The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament: God’s Power at Work Before Christ

Summary

The Holy Spirit was actively at work throughout the Old Testament, empowering leaders, craftsmen, prophets, and judges to accomplish God’s purposes. Though He came upon people temporarily before Christ, His presence guided, strengthened, warned, and restored God’s people. Prophets foretold a future outpouring of the Spirit, fulfilled at Pentecost. This study reveals the Spirit as God’s faithful guide, power source, and agent of transformation long before the New Testament era.

Learning About the Spirit the Hard Way

I heard about the Holy Spirit as a youth, but didn’t understand much about Him. I didn’t know His role in living for Jesus.

I was like an auto owner who doesn’t understand that gasoline powers his car. He pushes it wherever he goes.

I tried to live for Jesus (not very wholeheartedly) in my strength. Half a heart and no power were a recipe for repeated frustrating failures. I don’t want anyone else to follow that discouraging path.

So, I studied references to the Holy Spirit throughout the Bible. I explored His ministry and how He relates to us and our ministries.

A Journey Sparked by Caleb’s Faith

Reading Joshua 14:12 in my devotions sparked this venture. “So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said” (NLT).

Caleb is speaking. He and Joshua were the only spies who returned from scouting the land of Canaan and believed the Israelites could conquer the Promised Land. Moses promised Caleb a portion of that land because he wholeheartedly followed the LORD.

The descendants of Anak were giants. They were at least as big as 300-pound-plus linemen in the National Football League. That was no problem for Caleb.

The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament

The LORD with him, he would drive them out of the land. “If the LORD is with me” caught my attention.

How was the LORD with Caleb and His people before Jesus was born? How is He with them since Jesus came? I invite you to join me on this journey of exploring the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.

The Spirit Empowering Skilled Work

We see the work of the Holy Spirit in building the Tabernacle according to God’s specifications. God filled Bezalel with the Holy Spirit. That gave him “great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts” (Exodus 31:3 NLT).

Bezalel had competent help as he oversaw the project. Oholiab was his chief assistant. Furthermore, the Spirit gave special skills to gifted craftsmen to make all the things God commanded in the Tabernacle’s construction. How does that relate to us?

Building God’s Work Together Today

The Holy Spirit gives us special skills to carry out the tasks He assigns us as we work together to build His church by making more and better disciples of Jesus. Our journey through Scripture continues.

Sharing Leadership Through the Spirit

God took some of the Spirit upon Moses and gave the seventy elders the same Spirit. That equipped them to help Moses bear the burden of leading the people (Numbers 11:17, 25). When those elders received the Spirit, they prophesied. That demonstrated to Moses that God had given them the Spirit also (Numbers 11:25).

The Spirit Speaking Through Balaam

Later in Numbers, we read that Balak hired Balaam to curse Israel. Nevertheless, when the Spirit came upon Balaam, he blessed Israel. The Spirit enabled Balaam to see clearly, hear God’s words, see a vision from the Almighty, and prophesy Israel’s success (Numbers 24:1-9).

Clearing Foggy Thinking

God’s Spirit uses even His enemies to accomplish His will. He did that with Balaam. As with Balaam, the Holy Spirit can clear up our foggy thinking about who God is and what He wants.

The Spirit makes us into new people by changing how we think (Romans 12:2). He might even give us occasional glimpses of where He is headed.

Old Testament Power vs New Testament Indwelling

In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit lives within God’s people. In the Old Testament, He came upon them for some specific purpose.

Judges Empowered for Deliverance

The Spirit of the LORD came upon Othniel to equip him to be Israel’s judge and to win a war against Aram (Judges 3:10). The Spirit empowered Gideon to fight the armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east (Judges 6:34). He came upon Jephthah to battle the Ammonites (Judges 11:29).

Faith Still Activates God’s Power

God’s Spirit still empowers spiritual leaders. He lives in them, but His power supply isn’t automatic. It’s by faith (Hebrews 11:6).

Samson’s Strength and God’s Purpose

The Spirit stirred Samson while he lived in Mahaneh-dan (Judges 13:24–25) and came upon him powerfully to rip a lion’s jaws apart (Judges 14:6), to kill thirty men in Ashkelon (Judges 14:19), to snap ropes on his arms at Lehi (Judges 15:14), and to prophesy at Gibeah (1 Samuel 10:10).

