Why Do We Sing About Dry Bones Rattling?
The dry bones in Ezekiel 37 is a well known prophesy in the Old Testament. It describes a vision where Ezekiel is told to prophesy to the dry bones and when he does, they rattle and come back together and resurrect into an army. This motif is common in Christian culture to visualize what is happening when a person is born again. There is no hope for dry bones to ever live, but God does a miracle that we could never have done on our own to resurrect us and give us new life being born again. If you haven't studied Ezekiel 37 then this can be a very strange song and I would recommend that this song goes well with teaching on the concepts in it, but not so well as a stand alone worship song if you don't know the context.
Controversy and "Grave Sucking"
After the release of this song, there was an uptick in the number of people who believed in "Grave Sucking" also known as "Mantle Grabbing" or "Grave Soaking." This is a practice where people lay on the grave of a famous Christian who has died, often many years before, looking to gain the "mantle of spiritual power" that God had placed on them that was never passed on to another. This song is an encouragement to the people who practice this simply because it mentions 2 Kings 13:21 where a man was thrown on the bones of Elisha and he came back to life. However, the song itself is not trying to encouraging Grave Sucking, it is simply expressing the real point of that scripture which is that the power of God can do amazing things that we don't expect, including resurrection. The song is actually about Jesus resurrection and our going from spiritually dead to spiritually alive, quoting the Ezekiel 37 dry bones prophesy. Therefore, people being encouraged in their heresy because a song references a scripture that they incorrectly use to back up their beliefs should not be held against the song. Here is an article that goes more in depth on Grave Sucking if you are interested.
Biblical Background
1 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”14 Now Elisha had been suffering from the illness from which he died. Jehoash king of Israel went down to see him and wept over him. “My father! My father!” he cried. “The chariots and horsemen of Israel!”
15 Elisha said, “Get a bow and some arrows,” and he did so. 16 “Take the bow in your hands,” he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.
17 “Open the east window,” he said, and he opened it. “Shoot!” Elisha said, and he shot. “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!” Elisha declared. “You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek.”
18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. 19 The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”
20 Elisha died and was buried.
Now Moabite raiders used to enter the country every spring. 21 Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.
Lyrics
Saturday was silentSurely it was through
But since when has impossible
Ever stopped You
Friday's disappointment
Is Sunday's empty tomb
Since when has impossible
Ever stopped You
This is the sound
Of dry bones rattling
This is the praise
Make a dead man walk again
Open the grave
I'm coming out
I'm gonna live
Gonna live again
This is the sound
Of dry bones rattling
Pentecostal fire
Stirring something new
You're not gonna run out of miracles
Anytime soon
Resurrection power
Runs in my veins too
I believe there's another miracle
Here in this room!
My God is able to save
And deliver and heal
And restore anything that He wants to
Just ask the man
Who was thrown
On the bones of Elisha
If there's anything that He can't do
Just ask the stone
That was rolled
At the tomb in the garden
What happens when God says to move
I feel Him moving it now
I feel Him doing it now
I feel Him doing it now
Do it now, do it now
Abundant Life Fellowship Version
Elevation Worship Version
Final Thoughts
I hope this article gave you some insight on this popular song by Elevation Worship and the controversies surrounding it. Some other objections [it is loud, commercialized, misunderstood and repetitive] that I have heard in reference to this song will be dealt with in my article on Day 30, so look for that one coming out soon. Check out articles on some of the other most popular Christian worship songs of 2022 below.
Read These Next:
- Waymaker by Sinach
- 10,000 Reasons -Matt Redman
- Graves Into Gardens -Brandon Lake
- Never Lost -Tauren Wells
Comments
Post a Comment
Share your bucket of grace here: