⁶ The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” ²⁷ Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, ²⁸ but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: ²⁹ To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. ³⁰ But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.

“Our Father, who art in heaven…” As you pray the Lord’s Prayer, how much thought do you put into those words? Some will lean into the “Our Father” portion, and perhaps even more into the “Father,” pointing to the kind and caring nature of our God. But there is also the “who art in heaven” part of this introduction. As I read these chapters, the phrase, “there is a God in heaven,” caught my attention.

Not only does the phrase occur in the verses here, but as Daniel explains the dream to Nebuchadnezzar, he refers to the “God of heaven.” And when the three men are ready to be thrown into the fiery furnace, the king challenges them, “And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” They answer, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.” They were confident that there is a God in heaven – regardless of the king’s threat.

Seeing God’s miraculous intervention, Nebuchadnezzar says, “Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way” (Daniel 3:29).

There is a God in heaven. He reigns on high. He is the one and only. Whatever threat, distress, illness, challenge, or trouble you may face, there is a God in heaven to whom we may turn with confidence and faith. It may be that we must give the witness of the three men that includes not only confidence in God’s delivering power, but also the faith to say, “Even if he does not rescue us, we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:18).

Daniel and these three men are giving witness to God’s grace and power. They are great examples for us today. We may never face a fiery furnace or be required to solve a mystery that only God can solve. But we do have the call to be witnesses of his love and might. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we call on the God in heaven who not only hears our prayers, but who forgives our sins, leads us not into temptation, and whose kingdom comes even without our prayer.

Our Father in heaven, let your will be done in and through us, for you live and reign with the Son and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

Follow the Word: “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

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Today’s readings: Joel 1-3; Psalm 94.

Joel 2:28-32

“And it shall come to pass afterward,
    that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
    your old men shall dream dreams,
    and your young men shall see visions.
²⁹ Even on the male and female servants
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

³⁰ “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. ³¹ The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.³² And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

This passage from Joel is quoted by Peter on Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples and about three thousand people were baptized and added to their number (Acts 2:16–21, 41). What a glorious day, often referred to as the birthday of the Christian Church. Peter tells us that what was happening was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy.

Joel begins with devastation. He describes a horde of locusts devouring the land. What one swarm leaves behind, another consumes. The land had apparently suffered a terrible locust infestation. But Joel uses that devastation to point beyond itself. The invading swarm becomes a picture of an approaching army and, ultimately, of the coming Day of the LORD (Joel 1:4; 2:1–11).

In the face of this destruction and the coming Day of the LORD, Joel urgently calls the people of Judah and Jerusalem to repent:

“Yet even now,” declares the LORD,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
(Joel 2:12–13, ESV)

Notice where the call to repentance leads. Joel points the people to the character of their God. Return to the LORD, for he is gracious and merciful. He is slow to anger. He abounds in steadfast love.

Joel then describes how the kindness and mercy of the LORD will be experienced. The LORD will dwell in the midst of his people. They will know that he is their God and that there is none else. Then comes this beautiful promise to a people who have known devastation and shame: “And my people shall never again be put to shame” (Joel 2:27, ESV).

Then comes the promise of the Holy Spirit.

God will pour out his Spirit “on all flesh.” Sons and daughters will prophesy. Old men will dream dreams, and young men will see visions. Even male and female servants will receive the Spirit. The usual distinctions of gender, generation, and social standing will be laid aside. Then will come wonders in the heavens and on the earth as the great Day of the LORD approaches.

And in the middle of all of this comes the promise:

“Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved” (Joel 2:32, ESV).

This is the lavish love of God.

I like to picture it as God giving us a gift whose value we don’t fully understand. But God does more than put the gift into our hands. By his Spirit, he opens our hearts to recognize what he is giving us. He gives grace and mercy. He gives his Spirit. He moves us to call upon his name. And he promises that everyone who calls upon the name of the LORD will be saved.

We may not realize how desperately we need these gifts of God. It may be lost on us just how dead we are to his grace. That’s why this prophecy is so precious. In spite of our faults, failures, and faithlessness, God pours out his Spirit. He awakens faith in hearts that could not awaken themselves. He brings life where there was death and hope where there was shame.

“Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

Peter preached that promise on Pentecost. We call on him today by the power of this same Holy Spirit, confident that God’s word is true and he will save us.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

Today’s readings: Joel 1-3; Psalm 94.

Joel 2:28-32

“And it shall come to pass afterward,
    that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
    your old men shall dream dreams,
    and your young men shall see visions.
²⁹ Even on the male and female servants
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

³⁰ “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. ³¹ The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.³² And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

This passage from Joel is quoted by Peter on Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples and about three thousand people were baptized and added to their number (Acts 2:16–21, 41). What a glorious day, often referred to as the birthday of the Christian Church. Peter tells us that what was happening was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy.

Joel begins with devastation. He describes a horde of locusts devouring the land. What one swarm leaves behind, another consumes. The land had apparently suffered a terrible locust infestation. But Joel uses that devastation to point beyond itself. The invading swarm becomes a picture of an approaching army and, ultimately, of the coming Day of the LORD (Joel 1:4; 2:1–11).

In the face of this destruction and the coming Day of the LORD, Joel urgently calls the people of Judah and Jerusalem to repent:

“Yet even now,” declares the LORD,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
(Joel 2:12–13, ESV)

Notice where the call to repentance leads. Joel points the people to the character of their God. Return to the LORD, for he is gracious and merciful. He is slow to anger. He abounds in steadfast love.

Joel then describes how the kindness and mercy of the LORD will be experienced. The LORD will dwell in the midst of his people. They will know that he is their God and that there is none else. Then comes this beautiful promise to a people who have known devastation and shame: “And my people shall never again be put to shame” (Joel 2:27, ESV).

Then comes the promise of the Holy Spirit.

God will pour out his Spirit “on all flesh.” Sons and daughters will prophesy. Old men will dream dreams, and young men will see visions. Even male and female servants will receive the Spirit. The usual distinctions of gender, generation, and social standing will be laid aside. Then will come wonders in the heavens and on the earth as the great Day of the LORD approaches.

And in the middle of all of this comes the promise:

“Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved” (Joel 2:32, ESV).

This is the lavish love of God.

I like to picture it as God giving us a gift whose value we don’t fully understand. But God does more than put the gift into our hands. By his Spirit, he opens our hearts to recognize what he is giving us. He gives grace and mercy. He gives his Spirit. He moves us to call upon his name. And he promises that everyone who calls upon the name of the LORD will be saved.

We may not realize how desperately we need these gifts of God. It may be lost on us just how dead we are to his grace. That’s why this prophecy is so precious. In spite of our faults, failures, and faithlessness, God pours out his Spirit. He awakens faith in hearts that could not awaken themselves. He brings life where there was death and hope where there was shame.

“Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

Peter preached that promise on Pentecost. We call on him today by the power of this same Holy Spirit, confident that God’s word is true and he will save us.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

Listen to today’s devotion

Today’s readings: Ezekiel 40-42, Psalm 91.

Ezekiel 40:1-4

In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me to the city. ² In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south. ³ When he brought me there, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand. And he was standing in the gateway. ⁴ And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.”

I once thought I wanted to be an architect. I was fascinated by sharp pencils, protractors, straight edges, T-squares, and drafting paper. I wanted to draw buildings, design spaces, and deliver plans that would result in nice, neat facilities. That changed quickly when my high school advisor said, “You know that requires a lot of math.” I wasn’t necessarily afraid of math, per se. But I read between the lines. He didn’t think I had it in me to become an actual architect. I gave up on that dream.

I think he was right. As I read these chapters, my mind was numbed by all the numbers. Fifty cubits here, six long cubits making one reed there. And then there are vestibules, gates, courts, and chambers, each with its precise measurements. I can see why such detail would be important if an architect were trying to envision the structure Ezekiel describes.

In fact, I think the vision is given in such a way that we can imagine moving through the building. Ezekiel does exactly that. He is guided by the man with the measuring reed from one place to another, through gates and courts and chambers, toward the temple itself (Ezekiel 40:3–4). We aren’t simply told that there is a temple. We are taken on a tour of it.

But the purpose of all this is not simply to give Ezekiel, or anyone else, a blueprint to follow, though some might disagree. More on that later. The detailed measurements are not mainly about architecture, but about restoration. The temple Israel had defiled, and from which God’s glory had departed, is replaced in the vision by a holy dwelling prepared for God’s return (Ezekiel 8–11; 43:1–7). In short, Ezekiel 40–42 prepares a holy place for a holy God to dwell once again with His restored people. Restoration is in their future.