Strength for Today’s Calling

We haven’t ripped a lion’s jaws apart. But God’s Spirit provides physical strength to serve Him (Colossians 1:29). He also endows us with specific strengths and abilities to accomplish His purposes (1 Corinthians 12).

David Anointed and Led by the Spirit

The Spirit of the LORD came powerfully on David beginning with Samuel’s anointing him with olive oil. The Spirit spoke through him (1 Samuel 16:13; 2 Samuel 23:2). After acknowledging his grievous sins, David begged God not to remove that Spirit from him (Psalm 51:11).

David asked God to lead him into His will and a stable life through His Spirit (Psalm 143:10). Only those the Spirit leads can please God: “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (Galatians 5:25 NLT). 

The Spirit as God’s Certified Guide

The Holy Spirit is God’s only certified guide for life. We must avoid all pretenders. There will be many.

Unexpectedly, the Spirit of God also came upon Saul and his men, and they prophesied (1 Samuel 19:20, 23). We don’t know what Saul and his men said, but we know much about what David said because we have many Psalms he wrote.

God’s Spirit Speaking Through Messengers

The Spirit came upon Amasai, one of David’s military leaders. He encouraged David with a pledge of loyal support and reminded him that God was his helper (1 Chronicles 12:18).

The Spirit came on Azariah to deliver a message to King Asa and the people of Judah and Benjamin. He told them to seek and not abandon God (2 Chronicles 15:1–2).

God’s Spirit still speaks to us. Through those who teach and preach His word, He encourages us to seek Him and warns us of the consequences of abandoning Him (2 Chronicles 24:20).

Teaching and Warning Israel

God’s Spirit taught the Israelites in the wilderness, provided them with food and water (Nehemiah 9:20), and later warned them through the prophets (Nehemiah 9:30).

Protecting and Providing Still

The same Spirit who made the heavens beautiful still protects us against our enemies (Job 26:13). “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings” (Psalm 23:4–5 NLT).

He still provides food and water. “The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it. When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing” (Psalm 145:15-16 NLT).

He still warns us not to abandon Him. “So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished. So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak?” (Hebrews 2:1-3 NLT).

Isaiah’s Vision of the Spirit and the Messiah

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit rests on and empowers people to accomplish God’s purposes. Isaiah predicts a whole new dimension of the Holy Spirit’s resting.

He will rest on the Messiah. “And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:2 NLT). The Messiah’s obedience sharply contrasts with Judah’s disobedience.

The Danger of Ignoring the Spirit

Judah didn’t trust God’s promised protection and allied with Egypt without consulting God’s Spirit. Sorrow awaits them because they refused to submit to and carry out God’s plans (Isaiah 30:1). Sorrow awaits us if we insist on following our plans instead of God’s.

The Holy Spirit poured out from heaven in Isaiah 32:15, pictures God’s salvation. The wilderness becomes a fruitful field in contrast to the calamity described in Isaiah 32:14.

Isaiah 34 describes God’s final judgment at history’s climax. The Holy Spirit will ensure that judgment is carried out fully (Isaiah 34:16) and that wrath is poured on those who reject God.

God puts His Holy Spirit upon His chosen Messiah. The latter will oversee the world to come, where people carry out their God-given responsibilities to one another with perfect justice among all nations (Isaiah 42:1).

The Spirit Promising Restoration

Following the destruction of Israel that Isaiah 43:28 pictures, God’s Holy Spirit will bring blessings to fields and people alike, generation after generation (Isaiah 44:3).

The Servant of the LORD’s power (Isaiah 49) flows from the Holy Spirit. The Messiah is speaking. “Come closer, and listen to this. From the beginning I have told you plainly what would happen. And now the Sovereign Lord and his Spirit have sent me with this message” (Isa 48:16 NLT). All three persons of the Trinity are in view.

The Son is also speaking in Isaiah 61:1, where His Spirit-empowered preaching will bring into being a new people. The Apostle Paul describes this: “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT).

In Isaiah 63:10, the children of Israel grieved the Holy Spirit because they rebelled against God’s will and ways. God then became their enemy.

God becoming their enemy emphasizes the seriousness of grieving the Holy Spirit, which Paul warns against (Ephesians 4:20). This ability to be grieved points to the separate personhood of the Holy Spirit and to the Trinity.

