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. This is the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament—Part Three.
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.
Judah didn’t trust God’s promised protection and allied with Egypt without consulting God’s Spirit. Sorrow awaited 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).
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.” The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament--Part Four. #freediscipleshipresources #freeevangelismresources #freechristianleadershipresources
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