Old Testament
The New Testament paints a complete picture of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2 is awe-inspiring and makes it appear that he just arrived. But he is at work the whole time. ELB does not teach that well. The “Spirit of Yahweh” and “my Spirit” are the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, the “Spirit” belongs to Yahweh; he does not act independently. Some see that as evidence that the Holy Spirit is not a third person in the Holy Three. I see it as a strategic revelation that he cannot tell until after the Messiah appears.
There is another distinction in the Old Testament; our Abba Father assigns the Holy Spirit as needed. Israel does not have the privilege of him that believers now have. I attribute that to sin and Jesus’ work on the cross. Moses understood the Spirit of Yahweh but could not know his connection to the Messiah. Interestingly, the Holy Three, as we know them were not in the prophecy with the Messiah. Nor is the Messiah seen in Genesis 1.
We see ourselves without our Savior when we understand that the Old Testament describes humans disobeying their Abba father continuously and how that turns out for them. ELB teaches us our Abba Father’s forgiveness and the heroes of the Old Testament, but I see the people as we are in our natural state after Eden. The Old Testament studies human nature; please pay more attention to the people and bring them to life. That is the context that reveals the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament is more than history.
Animal life started in Genesis 1:24, “Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so.” Human life started with Genesis 2:7 NKJV, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Other translations say living soul or person.
Why dust? Why anything? Dust symbolizes the value of this life and its tether to this earth. Being “formed” by our Abba Father is unique and very personal. But the first batch of humans could have gone better. Genesis 6:17, “And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is in the earth shall die.” The breath in Genesis 2:7 is our Abba Father’s breath, “nišmaṯ,” and the breath in Genesis 6:17 is “rūaḥ,” the word most often seen as spirit or wind. Our Abba father created the first man with his breath which created our soul and GCS, which differentiates us from animals. (That is what makes evolution from animal to human impossible.)
Getting from dust to the human body is miracle work. And who did the work? Psalm 104:29-30, “Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled; Thou takest away their breath, they die, And return to their dust. Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created.” Spirit with a capital “S” is the Holy Spirit, sent forth by our Abba Father to get us breathing. Look at Elihu in Job 33:4, “The Spirit of God hath made me, And the breath of the Almighty giveth me life.” The Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) and God the Almighty (El Shaddai) are separate beings.
Those passages are essential because they reveal our Abba Father and his Spirit as integral to childbirth. It will grow your faith enormously if you add that to your understanding. ELB only wants us to see the human role in the birthing process and, sometime in the future, maybe involve our Abba Father in our lives. In ELB, the longer it takes, the better. As parents, please remember why our Abba Father chose Abraham.
In Ezekiel, our Abba Father is very upset with Israel. Ezekiel 37:11-14 is the dry bones prophecy, “Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off. Therefore prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Yahweh Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am Yahweh, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live.”
In Ezekiel, the bones of Israel are being brought back to a new life with the Spirit of the LORD, not birthing new people. Hopefully, you see the metaphor. Ezekiel affirms Genesis that the Spirit of the LORD is integral to the gift of life from our Abba Father. Just as our Abba Father cannot reveal who the Messiah is to Israel, he can’t be too explicit about his Spirit until Jesus arrives. I push back on polytheism as a rationale for the 3-in-1 doctrine because our Abba Father went to great trouble to camouflage the Holy Three until he was ready. Polytheism related to the Holy Three makes no sense.
Let’s go back to Genesis 1:1-2: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And 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.“
The Scripture opens with Elohiym and the Spirit of Elohiym, identified and present as two separate spirits. I see a process in the Scripture in which the Elohiym speaks, and the Spirit of God Elohiym moves atoms and molecules as needed for the commands to be manifested. Jesus is in the middle of the process of bringing the words to life. But is the Spirit of God simply a conduit or a source of energy, and does he have free will?
The Spirit of Yahweh has identifiable functions he performs in the Scripture, which we explore, and S4M5 expands on our relationship with the Spirit of Yahweh as the Holy Spirit. The most critical function of the Spirit of Yahweh is his role in life itself.
