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,
Ezekiel was carried in a vision to a valley of dry bones, possibly the scene of a great battle.
After watching his beloved country destroyed, hearing of the burning of Jerusalem and the tearing down of the Temple, Ezekiel thought of the Jews as totally destroyed and dead, just like these 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.
They had been dead a long time.
3 And He said unto me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord God, thou know."
Normally we would say that a bunch of random, dried out bones could never live again, but with God all things are possible.
It didn’t appear that Israel/Judah would ever live again. She was gone forever.
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 says 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.'"
Prophesying to a bunch of bones seems pointless, just as pointless as prophesying to Israel at this point. But God said it ….
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.
An earthquake shook the bones until they formed skeletons.
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.
And they grew into people.
9 Then said He unto me, "Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, 'Thus says the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.'”
God is the God of all creation. Whatever He commands happens. If He wants a valley of dead bones to live, they live. If He wants a destroyed nation to rise and reassemble from the four directions of the compass, it rises.
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 bones didn’t just become people they became warriors.
11 Then He said unto me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.'”
The whole people of Israel were depressed and hopeless.
12 "Therefore prophesy and say unto them, 'Thus says the Lord God; Behold, O My people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.'"
“Graves” here means their captivity.
13 "'And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves,'"
Their restoration proved who the real God is.
14 "'And shall put My spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, says the Lord.'"
15 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
Next prophesy…
16 "Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, 'For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions:' then take another stick, and write upon it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions:'”
At the time of Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, the kingdom of Israel was split into two; Judah and Israel (which was led mostly by Ephraim). Now Ezekiel is to carve the name of each kingdom onto its own stick.
17 "And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand."
God promised to miraculously join the two sticks into one.
18 "And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, 'Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?'
19 "Say unto them, 'Thus says the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in Mine hand.'"
God promised to reunite Judah and Israel into one nation again.
20 "And the sticks whereon thou write shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
21 "And say unto them, 'Thus says the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:'"
The Bible and history tell us there were people from all twelve tribes who returned to Palestine forming what would again be called Judah.
22 "'And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.'"
From this time forward there will never again be a Nation of Israel and a Nation of Judah. They will forever be known as one people- the Jews. What’s more, they will be ruled by one King forever- Jesus.
23 "'Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be My people, and I will be their God.'"
When Israel returned to Palestine, they never again engaged in idol worship like before their captivity. They didn’t necessarily serve God wholeheartedly though. There is another stage of this prophecy…
24 "'And David My servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one Shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them.'"
From the time of Christ (the son of David) on, all who choose to follow God and obey Him are Israelites. All who do not are cut off and no longer part of Israel, no matter what their genetic inheritance (See Romans 11).
25 "'And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob My servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and My servant David shall be their prince for ever.'"
Though the physical descendants of Jacob did live in the land for 400 years or so, I believe this is speaking of the land of blessings that Jacob dwelt in, the spiritual land all followers of God have available.
26 "'Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.'"
God’s sanctuary is set in the midst of our hearts.
27 "'My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be My people.'"
We are God’s tabernacle and His people.
28 "'And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.'"
It is the life of the true Israelites, the servants of God, that tell the heathens of God and His love. This membership in Israel is available to all.