Resurrection and the Spirit
God promised Israel that He would give them a new heart and put a new spirit within them. "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." (Ezk. 36:26-27). At that time, they would dwell in the land he gave to their fathers. The coming of the Holy Spirit is therefore directly related to Israel receiving the land promise. This receiving of the land promise is related to the subject of chapter 37. Israel is in Babylonian captivity, separated from her land. Israel is dead, a valley of dry bones. God would raise the dead when he puts his Spirit within them. "Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will palace you in your own land. Then you shall know that I , the Lord, have spoken it and performed it, " says the Lord. (Ezk. 37:13, 14). Israel's restoration to the land is tied to her rising from the dead. All would be accomplished through the Holy Spirit. Joel's prophecy of the outpouring of the Spirit would occur within the last days, the closing days of the Jewish age. (Joel 2:28-32). Peter quotes Joel saying, "This is that which was spoken of the prophet Joel, (Acts 2:16-20), to establish that the time for Israel's rising from the dead and restoration to the land had arrived. God is about to open the graves of Israel and raise the dead. This is why we see the role of the Spirit and the dead being raised throughout the pages of the New Testament.
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