The Spirit of God in the Old Testament

Thesis: God demonstrates His goodness through the activity of the Holy Spirit.

1 Samuel 16:13

This chapter of Samuel is the narrative of God choosing and Samuel anointing David as King of Israel. Immediately prior, in Chapter 15, God rejects and regrets installing Saul as king. In secret and by God’s command, the Prophet Samuel visits Bethlehem where a man named Jesse is the father of the chosen king. David, the youngest child of Jesse is who God tells Samuel to anoint.

Anoint:

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary Anoint, Anointed

From ancient times the priests and kings were ceremonially anointed as a sign of official appointment to office, and as a symbol of God’s power upon them.

Then the text reads “And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward.” The next verse tells us that this same Spirit departed from Saul.

This rushing upon of filling of the Spirit of God is not unique to these two men, though. In Judges, the leaders of Israel were said to be filled with the Spirit prior to their extraordinary acts or leadership capabilities. Judges 3:10 says of one judge, Othniel, that “the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.”

Prophets and prophecy spanning from Joseph in Egypt throughout the entire Old Testament are referenced in numerous ways to have this Spirit with or in them. It is one of the most common ways God communicates with Israel and her neighbors prior to Christ. Some examples from the Old Testament include: 1 Samuel 19:18-24

1 Samuel 19:18–24 ESV

Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth. And it was told Saul, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. Then he himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And one said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

2 Samuel 23:2 ““The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me; his word is on my tongue.”

Numbers 11:24–30 ESV

So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it. Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

At this point we’ve seen that God places the Spirit of God on men. We see that there are different things that come from this placement. Prophecy, might or strength, and wisdom begin the list. Sometimes it is an experience one has for a short period while at other times it is for years.

What is the significance for today? Why should we care about what the Holy Spirit is doing before Jesus came?

The Spirit of God IS God.

As the third Person of the Trinity, this is not merely an agent of God.

The Spirit is involved in the creation story in Genesis 1:2 “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

The Spirit contains God’s power over nature, including man.

In addition to the examples provided above, the call of Ezekiel is an interesting use of the Spirit. Ezekiel 2:1–2 “And he said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.”

As God, the Spirit works in accordance with the will of God.

Exodus covers a lot of God’s design and instruction for the Tabernacle. Exodus 25:8 “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” Then, in order for this to be done, God provides the Spirit to fill the craftsmen with “ability, intelligence, and knowledge.” Read Ex 31:1-11.

With the help of the Spirit of God, we can work the will of God.

This, in part, is the reason we have the Spirit to begin with.

John 14:15–17 ““If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

Jude 20–21 “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.”

The New Testament offers some explanation on life with the Spirit in us.

Galatians

1 John 2:27.

More dots to connect:

In Hebrew, the word “ruach” may refer to wind, breath, and spirit.

Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon רוּחַ

breath, wind, spirit

We can say that the ruach may be something experienced, either as moving towards people or as being in or with them. (DDD) Reiling, J. “Holy Spirit.” In Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, edited by Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. van der Horst. Leiden; Boston; Köln; Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge: Brill; Eerdmans, 1999.