Can you share your thoughts on the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament?
This text is from a letter written by David Gooding in 1998.
Here are a few thoughts on the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament:
| 1. The Holy Spirit’s role in Creation | Genesis 1:2 |
| 2. The Holy Spirit’s role in the Inspiration of Scripture | 1 Peter 1:11; 2 Peter 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Samuel 23:2 |
| 3. The Holy Spirit’s role in gifting servants of God to produce the tabernacle | Exodus 35:30–35 |
| 4. The Holy Spirit’s empowerment of prominent servants of God | Judges 6:34 |
| 5. The Holy Spirit’s guidance of Israel in their journey across the wilderness | Isaiah 63:10–14 |
| 6. The prophecy of the Holy Spirit’s announcement of the Messiah | Isaiah 11:2 |
| 7. The promise that one day God would pour out his Spirit, not merely on some prominent leaders, but on all flesh | Joel 2:28-32 |
| 8. The Holy Spirit’s renewal of the nation of Israel | Ezekiel 37:14 |
Incidentally, it is very likely that the promise of the rebirth of Israel through water (Ezekiel 36:25ff), and through the Spirit (Ezekiel 37:14), is the background against which our Lord preached to Nicodemus that he ought to have known all about the new birth by water and the Spirit (John 3:5).
It seems to be evident from a passage like Psalm 51:10–11, that the saints of the Old Testament did not enjoy a sense of the permanent abiding of the Holy Spirit within them. In the same way, of course, they had no concept of the once-and-for-all-ness of the sacrifice of Christ, but had constantly to repeat their sacrifices for sins. They enjoyed forgiveness, but they did not have a conscience made perfect (Hebrews 10).
Finally, one should try to distinguish between the various ways in which the word 'spirit' is used in the Old Testament. For instance, when Psalm 104:30 says, 'Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created', it is talking about God's treatment of the animals (see Ps 104:25). Obviously, the term for 'spirit' in this Psalm is not talking about the same thing as the Holy Spirit within the heart of the believer. It is being used in the same sense as it is in Genesis 7:21–23.
With love in the Lord,
