Turmoil in Israel Part 4 — Times of the Gentiles and Dry Bones 

The posts in this series have Israel as their focus. Consequently, this post which deals with the interim period during which the Gentile church has a prominent place in history will not say much about the development and history of the Gentile Church. Instead, we will consider the beginning of this period when God was persistently appealing to the Jewish nation and the end of the period when God seems to be again moving to awaken the nation.¹ 

The Jewish nation voiced their attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ [aka, “Messiah”] with the sad and solemn declaration, “We do not want this man to reign over us.”² (Lk. 19:14) And, even more serious was the explicit declaration, “His blood be on us and on our children!” (Matt. 27:25) But God, who is rich in mercy, heard the plea of the Lord Jesus while on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Lk. 23:34) He will not ignore the plight of His people forever.³ Yet divine justice must run its course, so the words of the prophet are to this day being fulfilled, “For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods.” (Hosea 3:3)

It should deeply impress us that God continued to appeal to the nation even after the explicit rejection of His Anointed One. The first few chapters of Acts detail appeal after appeal. It must be noticed that although the Church today is almost entirely composed of Gentiles this was not the case at the beginning. Initially, the Church was largely a Jewish Church. But, finally, after repeated attempts by the apostles, particularly the apostle Paul, the Gentile nations received the gospel while the Jewish believers dwindled. So, like Joseph (see Genesis chapters 37 through 50) the Lord Jesus was rejected by his people and yet became greatly honored among the Gentile nations. But, like Joseph, a reconciliation is yet to be accomplished. In the meantime, the “stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” (Matt. 21:43; Acts 4:11; etc.)

The nation continues today in the same unbelief that prevailed during the Lord’s presentation to the nation as recorded in the Gospels. This fulfills the Lord’s prophecy in Matthew 24:34, “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” It is important to note that the word “generation” here does not refer to a specific period of time. Rather it refers to the character of the people He was addressing. Paul notices this when he says, “But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.” (2 Cor. 3:14)

The prophet Ezekiel gives a very interesting description of the nation in the familiar passage about the dry bones. (Ezek. 37:1–14.) The vision was made famous by the Spiritual song Dem Bones.^[4] In this passage, Ezekiel sees a valley full of bones. The bones come together and gradually by stages receive flesh and finally breath. This is a vivid picture of the gradual awakening of the “dead” Israel and their recovery to having life, new life I think we can say, (see Jn. 3:3 with Isa. 66:8) by the work of the Lord. As we look at Israel today we can certainly see signs of life, but can we say that that life is truly life toward God? The road to the nation being truly a witness for God in the world is going to be torturous, to say the least. But, that will have to remain the subject of the next post.

Yet, even now we can see foreshadows of the trial that is to come. It is amazing that today (in 2025) we see the world divided over Israel’s legitimacy as a nation. Protests and even support for those who very loudly proclaim animosity toward Israel and support for her self-proclaimed enemies are reported on the nightly news programs. One also marvels at the rapid fall of the government of Syria and the alignment of the new leaders with Turkey. Is this the new “Assyria” (aka “king of the north” of Daniel 11:40)? One wonders.

Endnotes

1.  Revelation chapters 2 and 3 give a prophetic view of the present era. This passage gives a good moral and spiritual overview of the present age. The best exposition of this is given in The Prophetic History of the Church, by F. W. Grant.

2.  The actual words were given by the Lord Jesus in a parable which clearly implicated the nation.

3.  The promises to Abraham and the prophets will have their fulfillment in the near future as we will see in a subsequent post.

4.  The melody was composed by author and songwriter James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) and his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson. It was first recorded by The Famous Myers Jubilee Singers in 1928. Both a long and a shortened version of the song are widely known. The lyrics are inspired by Ezekiel 37:1–14, in which the prophet visits the Valley of Dry Bones and prophesies that they will one day be resurrected at God’s command, picturing the realization of the New Jerusalem. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dem_Bones, accessed 1/21/2025)