My soul shall be joyful in the Lord; it shall rejoice in His salvation. All my bones shall say, “Lord, who is like You, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?” (Psalm 35:9-10)
There are certain words used in Scripture that, in Hebraic thinking, connect to the same word as it used in other passages, although the topic may seem to be completely disconnected. Yet it is very common in Judaism to consider whether or not there might be a connection after all, even if it is not so obvious. I will suggest that in the passage above, the word “bones” (Hebrew is עצמות atzmot) does just that — it connects us to a concept found in other passages that have great prophetic significance. Specifically, it connects to a well-known prophecy about the valley of dry bones. It is written:
And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones (atzmot) live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live.’ ” (Ezekiel 37:3-6)
In short, this prophecy is about the restoration of Israel; God promised that He will resurrect His people from the grave of exile and bring them back into their own land. In that day, what had been dry, dead bones scattered through the nations, will be revived by the Spirit of the Lord and, in the words of David, delivered from the strong one who had plundered them. In that day, the people of God will rejoice in their salvation and, as it is written, “You shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:6) for only He can resuscitate the dead.
The point is that David, who certainly experienced his own exile and times of desperation, spoke not just about himself; I would suggest he was prophesying about his descendants and the people of Israel at large. As a whole, Israel has been scattered among the nations until now. I believe we are seeing the beginning of what was prophesied in Ezekiel, however, I don’t believe we have seen the fruition of it — how do I know? We will know it is fulfilled when all of God’s people know the Lord — not know about Him but truly know Him. It will be realized when Israel is more than just a people who exist but a people who are alive with the Spirit of God, rejoicing in His salvation (yeshua). In short, it will be accomplished when Zion’s King, Yeshua, returns to rule and reign over all the earth and all the once dry bones, now alive, say, “Who is like our God?” What a glorious day that will be.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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