HOLY SPIRIT ACTIVITY IN OLD TESTAMENT.
The Holy Spirit in the Psalms
King David wrote this prayer after Nathan had faced him with his adultery with Bathsheba.
He longed for the creative Lord to forge something ex nihilo ( out of nothing) in him, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit, not driven with self-impelled lust. One thousand years before the Holy Spirit transformed Pentecost into a soul-saving force for the newly-formed church, God heard this plea for the now humbled, penitent king. This demonstrates that God’s Spirit is co-eternal with the Father and Son.
David cried, ’Create in me a clean heart, and renew a steadfast spirit within me‘. Psalm 51:10
David relished the powerful, attendant Spirit of the Lord , pleading that He ‘Would not take him away from His regal presence. Sin from resistance distances our Lord. ‘Do not cast me away from your presence.' He pleaded, that the Lord would never withdraw the Holy Spirit from his life, urging ‘do not take away your Holy Spirit from me.’ David highly regarded God’s Holy Spirit. He knew he would be a spiritual bankrupt if God withdrew His gracious Spirit. V11
Psalm 104 is a creation psalm, extolling God’s creation of light , heavens, v2, waters, clouds wind v3 angels and ministers, earth, waters above the mountains, Thunder, valleys, flowing springs in the valley, wild don keys, b irds of the heaven, grass, thunder, vegetation, heartening wine( non-toxic ).
He continued on God‘s shaping, ‘Oil illuminating the face, trees full of sap, cedars of Lebanon, birds and nests, storks, wild goats, rock badgers, moon for seasons, the sun, beasts of forest, young lions, food from God, earth, great, wide sea. This psalm strikingly summarizes God’s unique broad spectrum creation, ’You sent forth your Spirit, they are created, You renew the face of the earth.’ David devoted an entire psalm to demonstrate the sheer wonder of God’s handiwork. Scripture shows the intelligent design of His gracious Spirit; so that each Person of the Trinity took part in this unique creation workmanship.
David contends that the Lord is all-knowing, that is omniscient, admitting he cannot flee or hide from his mighty presence. In other words, that the Lord is omnipresent through the Holy Spirit.
When a carpenter arrived at home, I commented, ‘ You are an answer to prayer.’ ‘How could God record the prayer of 6 billion peoples‘, he retorted.’ ’He is omniscient ’ I responded. How can God meet each one individually?’ ‘My friend‘, I responded, ‘You limit God to a finite, fragile human when He is the omnipotent, living God.’ He listened courteously to our discussion.
King David in psalm 139, wrote of the Lord’s omniscience in the early verses, ‘O Lord you have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up. You understand my thoughts afar off‘. Then in verse 7, this intriguing question. ‘Where can I flee from your Spirit- (he knew the third Person of the Trinity )- or where can I flee from Your presence.' He addressed Him precisely as the third Person of the Godhead: hence ’You-your‘. Do you really know Him?
The Holy Spirit in Genesis
Surprisingly, the Holy Spirit is active in creation in the first chapter of the Bible, revealing the three persons of the Trinity as innovative and creative. The Scripture records, ‘The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters, ‘just as Christ hovered over the blood anointed homes in Egypt. True theology recognizes and adorns the gracious Person of His Spirit, although some minimize or dismiss His eternal office: to their impoverishment.
Early in human history, sadly, man’s wickedness and degeneracy appeared. ‘The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.‘ Genesis 6:5 God could not bear longer with this evil. The Lord warned that the Spirit’s gracious, attractive, drawing towards a holy, righteous God would cease. Nor would the Lord allow mankind to survive hundreds of years, as in the early chapters of Genesis. The Lord said, 'My Spirit shall not strive with man for ever. For he is indeed flesh; for his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’ 6:3 The Hebrew ’strive’ also means ’to judge, contend or plead.’ Our Lord Jesus said, 'When He the Spirit of truth has come, He will convict the world of sin , righteousness and judgment.' As believers in our Lord, we depend totally on the Spirit of God to contend with and reprove us, and guide us in our daily walk.
The third reference in Genesis concerns the elevation of the prisoner Joseph to the rank of Prime Minister. Pharoah perceived the heavenly wisdom of the Spirit, indwelling in this prisoner, incarcerated in a dungeon for years. Pharoah had dreamed, which none of his counselors could interpret, until this hastily-summoned Joseph emerged from despairing, dungeon depths to lavish, palatial brilliance. Joseph wisely gave the interpretation of the dream and the prophetic advice: to prepare Egypt for seven bumper harvests and seven, despairing famine years. How can a pagan ruler identify the third Person of the Godhead in the life of this young man? Only the same eternal Person, God’s gracious Spirit, could enlighten him. The same Holy Spirit brought light and perception to these totally dissimilar men. The advice seemed good to Pharoah and in the eyes of all his servants. Pharoah said to his servants, ‘ Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God.’ Genesis 41:38 A great blueprint.
Do we always discern the hidden Person of God’s Spirit in each true believer?