Some Christians take these and other passages in Ezekiel and Revelation quite literally. Just recently I listened to a podcast about the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This was the site of Solomon’s temple, and today the Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine, stands there. Some people actually talk about rebuilding the Temple on the Temple Mount. Perhaps they would want to follow Ezekiel’s measurements.

But I think Ezekiel is doing something much bigger than providing construction plans. This is all about preparing a place for God’s presence. Chapters 40–42 prepare us for the great event of chapter 43: the return of Yahweh’s glory to dwell among His people. The building matters because of the One who will dwell there.

And that makes me think of another dwelling place, described by Jesus with far less architectural detail but with a far greater promise. Jesus tells His disciples that in His Father’s house are many rooms. Then He says, “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2, ESV). Ezekiel sees a dwelling being prepared for God to return to His people. Jesus turns the picture around. He prepares a dwelling for His people so that they may come to Him: “that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3, ESV). The Word has already come and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory (John 1:14). Now the risen Christ promises that the separation will not last forever. He is preparing a place where His redeemed people will dwell with Him. In the end, that is the hope behind all these measurements: God with His people, and His people with God, forever.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

Listen to today’s devotion

Today’s readings: Ezekiel 37-39, Psalm 90.

Ezekiel 37:1-14

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. ² And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” ⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. ⁵ Thus says the Lord GOD 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.”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸ And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on 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 on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

¹¹ Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴ And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.”

It’s too late. There is no more hope. The flowering plant has had too much sun and too little water. The house we wanted to buy has already been sold. The job opportunity I had set my hopes on has evaporated. The disease is too far spread. The marriage is ruined. The savings are depleted. There is no more hope. It’s too late.

But God says otherwise. The dead plant suddenly shows green leaves. The house is back on the market. The job is offered after all. Hope is reborn. This is a legitimate message we can take from this wonderful—unusual, disturbing, strange—vision of Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones. That which was thought to be dead and dry is brought to life by the word of God.

These are all good things—wonderful turnarounds, delightful reversals. There is, however, a greater truth here. If you’ve been reading through Ezekiel these last few days, you have been treated to one chapter after another of stark warnings, jarring judgments, and absolute ultimatums. The level of disobedience on the part of Judah, Israel, Babylon, Egypt, and other nations is confronted by God through the prophet. The natural conclusion is that God’s judgment was to be so complete there would be no hope of revival. They are a valley of dry bones. No life. No breath. No sinews. No hope.

Son of man, can these bones live? Trick question or object lesson?

God speaks to Ezekiel and commands him, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.’” And that is the moment you realize this was an object lesson. Something is going to happen at the word of the LORD. Bones don’t hear. Nor do they begin to rattle. Nor do they stand up and form a mighty army. Unless. Unless God speaks.

One of my favorite Bible verses is Genesis 1:3–4: God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. I use it as a witness on my personal email because I am a follower of Jesus and a photographer. When I sent an email to the Ansel Adams Gallery years ago, the person who replied remarked about what a great Bible verse that was for a photographer. It is, after all, all about the light.

But there’s much more. When God speaks, things happen. His Word calls into being things that are not—and gives life where there is only death.

This is the message of Ezekiel 37. It’s not just about how seemingly irreversible things can be reversed. It’s about how God can reverse terrible decline and bring things to life when it seems there is no hope. If God intervenes, even the whole house of Israel can be restored. When God speaks, things happen.

The restoration of the dry bones of Israel was only the start. The bones would come together. Israel would be restored. Six hundred years after this prophecy, Jesus stood outside the tomb of his friend Lazarus and said, “Lazarus, come out!” And the man who had been dead walked out of the tomb, still wrapped in his grave clothes (John 11).

This was, of course, only a warm-up, for Jesus himself would lie in the tomb for three days, and then his dead body would come back to life. He would rise from the dead. And because he lives, death will not have the final word for those who trust in him. And he has given us the Holy Spirit so that we may believe that.

It’s not too late. There is yet hope. No matter what you might be facing, God can raise the dead. He’s done it before, and he will do it again.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.