But What Happened To Them?

If you've ever read the Bible, you've probably noticed that it's not always heavy on the details. Ancient Jewish writing is different from today's style. Back then you didn't have printing presses and much of what is written was actually passed on verbally, so you didn't focus on all the details like we do today. You tell only the pieces that are necessary for the story or point.

But I like the details. And I really like it when I know more to the story. Like in what I was reading today. Ezekiel 37:1-14, it's a story where God tells Ezekiel to prophecy to a bone yard and as he prophecies the bones come together, flesh and skin cover them and they become people. Then God tells Ezekiel to prophecy to the wind to breathe life into them and it does. Then God explains that these people are like the people of Israel, they feel dead and in pieces, but God will bring them back together and breathe life into them.

Great story. Incredible illustration. But what happened to those people? The story ends there and Ezekiel's on to something else. What happened to these dead people? Did they die again instantly? Did they go home and yell, "Surprise" (they would have been dead a while if they were nothing but a pile of bones)? Did they become some sort of zombie army ravaging the land until they were killed... again?

I understand that we will never know, and that thinking this way completely misses the point that God will take care of His destitute people and give them new life (or live more abundantly, John 10:10), but it's part of who I am, I just wish I knew what happened next...

I still wonder what they looked like. Did they look like when they died? The same age? I'm guessing they looked pretty good, God didn't put them together with scars and zits or anything. Did they know what was going on? So many questions...

T