The Holy Spirit in Isaiah
Isaiah has most references to the Spirit of God in the old Testament. Many saints cherish this writer. At our Lord’s baptism in river Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended as a dove from heaven, resting on Him, a clear fulfillment of this prophetic word. The Holy Spirit directed the flow of wisdom and understanding in our dear Lord’s ministry , releasing an eternal reservoir of knowledge and generating healthy reverence for the word of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is seldom preached. The Trinity, indicated by a triangle in my Bible, tells of Christ as ‘A Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch out of His roots.’ Then the seven-fold ‘Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him ( that is Christ ) the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.‘ 11:2 He is our only source of wisdom.
God’s gracious Spirit intertwines Isaiah’s precious chapters, writing of the Lord Jesus as ‘My Servant’ and ‘My elect one’, such a joy to the Father. Gentiles will receive justice, His controlled speech was seven sayings even at the cross; He is tender to those shattered by sin ; nor will he extinguish the blaze of longing or holiness in a single seeker. Scripture discloses the secret of His ministry, in that He did all in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is futile for even committed believers to serve Christ apart from utter dependence on the Spirit of God. Isaiah wrote, ‘Behold, my Servant whom I uphold, My elect One in whom my soul delights. Then this secret infilling, ‘I have put My Spirit upon Him, ( The eternal Son was filled with the co-eternal Spirit. He will being forth justice to the Gentiles, he will not cry out, nor raise His voice ( true even in His Calvary suffering ) a bruised reed will he not break, and smoking flax he will not quench, he will bring forth justice for truth.’ 42:1
We have this superlative support under God’s dear Spirit as trustee, effective especially when the going is tough; the enemy seeks to inundate our lives; and we need the standard of a living sacrifice to bolster us. In Indonesia in the fifties, our car was stuck in the river, swollen with tropical downfall, and advancing rapidly. My cry for help to two men in this isolated part, was ignored. Our three girlies could see the torrential river rising quickly, were freezing, and were terrified, ’Daddy, you must really pray for help,’ which I had quietly done. We were defenceless. Suddenly, the men realized my Australian, not European, identity. However, God sent angel assistance, when 20 ’persons’ appeared, lifted the car out of the river- carrying it metres to the road, where the engine burst into life. God’s Spirit raised a standard. The ‘rescuers’ drifted away, after I had thanked them. We were released.
‘So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun,’ when a buoyant promise follows, ‘When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against Him‘. Isaiah 59:19 God’s Spirit fills this function often-even daily.
The Holy Spirit will glorify our Lord Jesus, and extol His atonement on Calvary.
Verse 20 reads, ‘The Redeemer will come to Zion, and give to those who turn from transgression to Jacob, says the Lord. Hence Isaiah faithfully titled Christ, ‘goel’ or Kinsman Redeemer, as Boaz was to Ruth. God bound Himself to the Holy Spirit, uniquely prescribing every word of scripture Old and New Testament; and then to take of the things of Christ and reveal them unto us. Our God is familiar with all other languages, having confused and scattered the nations at Babel, with languages , now seen as complex yet conforming intricately to linguistic laws.
Many languages demand 10-15 years’ research in a tribe to latch onto the elements and translate some of God’s Word. Joan Rule was exceptionally endowed grasping the fundamentals in 12 months, ( alphabet, phonetics, structure of language ) equipping her successors to complete the work- while she tackled the next complicated language. She captured 19 languages.
England was the foremost nation when the British and foreign bible society undertook to take God’s word to the end of the world. Words are eternally significant. God undertook to complete this immense task.
As for me says the Lord, ‘This is my covenant with them. ’My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, ( our precious children ) nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants ( treasured grand children) , says the Lord from this time and for evermore.’ Our Lord treasures families teaching the Word of God. Do you ?
The Father anticipated in the fullness of time sending forth His Son’ for His searching preaching and atoning sacrifice. He clearly showed the prophet Isaiah that the poor (humble and meek) would hear the gospel of His saving grace: the Messiah would heal the broken-hearted, though many of God’s present people are heavy-hearted; and He bursts open the prison house of substance abuse, home violence, cheating in examinations or professional life, unfaithfulness within marriage; and internet pornography, (50% men admit this vicious, ghastly, secretive, ungodliness.) Such slavery persists in each generation. He will pronounce ‘liberated, satanic-power broken‘, over many from each nation, language, tongue and people. The Messiah would also announce that he would wreck just vengeance on the ungodly. Our Lord Jesus omitted this prophetic portion in His initial address in the home synagogue of Nazareth, which would be fulfilled in the later Day of the Lord.
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach the good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted; to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them who are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn. Isaiah 61:1
The Holy Spirit in Samuel
God reluctantly agreed to the appointment of Saul as king, as the people insisted they be like other nations. The eternal Spirit would come on this one man; which contrasts with the 3000 on the day of Pentecost who were saved and filled with the same gracious Spirit. Saul would be heavenly endowed ( that is, from above ) as king. Saul’s gift led him to prophesy, whereas many spiritual gifts are available in this dispensation of grace: with the staggering comment that the old Saul would be overturned or converted (Strong’s Conc ) into another person. Only the living Lord can transform sinful man into a Spirit-filled person. The following verse supports this, ‘That you do as the occasion demands, for God is with you.’ ‘The Spirit of the Lord shall come upon you, and you shall prophesy with them, and be turned into another man. Let it be, when these signs come to you, you do as the occasion demands, for God is with you.’ 1 Samuel 10:6
In the face of opposition and challenge, God’s Spirit aids us and raises a standard for us. He supports us even as Ezekiel heard the reverberation of an earthquake, with its after effects. He magnifies the majestic Lord. The Holy Spirit is mostly that ‘still, small voice,‘ but he may show His own omnipotence as Ezekiel discovered. Let us not limit the gracious Holy Spirit. The rumbling obscured all other influences, quieting the enemy’s subtle speech.
