“Lesson 144: Ezekiel 37,” Old Testament Seminary Teacher Material (2018)
“Lesson 144: Ezekiel 37”
Lesson 144
Ezekiel 37
Introduction
Ezekiel described his symbolic vision of the resurrection of dry bones. The multiple meanings of this vision include a depiction of the Resurrection of the dead as well as the gathering of the house of Israel. The Lord also directed Ezekiel to join two sticks together to represent the union of the Bible and the Book of Mormon and the unification of the tribes of Ephraim and Judah. Through Ezekiel, the Lord spoke of the covenant He would establish with gathered Israel.
Suggestions for Teaching
Ezekiel 37:1–14
Ezekiel is shown an example of restoration that symbolizes the Resurrection and the gathering of the house of Israel
If possible, display a pair of worn-out shoes, a broken toy, and a melted candle. (You could also display pictures of these objects.) Ask students to consider what these objects have in common.
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How has the condition of each object changed over time?
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How might these objects represent what can happen to us physically or spiritually over time?
Invite students to look for doctrine and principles in Ezekiel 37 that can help us understand how God can restore us physically and spiritually.
Invite a student to read Ezekiel 37:1–2 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what Ezekiel saw in a vision.
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What did Ezekiel see “in the midst of the valley” (verse 1)?
Invite students to imagine themselves in Ezekiel’s position and to visualize this valley of bones. Explain that the fact that the bones “were very dry” (verse 2) implies that the bodies in the valley had been there for a significant period of time.
Invite a student to read Ezekiel 37:3 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what the Lord asked Ezekiel. Invite students to report what they find. Write the following question on the board: Can these bones live? Invite a student to read Ezekiel 37:4–6 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for the Lord’s response to the question He asked.
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What did the Lord say He would do with the bones?
Invite several students to take turns reading aloud from Ezekiel 37:7–10. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what happened to the bones Ezekiel saw.
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What happened to the bones Ezekiel saw?
Explain that the events Ezekiel witnessed in his vision could symbolize the resurrection of many people.
To help students discover another interpretation of this vision, invite them to read Ezekiel 37:11 silently, looking for what the Lord said the bones represent. Ask students to report what they find.
Explain that the dry bones in Ezekiel’s vision could symbolize the spiritual state of the house of Israel. The bones receiving new life could symbolize the house of Israel being restored to a new spiritual life.
Invite a few students to take turns reading Ezekiel 37:12–14 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what the Lord said He would do for the house of Israel. Invite students to report what they find. (Students may mention that members of the house of Israel will be brought back to their land [see verse 12], that Israel will know the Lord again [see verse 13], and that Israel would live after receiving the Lord’s Spirit [see verse 14].)
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What truth can we identify from Ezekiel’s vision about the house of Israel? (Help students identify the following truth: Although the children of Israel fell into apostasy, God promised that in a future day, He would restore His people to spiritual life and gather them to their own land.)
Point to the question on the board. Explain that just as the Lord can restore Israel to spiritual life through the Restoration of the gospel, He can do the same thing for individuals who are spiritually dead.
Ezekiel 37:15–28
Ezekiel prophesies that the sticks of Judah and Joseph will be joined together
Invite several students to take turns reading aloud from Ezekiel 37:15–17. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what the Lord taught Ezekiel about the tribes of Judah and Ephraim using two sticks.
After students report what they found, remind them that when the twelve tribes of Israel were divided into two kingdoms, the Northern Kingdom was ruled by the tribe of Ephraim and the Southern Kingdom was ruled by the tribe of Judah. Explain that when all of the Lord’s people receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, they will be reunited.
Explain that in addition to representing the tribes of Judah and Joseph, the “sticks” mentioned in Ezekiel 37:15–17 also represent written records. The word sticks in this context refers to “wooden writing tablets [or scrolls that] were in common use in Babylon in Ezekiel’s day” (verse 16, footnote a; see also Boyd K. Packer, “Scriptures,” Ensign, Nov. 1982, 51).
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What is the stick of Judah? (The Bible. Hold up a Bible with one hand, and explain that the Bible was preserved primarily through the Jews, many of whom were of the tribe of Judah.)
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What is the stick of Joseph? (The Book of Mormon. Hold up a copy of the Book of Mormon with your other hand, and explain that Lehi and his descendants, some of whom kept the records now contained in the Book of Mormon, were descendants of Joseph.)
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What do you think it means that these two “sticks,” or books of scripture, “shall become one in thine hand” (verse 17)? (As students respond, hold up a Bible and a copy of the Book of Mormon together in one hand.)
Invite a student to read 1 Nephi 13:40 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what the Book of Mormon (described in this verse as part of the “last records”) and the Bible (described as “the first [records]”) together would make known among all people.
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According to Ezekiel 37:15–17 and 1 Nephi 13:40, what is the purpose of bringing together the Bible and the Book of Mormon? (Students may use different words, but make sure it is clear that the Bible and the Book of Mormon come together as witnesses that Jesus Christ is our Savior.)
To help students understand how the words of the Lord to Ezekiel have been fulfilled, consider dividing the class into pairs. Invite the pairs to read 2 Nephi 3:12, looking for how the Book of Mormon and the Bible are united. (Explain that the phrase “the fruit of thy loins” in this verse refers to the descendants of Joseph, which includes Lehi and his descendants.) After sufficient time, invite students to share what they found.
