John Gill Commentary Ezekiel 37:8

"And I beheld, and, lo, there were sinews upon them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them." — Ezekiel 37:8 (ASV)

And when I saw, lo, the sinews and the flesh came upon
them
And they began to look like men, in the shape of men, and were a body of them, as the Jews did when gathered together: and the skin covered them above ;
and so looked comely and beautiful, as in the proper form of men;

as did the Jews enriched and protected by Cyrus: and this may be an image of such persons so far worked upon under the word as to look like Christians; to have the form of godliness, and appear outwardly righteous before men, submitting to ordinances, and performing the duties of religion; and yet no principle of spiritual life in them;

but, like Adam's body, of the earth, earthly, and breathless, before the breath of life was breathed into it; so here, but there was no breath in them; no spirit in the Jews to return to their land, though they had liberty, till the Lord stirred up their spirits, (Ezra 1:5) ,

all this, in a spiritual sense, shows how far persons may go under temporary convictions by the word, and yet not be living Christians.