Ezekiel wrote, ‘Thus says the LordGod, whether they hear or whether they refuse, then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice. Blessed is the glory of the Lord from His place‘. Christ said simply, ’He shall glorify Me’.
‘So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit, but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me‘. V12
‘Then the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and spoke with me and said to me, ‘Go shut yourself inside your house.’v24 ????
The Holy Spirit in Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 37 marvelously portrays the resurrection and resurgence of the Israel nation. God cherishes what nations neglect and bypass. The combined ministering hand of the Lord and His Spirit activates two members of the Godhead. The Spirit of God illumines God’s children, and especially Ezekiel as national prophet, who realistically saw Israel as a valley of fossils, petrified bones. It was questionable that they could ever function.
This calcified nation must hear the Word of God. Our beloved Australian nation must hear and obey the precious Word. God grants His Spirit to the Hebrew people when they receive the incomparable word. He will endow the nation of Israel with appropriate spiritual covering as tendons and muscle grace the body. A delightful divine reinstatement. He will restore this precious people to magnify their Messiah. The Holy Spirit rebuilds Israel nationally and us personally.
God’s Word reads: ‘The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley and it was full of bones. There were very many in the open valley and indeed they were very dry. Can these bones live? ‘O Lord God, you know. Prophesy to these bones, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: surely I will cause breath ( ruach or the Spirit of God ) to enter unto you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath ( the same Spirit ) in you and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.‘ 37:1
Please notice how ’breath’ is repeatedly used even in these verses. Breath is the Spirit of the living God. ’The Lord God says to these bones, ( God converses with fossils, because of what he will make of them ) surely I will cause breath to enter into you and you shall live.’ To fill and endow us individually, the Holy Spirit is crucial. Verse 9 is more emphatic, ’He said to me, ’Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ’Thus says the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, ( His omnipresence ) and breathe on these slain, that imparting life ) they might live; ’So I prophesied, as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.’ Reemergence of Israel is supernatural. He promised, Before the people of Israel occupy their land under Christ’s Messiahship, ’I will put My Spirit inyou, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it, says the Lord‘. v14
God coordinates His prophetic patchwork . which enlivens Scripture; while its absence mystifies.
The Holy Spirit in Zechariah
Zechariah convincingly instructs concerning the gracious Holy Spirit. It is often quoted, but not fully appreciated. ’He answered and said to me, ’This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.’4:6
No human resource; physical energy or power , intellectual attainment, scholastic achievement can ever accomplish the work of God. Only the life flowing from the throne of heaven through the Holy Spirit can achieve God’s purpose. A hard lesson for us to learn: for it takes us to the cross of our bleeding Saviour. The word of the Lord is described in verse 2 as a ’lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it. Two olive trees supply it, ( olive oil represents the Holy Spirit in Scripture ). The bowl has an unbroken stream of oil flowing through from the two olive trees.
A beloved sister in our Lord is fighting malignancy, yet quietly preparing for glory. ‘I am content, for Christ overflows in my lfe.’ Too weakened to publicly worship, Louise’ radiant devotion is hid with Christ in God. Does the heavenly oil from the olive tree flood your life?
Please observe that God will pour the Spirit ( translated the Spirit of God, the third Person of the triune God, who is co-equal with the Father and with the Son) on all the citizens of Jerusalem. 400 years later, this prophecy was partially fulfilled when the same Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, converting cringing cowards into courageous crusaders for Christ. 3000, later 5000, He supernaturally converted 3000 later 5000 from a dead religion to know Him, whom to know is life everlasting. This prophecy will have secondary sequel, and entire fulfillment. We must never limit the expanse of Scripture , and our Lord Jesus Christ’s reign over His restored Israel during the Millennium. Remember as His heavenly bride, we, shall occupy the throne with Him.
At the cross, they gazed, bamboozled at the sight of the Son of God hanging pierced on the cursed tree. 2000 years later, when he reigns over His chosen people, who are now redeemed by his precious blood, they will again look on His wounds and acknowledge the crucified Lord of glory. Are you surprised to see such evidence of the Holy Spirit clearly in an Old Testament book?
‘I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for him as one Mourns for his only son, and grieve for him as one grieves for a first-born.’ They grieved over Pentecost that they had crucified their Messiah: they will rue that in the last day when he reigns as their personal Kinsman-Redeemer. Bitterest sorrow is tempered with the joy of the Lord as their Strength.
‘In that day’ recurs in many verses, for the Holy Spirit has transformed this historic period. 14;1
‘In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.’