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How has studying both the Bible and the Book of Mormon helped you gain a witness that Jesus Christ is our Savior?
Ask students to ponder what they will do to use both the Book of Mormon and the Bible to strengthen their testimonies of and faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Invite them to act on any promptings they receive.
Summarize Ezekiel 37:18–28 by explaining that all the tribes of Israel will be united as one people. The reunited house of Israel will be led by “one king” (verse 22) and “one shepherd” (verse 24), who is Jehovah. The Lord promised He would renew His “everlasting covenant” (verse 26) and “sanctify Israel”(verse 28). Explain that the Book of Mormon plays an important role in the gathering of Israel.
To help students understand the role of the Book of Mormon in the gathering of Israel, you may want to read the following statement by President Russell M. Nelson:
“The Book of Mormon is central to this work. It declares the doctrine of the gathering. It causes people to learn about Jesus Christ, to believe His gospel, and to join His Church. In fact, if there were no Book of Mormon, the promised gathering of Israel would not occur [see Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith (1985), 554]” (Russell M. Nelson, “The Gathering of Scattered Israel,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006, 80).
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What are some ways you can use both the Book of Mormon and the Bible to help gather Israel and bring others closer to the Savior?
Conclude by sharing how the Bible and the Book of Mormon have strengthened your testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
Commentary and Background Information
Ezekiel 37:15–17. Sticks
Ellis T. Rasmussen, author of A Latter-day Saint Commentary on the Old Testament, commented on the term stick and its Hebrew origin:
“Commonly translated stick, the Hebrew word used is etz, a generic word meaning ‘wood’ (there are other words meaning ‘stick,’ ‘staff,’ ‘branch,’ or ‘scepter’). This was wood upon which it was possible to write. Babylonian writing tablets of wood have been found hinged together and faced with wax, with writing engraved on them. Two wooden tablets represent the scriptures from Judah (the Bible) and Joseph (the Book of Mormon) to ‘be one in mine hand’ (Ezek. 37:15–19 and fn.)” (Ellis T. Rasmussen, A Latter-day Saint Commentary on the Old Testament [1993], 608).
In addition, while serving as an associate professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, Keith Meservy commented on the discovery of some ancient wooden tablets:
“The discovery in 1953 of these writing boards from biblical Calah in Mesopotamia altered the thinking of scholars about how Middle Eastern cultures made records. Wooden tablets filled with wax represent the ‘earliest known form of ancient book’ [M. E. L. Mallowan, “The Excavations at Nimrud, 1953,” Iraq, vol. 16, no. 1 (Spring 1954), 99] and help us understand an important prophecy of Ezekiel foretelling the uniting of the Bible and Book of Mormon” (Keith Meservy, “Ezekiel’s Sticks and the Gathering of Israel,” Ensign, Feb. 1987, 4).
Ezekiel’s prophecy that the two sticks would be joined “one to another into one stick” (Ezekiel 37:17) is clarified by the phrase “shall grow together,” which is found in 2 Nephi 3:12. This phrase helps us understand that the joining together of the two sticks is a process that will occur over time.
Ezekiel 37:26. “A covenant of peace”
Elder Richard G. Scott (1928–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles related a personal story about how temple covenants provided him profound peace:
“Our son, Richard, was born with a heart defect. We were told that unless that could be cured, there was little probability that he would live more than two or three years. This was so long ago that techniques now used to repair such defects were unknown. We had the blessing of having a place where doctors agreed to attempt to perform the needed surgery. The surgery had to be done while his little heart was beating.
“The surgery was performed just six weeks after the birth and death of our baby daughter. When the operation finished, the principal surgeon came in and said it was a success. And we thought, ‘How wonderful! Our son will have a strong body, be able to run and walk and grow!’ We expressed deep gratitude to the Lord. Then about 10 minutes later, the same doctor came in with an ashen face and told us, ‘Your son has died.’ Apparently the shock of the operation was more than his little body could endure.
“Later, during the night, I embraced my wife and said to her, ‘We do not need to worry, because our children were born in the covenant. We have the assurance that we will have them with us in the future. Now we have a reason to live extremely well. We have a son and a daughter who have qualified to go to the celestial kingdom because they died before the age of eight.’ That knowledge has given us great comfort. We rejoice in the knowledge that all seven of our children are sealed to us for time and all eternity.
“That trial has not been a problem for either of us because, when we live righteously and have received the ordinances of the temple, everything else is in the hands of the Lord. We can do the best we can, but the final outcome is up to Him. We should never complain, when we are living worthily, about what happens in our lives.
“Fourteen years ago the Lord decided it was not necessary for my wife to live any longer on the earth, and He took her to the other side of the veil. I confess that there are times when it is difficult not to be able to turn and talk to her, but I do not complain. The Lord has allowed me, at important moments in my life, to feel her influence through the veil.
“What I am trying to teach is that when we keep the temple covenants we have made and when we live righteously in order to maintain the blessings promised by those ordinances, then come what may, we have no reason to worry or to feel despondent” (Richard G. Scott, “Temple Worship: The Source of Strength and Power in Times of Need,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2009, 45).