God took the complaints of Israel—that they were dead as a nation and no better than a pile of dry bones—and showed Ezekiel a vision of life.
It was a pretty gory vision. Just imagine what this would have looked like:
Ezekiel 37:7-8 Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons. Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones. Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them.
At this stage, we have erect but lifeless bodies. They need the breath of God to come alive:
Ezekiel 37:10 So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army.
Although it looked like all hope was gone, God had a plan to restore His people, breathing His spirit back into his people and bringing them back into the land He had promised them.
That Bible blog 