Ezekiel 37 records two visions God gave the prophet Ezekiel during the Babylonian exile: a valley of dry bones brought back to life, and two sticks joined into one. These questions are written for a small group, a Sunday class, or personal study, and each set includes a leader’s note so you can run the session without a separate summary.
Ezekiel 37 at a Glance
The chapter opens with Ezekiel carried by the Spirit into a valley full of very dry bones, where God asks whether they can live and then commands the prophet to speak to them. Breath enters the bodies, and the vision moves from the valley into a second scene, in which Ezekiel is told to take two sticks, one for Judah and one for Joseph, and join them together.
God then explains both images. The dead bones stand for the whole house of Israel, who have said their hope is lost, and God promises to open their graves, put his Spirit in them, and bring them home. The chapter closes with a covenant of peace, a shepherd king, and God’s dwelling place among his people forever.
Observation Questions
Use these questions first, before anyone offers an explanation. Ask the group to point to the words in the text, and let the answers come from what is actually written in front of them.
Ezekiel 37:3
He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I answered, “Lord the LORD, you know.”
(WEB)
Read this slowly, because God’s question, “Can these bones live?”, is the question at the center of the whole chapter. Let the silence after it sink in before moving on, since Ezekiel’s humble answer, “Lord, you know,” gives the group a model of trust.
Ezekiel 37:5-6
5 Thus says the Lord the LORD to these bones: “Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you will live. 6 I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”’”
(WEB)
Reading this aloud lets the group hear the repeated promise that the dead will live and know God. The rhythm of the sentence builds step by step, which helps people feel the deliberateness of God’s work.
Ezekiel 37:14
I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live. Then I will place you in your own land; and you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it,” says the LORD.’”
(WEB)
This verse states the heart of the promise, that God will put his Spirit within his people. Reading it aloud helps the group hear the link between the Spirit, life and the knowledge that God has acted.
Ezekiel 37:22-23
22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. One king will be king to them all. They will no longer be two nations. They won’t be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. 23 They won’t defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. So they will be my people, and I will be their God.
(WEB)
These verses describe a people made one and cleansed, which makes them a fitting reading for a group that wants to pray for unity. Hearing the words aloud gives weight to the promise that God will save them from all the places where they have sinned.
Ezekiel 37:27-28
27 My tent also will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 The nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is among them forever more.”’”
(WEB)
Ending the reading here reminds the group that the chapter closes not with the valley but with God’s tent among his people. Pause after the final words so the closing promise has room to settle before the discussion or prayer begins.
Memory Verse for Ezekiel 37
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you as people who sometimes feel like the dry bones in this valley, with hope that seems far away and places in our lives that look lifeless. We ask you to breathe your Spirit into us, to bring life where we have said there is none, and to draw us closer to you as our God. Join together the parts of our lives and our relationships that have been divided, and make us one in your hand. Dwell among us, as you promised, and let your people know that you are the LORD. Amen.
