Old Testament Activities

by J. W Seddon, Liverpool, England | Category: The Holy Spirit | Mar 1993

"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the LORD11.

These words of Zechariah 4:6, reflect the truth that the Holy Spirit is active in relation to all the purposes of the triune God.

From Genesis 1:2 we leam that "the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters". Thus began His preparatory work for the creation of an environment in which would dwell man, who would be the supreme object of His love and grace and experience a relationship with his God that no other creature could know.

This relationship was marred through the disobedience of Adam, yet the Spirit of God was ever active to restore that relationship, and to make known the divine purposes of God in man. "My Spirit shall not strive with man for ever" (Gen. 6:3). Yet in His grace, He strove long and hard, and what was true of Israel was true of the whole of mankind before them.

"Yet many years didst Thou bear with them and testifiedst against them through Thy prophets" (Neh. 9:30). "Searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it (He) testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should

follow them" (1 Pet. 1:11).

Applying Peter's words to the activity of the Holy Spirit in the individual saint of God in the Old Testament, reveals His beautiful work of foreshadowing the lovely Person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps Joseph was the most comprehensive example of them all: his whole life, through the Spirit of God, typified the Lord Jesus:

His unique relationship with his father (Gen. 37:3); the hatred of his brethren towards him (vA); the sufferings he endured as the sent one (Ps. 105:1719); his exaltation from the prison house to be Lord over all Egypt and become Zaphenath-paneah (saviour of the world). Truly we see the work of the Holy Spirit as expressed by Pharaoh when he said "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? (Gen. 41:38).

From one generation to another the Holy Spirit was working out the divine purposes of God. Prominent among them was that He should have a people among whom He could dwell. In the midst of that people He put His Holy Spirit (Is. 63:11) who was to empower men and women for the building of God's dwelling.

And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See the LORD has called by name Beza/el ... and He hath

filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship (Ex. 35:30,31).

Thus from the time they left Egypt, and through all their wilderness journey, "Thou gavest also Thy good Spirit to instruct them" (Neh. 9:20), raising up leaders for them. "And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto Me seventy men of the elders of Israel

- and I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and will put it (Him) upon them" (Num. 11:16,17).

The purpose of the Spirit of God was to guide them into all the blessings He had in store for them, but how often they tried His longsuffering grace, proving they were no bener than the nations from whom God had separated them. "But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit: therefore He was turned to be their enemy, and Himself fought against them" (Is. 63:10). The result of this leads us into the sad days of the Judges. The persecution and oppression by their enemies bore witness to the people's departure from God.

"And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and he went out to war, and the LORD

delivered" (Judges 3:10).

Whenever they cried to the Lord, confessing their sin, and acknowledging their dependence upon Him, He raised up men who through His Spirit delivered them. As Judges records, when they "cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a saviour to the children of Israel, who saved them, even

Othniel... and the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel" (Judges 3:9,10). Gideon too, God raised up to be their saviour from the Midianites, through the power of the Holy Spirit. "Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel, but the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon" (Judges 6:33,34).

The writer to the Hebrews lists such individuals of whom it was said that the Spirit of God came upon them, men and women who were among the great worthies of Scripture. "And wh'at shall I more say? for the time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah" (Heb. 11:32). Yet in spite of all the longsuffering of the Holy Spirit, the book of the Judges closes with this sad indictment: "In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges

21:25).

"And the Spirit of God came

mightily upon him, and he prophesied among them"

(1 Sam. 10:10).

From the judges to the kings, the activity of the Holy Spirit is clearly seen raising up men to carry out the will of God. The words quoted above were in reference to the anointing of Saul to be the first king of Israel, but like so many before him, he grieved the Spirit of God, who departed from him. Saul sowed the seed of disobedience, and he reaped the fruit of rejec

tion (see 1 Sam. 16:14). But in contrast the Lord "raised up David to be their king; to whom also He bare witness, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who shall do all My will" (Acts

13:22).

Such words spoken by God stand out in contrast to those spoken by the children of Israel when they said, "Make us a king to judge us like all the nations" (1 Sam. 8:5), and Saul proved to be the people's man. But David was God's man, God's choice, and was to mark him out as such, for we read, "Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren (1 Sam. 16:13).

David's life revealed much of the Spirit's activities, manifesting not only His power, but much of His love and grace also. He knew in great measure what it was not only to live by the Spirit, but by the Spirit also to walk (Gal. 5:25).

David was the author of at least 66 of the 150 Psalms, the work of inspiration through the Spirit of God. His appreciation of his dependence upon the Holy Spirit is seen not only in his office as king of Israel, but more important still, in his relationship and communion with God. This is expressed in the words he wrote, "Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me" (Ps. 51:11). The sin in David's life caused him to realize the sad possibility of the Holy Spirit being taken from him. While this cannot be so in the case of a believer today (John 14:16),

nevertheless sin can grieve Him and quench His work in us.

The divine record sums up the life of the "sweet psalmist of Israel", the "man after His own heart" with the words, "And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honour" (1 Chr. 29:28). So, on through the Old Testament the Holy Spirit continued to speak to the people of God through His prophets, yet they still rebelled, in spite of all His loving entreaties, until eventually God's earthly dwelling was destroyed, and His people led away into captivity, and for seventy years they remained in Babylon.

But the longing of God was still for His people among whom He could dwell, so the Spirit of God moved in the hearts of a remnant, and they returned to rebuild His house. For some five hundred years He persevered with them, until the coming of the Lord Jesus. When the old dispensation gives place to the new, the Holy Spirit manifests the grace of God to the whole of mankind, convicting "the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement" (John 16:8). Having been sent from the Father (John 15:26), the Holy Spirit is working towards the consummation of the great purpose of the age, "The Church, which is His Body" (Eph. 1:22,23). Marvellous grace indeed!

May He, the blessed Paraclete,

Who with us doth abide

God's gracious purpose to complete,

Be day by day our Guide.

J. W Seddon, Liverpool, England | Mar 1993
The Holy Spirit