The end of October can be a tough time to find a Halloween Sunday School lesson that fits with the holiday while not making the Bible seem like its full of ghosts and goblins!
So, here’s a lesson for you from Ezekiel. It’s got bones coming back to life, and much more, but instead of focusing on Halloween, it ends with a message about how Christ is the 1 true giver of life!
Halloween Sunday School Lesson: Ezekiel and the bones!
Have you ever been lost? Have you ever been separated from your family at a carnival or a store? If you have, then you know how terrible the feeling is. One minute your family is right by your side and then, BOOM, you’re all alone and you don’t know if you’ll ever see them again.
Well I think that’s a little bit like how Israel felt whenever their kingdom was divided. You see, way back whenever Solomon was king he, along with the nation of Israel sinned and God was not happy with him and with the nation of Israel. God decided that Israel needed a punishment and a simple ‘time-out’ just wasn’t good enough. So God divided Israel into two nations which made a lot of problems for the Israelites.
The Israelites were separated and there was nothing that they could do except wait for God to restore them again. Israel had a real problem, but as always, God had a really awesome solution.
Ezekiel’s Real Encounter With God
Enter Ezekiel into the story. Ezekiel was more than a man with a cool name, he had a cool job too. He was a prophet. Whenever God had a special announcement to give to Israel, He used prophets. Israel didn’t have the 12 o’clock news or even Facebook to share news with one another so they used Prophets.
Our story will come from Ezekiel 37:1-14 with God sharing a very important message with Ezekiel. Now, I have to warn you that his story is a little bit spooky but I think you can handle it.
One night while Ezekiel was sleeping, God swept him up and carried him away to a great big valley. He was having a vision! A vision is like a dream but it has a very real and serious meaning. Whenever God gave someone a vision it was definitely coming true.
A Shocking Sight
Once God put Ezekiel down in the valley he was shocked by what he saw. Bones. Bones everywhere. Close your eyes and try to imagine it with me. You are sleeping soundly in your bed and then all of a sudden you are standing in creepy bone filled valley. And these aren’t just any bones-they are human bones. They are bleach white and dry. Whoever those bones had once belonged to had been gone for a very long time. They might have once belonged to a great and powerful army but now they are nothing. Just a field full of bones with one lone man standing in the middle of them.
What a sight!
Imagine you are standing in the middle of this field. How would you feel? What would you do?
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Ezekiel must have been shocked to find himself surrounded by a field of bones. Then God led him through the valley and Ezekiel saw that there were many, many bones. This was not your average walk in the park!
Can They Live?
As they walked through the valley, Ezekiel asked God a question. Now, if it were me I would be asking how soon we would be leaving the creepy bone filled valley. But that’s not what Ezekiel said. Nope. He was a deep thinker.
Ezekiel asked, ‘Son of Man, can these bones live?’ ‘Sovereign Lord, You alone know.’
What do you think Ezekiel meant whenever he asked if the bones could live?
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Were they going to become mummies and zombies? No! Mummies and zombies aren’t real. They are just a silly story and they cannot come to life for real.
God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones. Not to people, but to bones. Now not only is Ezekiel wandering around a creepy bone filled valley but he is also talking to them on behalf of the Lord. This is one tale that his family is never going to believe!
Ezekiel told the bones, ‘Hey you! Dry Bones! Listen up because this message is from the Lord. God says that He will make breath enter you once again and that he will give you life.’
Ezekiel had faith that whenever God said something would happen, it would happen. Ezekiel was an old man and he had never seen bones come back to life before so he had to believe that God was telling the truth and that he would bring the bones back to life.
God Creates Life
Then, God did exactly what He said He would do. As Ezekiel was speaking he heard a rattling sound. It was probably an unsettling sound because it sounded just like bones rattling together!
Then right before Ezekiel’s eyes the bones came together and made people! First tendons joined the bones together and then skin covered them. A great army lay before Ezekiel but they still weren’t breathing. If he hadn’t been with God, it would have been a terrifying sight.
Next, God sent wind throughout the army and filled the once dry bones with breath. The army stood up and faced Ezekiel. The dead bones were alive again.
There is another story in the Bible that talks about someone coming back to life. Do you remember what it is?
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It’s the story of Jesus! Jesus died for us and then came back to life again. He could do this because He was God’s son. God creates life. It’s not like a ghost story where someone comes back to life. God alone creates life. No one else can do it! Just God.
God’s Amazing Promise
Now, back to the story of Ezekiel and the dry bones. We have a valley of bones that come back to life whenever God fills them with tendons, flesh, and breath. God gave life to something that was dead. Just imagine that you are walking through a Halloween store whenever all the skeleton costumes suddenly come to life and stand up and face you! What a crazy, creepy, amazing sight!
Remember how we said that Ezekiel saw all of this in a vision? Well, if God gives someone a vision then He has to explain what it means. It’s like the McDonald’s logo. Whenever you see those deliciously golden arches you know that they stand for McDonald’s. It’s the same with Ezekiel’s vision. Seeing the dry bones come to life stood for something else.
What do you think Ezekiel’s vision stands for?
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The bones in Ezekiel’s visions stands for the nation of Israel. Israel sinned and let God down, remember? Well God decided that it was time for Israel to be restored back to their original state. He was going to bring Israel back together just like He put the bones back together. He would give Israel life again just like He gave the bones breath.
This was huge for Israel! Israel couldn’t save themselves. Without God they were just like a pile of dry bones. Lifeless and useless. Everything changed for Israel whenever God gave them life.
God Creates Life in You
God wants to give you life and change everything for you as well! You see, sin makes us dead, but God gives us life and makes us live again! Whenever you become a Christian we say that you are alive in Christ. Our God is so amazing! Not only did God create you, but He loves you so much that He wants to give you new life.
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