The Holy Spirit gave rest to God’s people in the wilderness. It was another aspect of God’s leading and caring for them during their forty years of wandering. In that way, the LORD gained a magnificent reputation (Isaiah 63:14).

Ezekiel fell on his face when he saw the likeness of the glory of the LORD. The LORD told him to stand, and the Spirit entered into him and enabled him to stand (Ezekiel 1:28-2:2). What God commands, His Spirit enables.

In Ezekiel 3:24, the Spirit again lifted Ezekiel to his feet and told him to go to his house and shut himself in.

The Spirit lifted Ezekiel and transported him in some mysterious way (Ezekiel 3:12). In Ezekiel 8:3, the Spirit lifts him into the sky and transports him to Jerusalem via a vision. We see similar hard-to-explain Holy Spirit transporting behavior in Acts 8:39 NLT: “When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing.”

Through a vision, the Holy Spirit enabled Ezekiel to see what was happening in Jerusalem while he was in Babylonia.

The Spirit revealed the people who were planning evil and giving untrustworthy counsel. He told Ezekiel how to respond (Ezekiel 11:1–5, 24).

The Spirit Giving New Hearts

Later in the book of Ezekiel, God promised that Israel would be restored. He would give them a new heart and spirit. They would become responsive to His will and ways.

He would put His Spirit in them to enable them to obey Him (Ezekiel 36:26–27). Similarly, in Philippians 2:13 NLT, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”

Dry Bones Brought to Life

Once again, the Spirit carried Ezekiel away in a vision to a valley covered with dry bones. That symbolized God’s people without hope in exile. God promised His Spirit would bring the community back to life and He would never again turn His face from them (Ezekiel 39:29).

That message gave hope to despairing people. God had a place for them. They would return from Babylonia to their land (Ezekiel 37:1, 14).

The new birth the Holy Spirit engineers enables us to live with great expectation that God will keep His promises to us as He did to them (1 Peter 1:3). We confidently expect He has a place prepared for us (John 14:1-3).

The Promise of the Spirit for All

The LORD promised He would pour out His Spirit upon all men and women without distinction. They will experience an intimate relationship with Him. They will prophesy, dream dreams, and see visions (Joel 2:28-29).

The Apostle Peter saw the fulfillment of Joel 2:28-29 in the events of Pentecost and the giving of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:17-21).

True Prophets and False Voices

The prophet Micah warned that God would judge Jerusalem and Samaria and bring disaster upon them (Micah 2:3-5). The people didn’t think a patient God would do that.

Micah insisted the LORD’s Spirit wouldn’t be patient with their behavior (Micah 2:7). God’s patience has limits. He used the Assyrians and Babylonians to judge Israel and Judah, respectively.

Micah encountered false prophets who prophesied all would be well for those who paid them, but not for those who didn’t (Micah 3:5). They prophesied for profit. Their predictions didn’t come from God.

In contrast, Micah boldly declared Israel’s sin and rebellion. He wasn’t popular. The Spirit of the LORD empowers true prophets while false prophets make it up as they go (Micah 3:8).  

The Spirit Strengthening God’s Workers

The prophet Haggai encouraged the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem in 520 BC, 66 years after its destruction. God was at work to restore it as He was in the construction of the Tabernacle in the wilderness. Because God’s Spirit remained among them, they weren’t to allow fear to hinder the work (Haggai 2:5).

Neither are we. “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10 NLT).

Similarly, in the context of the Great Commission and the building of Jesus’ church, Jesus promised His presence--And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 NLT). Jesus is with us through His Holy Spirit.

We have one more Old Testament book to consider. Zechariah assured Governor Zerubbabel that the Spirit would supply all the resources he needed to complete his temple rebuilding assignment. This verse reminds us we must trust the Holy Spirit to speak through us when we talk about Jesus to others (Zechariah 4:6).

Rejecting Empty Religion

Empty religious rituals without justice and obedience anger God. The people wept and abstained from eating to demonstrate their repentance, but God wasn’t impressed. They didn’t change their ways. They oppressed widows, orphans, sojourners, and the poor instead of watching over them.

Earlier generations didn’t listen to God’s law, or His Spirit-inspired prophets sent to warn them to turn from their wicked ways to Him. Like a porcupine with quills up, they were in full defense mode against God’s will for their lives. That made God angry (Zechariah 7:12), and He sent a whirlwind of judgment against them (Zechariah 7:14).

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