Growing up a Yankee fan in the 1960s was great in the early years. Watching the M&M (Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris) boys belt out homers was what every youngster wanted to see. Mantle and Maris’ home run duel to pass Babe Ruth’s record in 1961 was something few generations of baseball fans get to watch. Unfortunately, by the decade’s end, the Yankees were slipping from the best in baseball to the worst, with only a remnant of the original players remaining. Maris had been traded, and Mantle was often injured.

Ezekiel 1:1-3;36-37 – Future Restoration

Remnant is defined as something left over or a surviving trace. Whether it’s in baseball or the Bible, there is always a remnant. With the fall of Jerusalem, the people of Judah were exiled to Babylon. Ezekiel was a prophet who spoke to God’s people while they were in exile. The heart of his message was God’s deliverance and restoration of His people (Ezekiel 36:24-26). God preserved a remnant of exiles from the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. That’s a reminder that God never allows the people to be completely destroyed.

The restoration was the imagery behind Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones. This expressed God’s plan for Israel’s future national restoration. Most importantly, the vision showed that Israel’s new life depended on God’s power, not the circumstances of the people. Putting “breath” by God’s Spirit into the bones showed that God would restore them physically and spiritually.

The Israelites residing in the Holy Land today are not the fulfillment of this prophecy. However, it will be fulfilled when God regathers believing Israelites to the land, and Christ returns to establish His Millennial Kingdom.

The Kingdom Coach and Athlete trust in the promise of God’s Word that when we become Christians, God raises us from spiritual death to new life in Christ.

Bible Memory Verse – “For I know the plans I have for you; declares Yahweh, ‘plans for peace and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.’” Jeremiah 29:11  (LSB)