The Breath of God

The Breath of Life

Genesis 2:4–7 (ESV)

4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground,

6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground—

7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Job 27:3 ESV

3 as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,

The Catching Away

The spirit falls upon Ezekiel and makes him speak the word of Yahweh but also ‘moves’ him to various places where he receives messages to proclaim.

Ezekiel 43:4–5 ESV

4 As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, 5 the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

Scripture also sometimes portrays the Spirit as God’s breath

Job 4:9 (ESV) - By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.

Isaiah 40:7 (ESV) - The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass.

The Wind was Associated with God’s Presence

Genesis 3:8 (ESV) - And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

1 Kings 19:11 - And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

The Catching Away

The spirit falls upon Ezekiel and makes him speak the word of Yahweh but also ‘moves’ him to various places where he receives prophetic messages.

Ezekiel 43:4–5 (ESV)

4 As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east,

5 the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

God’s Spirit Energized Human Life

Job 33:4 ESV

4 The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Job 27:3 ESV

3 as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,

Purge Me

Psalm 51:7–12 (ESV)

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.