Delivering the Words of the LORD
Most believers do not have a mental image of our Abba Father speaking to his people in the Old Testament. Hopefully, my readers now see the pre-incarnate Jesus walking the earth in the Old Testament. After Jesus’ work on the cross with the Holy Spirit in us, we have a direct communication channel with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
But in reading the Old Testament, we read the words of the conversations with our Abba Father and do not bring the exchange to life with the Holy Spirit. Why? Because ELB is afraid of the supernatural world in teaching. I have used the analogy that the Spirit of Yahweh is like our Abba Father’s cell phone company. No matter where we are in the world, he dials our number, and with billions of people, only one phone will ring. And no matter where we are in the world, when we dial “*2,” headquarters answers. That is one job of the Holy Spirit.
Let’s see what the Scripture says. Deuteronomy 30:11-14, “For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not too hard for thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it . . . But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.“
The Spirit of Yahweh delivers the words of our Abba Father into our hearts and minds. The Angel of Yahweh, pre-incarnate Jesus, did very specific things. The Spirit of Yahweh is more continuous in presence. Look at 2 Samuel 23:2, David speaking. “The Spirit of Yahweh spake by me, And his word was upon my tongue.” Look at Isaiah 59:21, “And as for me, this is my covenant with them, saith Yahweh: my Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith Yahweh, from henceforth and for ever.“
Indwelling
Look at Numbers 27:15-19, “And Moses spake unto Yahweh, saying, Let Yahweh, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, who may go out before them, and who may come in before them, and who may lead them out, and who may bring them in; that the congregation of Yahweh be not as sheep which have no shepherd. And Yahweh said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay thy hand upon him; and set him before Eleazar, the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight.“
Here we see the Spirit of the LORD indwelling in Joshua to facilitate our Abba Father’s plan. Moses knows our Abba Father is with him but does not know the whole picture as we do. Joshua is Moses’s successor, and he gives us a view behind the curtain of how our Abba Father and the Holy Spirit work as a team.
Numbers 11:16-7, “And Yahweh said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with thee. And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.”
Look at Judges 3:9-10, “our Abba Father had been punishing Israel for eight years, “And when the children of Israel cried unto Yahweh, Yahweh raised up a saviour to the children of Israel, who saved them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. And the Spirit of Yahweh came upon him, and he judged Israel; and he went out to war, and Yahweh delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand: and his hand prevailed against Cushan-rishathaim.”
Haggai 2:4-5, “Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith Yahweh; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith Yahweh, and work: for I am with you, saith Yahweh of hosts, according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, and my Spirit abode among you: fear ye not.“
That is a remarkable passage. We saw the Angel of Yahweh with Moses in Exodus, and here we see the Spirit of Yahweh as the implementor of our Abba Father’s words and commands through the Angel of Yahweh on the journey. Both are there!
Deuteronomy 6:6-15, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates.“
That passage does not mention the Spirit of Yahweh, but you now know that is how life works. There is much to learn about the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. Please pray on that.
Judges 6:34, “But the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Gideon; and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered together after him.” Psalm 143:10, “Thou hast beset me behind and before, And laid thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” Psalm 51:11-12, “Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with a willing spirit.” Psalm 139:5-7, “But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from Your Spirit?”
Isaiah 63:9-14 NKJV, “In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the Angel of His Presence saved them (pre-incarnate Jesus); In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; And He bore them and carried them All the days of old. But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit, So He turned Himself against them as an enemy, And He fought against them. Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying: “Where is He who brought them up out of the sea With the shepherd of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within them, Who led them by the right hand of Moses . . .”
That passage is another example of the Spirit and the Angel of Yahweh together in an experience other verses omit the Spirit. The “His Holy Spirit,” in this case, is “El ruah,” not “the Holy Spirit,” as referenced in the New Testament. Ezekiel 36:27, And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep mine ordinances, and do them.“
Zechariah 12:10, “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” The NKJV adds the capital letters, “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”
