In the New Testament we read about believers being baptized, filled, and gifted by the Holy Spirit, but what was his role in the Old Testament?  What did the Holy Spirit do in the Old Testament? Perhaps a better question would be “what didn’t he do?”

In Deuteronomy 34:9 we read that Joshua was filled with the Holy Spirit to lead Israel into the Promised Land and to deliver her from her enemies. Judges 3:10 reveals how the Holy Spirit came upon Othniel, Caleb’s nephew to deliver Israel from an oppressor, as 1 Samuel 11:6 shows he also did through Saul. The Holy Spirit was Israel’s protector (Isaiah 63:11-12), and through him prophets spoke (Daniel 4:8-9).  The Spirit was equally present in the movement of the wheels of Ezekiel’s vision (Ezekiel 1:12, 20).  The Old Testament also predicts the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the coming Messiah (Isaiah 42:1-2).

Jesus once said in John 7:39, “…Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified;” and speaking further of the H.S. Jesus says in John 14:17 “…but you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”  But how could the Holy Spirit not be given if he had been so busy in the Old Testament, and how could they already know him?  The answer is most probably one of “degrees.”

The Holy Spirit was present in the Old Testament for specific purposes and events. He empowered people, and performed God’s will, but was never as close as promised in the New Testament. In the Old Testament the Spirit came and went according to his sovereign will, whereas in the New Testament he is the final and permanent manifestation of the Trinity throughout the world. Grudem states, “The Holy Spirit had not come within them in the way in which God had promised to put the Holy Spirit within his people when the new covenant would come, nor had the Holy Spirit been poured out in the great abundance and fullness that would characterize the new covenant age (Joel 2:28-29).” Therefore, as important as the Holy Spirit’s presence was in the Old Testament, his presence today only enhances the presence of God among us.

Dana Arledge, Will Uminn, Phil Meade, Kevin Farmer