The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, Lesson 5- the Coming of the Spirit
by Lane Rogers
I. Before moving on to the coming of the Spirit, it is important for us to do one last small section on the anointing of the Spirit as related the Church.
A. The anointing of the Spirit is not an external thing that makes its presence known by noised (such as on the day of Pentecost).
B. Rather, spiritual anointing is equipping for a mission or preparing or setting aside for service.
But, we have already seen how Jesus was anointed for a mission on earth (see Matthew 28:18-20) and Jesus passed that anointing on to his disciples by the Empowering of the Holy Spirit. (Lk. 24:45).
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"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8). |
And notice this, that the mission of the Servant is the mission of all:
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" and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem"(Lk. 24:47) |
Finally, we know as we follow the story that the mission of the Servant becomes the mission of the church and in Acts chapter 2, we have the anointing of the church.
THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND ISAIAH 32
A. Israel's hope was placed on a righteous king
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See a king will reign in righteousness and rule with justice (Is. 32:1) |
Later in the chapter (Is.32) this righteous ruler is further described as an outpouring of God's Spirit in such a way that everything is transformed by it. Remember, the Spirit of God in the Old Testament is connected with creation, justice and power. So, listen to this:
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" Till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest. Justice will dwell in the desert and righteousness live in the fertile field. The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest (Is. 32: 15-18) |
A. The Created Order (Is. 32:15): The created oder will be completely restored. The Spirit who is already at work sustaining and renewing creation (see Psalms 104), will transform nature by His power and His presence. This is a condensed version of Is. 65:17-25 and the Outpouring of the Spirit.
B. The Moral Order (Is. 32:16) The moral order will once again be set right. (The Spirit of Justice). Righteousness and justice are the two most used words in ethical discourse in the OT. They define the order of the universe or as Psalm 97:2 puts it, those two words are the foundation of God's Throne.
C. The Social Order (Is. 32:17-18). Things will be restored to Shalom. This word is in Is. 32:17 and speaks of society enjoying the fruit of justice (setting things right with God).
RENEWAL AND RESURRECTION: EZEKIEL 36-37
A. The prophet Ezekiel knew some things about the Spirit. (see Ezek. 2:2; 3:12; 14, 24:8:3; 11;24; 37:1). The Spirit even lifted him up once by the hair of his head.
B. Ezekiel lived in captivity and in a period of time where it seemed like there was not hope.
C. The great message of the Prophets who witnessed the exiles (Is. 40-55) was given by the same God who placed them into exile. The bulk of these messages are Messianic and therefore meant to give hope to the people in exile. Ezekiel sees beyond the physical restoration of the people of Judah to their tiny little territory around Jerusalem to a greater restoration of the people to God himself. But there problem was that they needed a radical heart transplant.
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EZEKIEL 36: 25-27 "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful and keep my laws. (Ezek. 36:25-27) |
A. Notice this begins with Israel returning to the land (Ezek. 36:24) but moves beyond that quickly.
B. This is a spiritual reality with ethical results. They will be cleansed and experience a moral transformation of radical inward change.
C. The problem of course is Israel's behavior and Ezekiel moves to address this problem In an interesting twist, God now promises to help with the inward surgery and that help will be by the Spirit of God. He will remove the old heart and replace it with a new heart.
D. God then demands obedience but the Spirit of God helps us with the strength to obey.
REPENTANCE AND RESTORATION: JOEL 2
A. This is the final passage. Peter quotes this one on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2.
And Afterward:
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"I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mt Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance as the Lord has said among the survivors whom the LORD calls." (Joel 2:28-32). |
A. Joel was prophesying in the midst of a national disaster where he sees the judgment of God.
a. In Joel, this is a locus invasion. A devastating locus invasion.
1) There is a devouring devastation (2: 3.
2) Their appearance is terrible . 2:4-5
3) They cause panic. 2: 6
4) They invade cities and houses 2: 7-9
5) They made the ground tremble 2:10.
b. All of this is "The Day of the Lord" 2:1, 11
c. It is like the fall of humanity in Eden, 2:3.
d. It is like the earthquake and darkness of God's wrath. 2:10
e. Who can endure the above? Joel 2:11
B. But now a change of tone!
"Even now, declares the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." 2:11
a. Joel then adds his own reason to return 2:12
b. Some added motivation 2: 13-14
c. With some practical instructions 2:15-17a
d. With a ready made liturgy for repentance 2:17b.
C. So, now lets look at some of this!
1. GOD'S GRACE (JOEL 2:13)
" Rend you heart and not your garments, return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity."
2. In the final three lines we see the personal character of God. This comes from Exodus 34:6 and was used in a conversation between God and Moses. In fact, these last three lines are the nearest thing we find in the OT to defining the attributes of God.
3. GOD'S COVENANT - JOEL 2: 17A
" Return to me" (Joel 2:13) spare your people ( 2:17). This is an appeal to God's people form God himself. Please do not break my covenant.
4. GOD'S HONOR - JOEL 2:17b
If God's people suffer shame and disgrace, then so does the God they serve. The watching nations will say "Where is their God."
5. COMPLETE AND TOTAL FORGIVENESS - JOEL 2:18-27
Try to imagine the scene. One of national repentance. But that is what is required. (Joel 2:16). Notice Joel 2:19-27, if they will just turn around God will take pity on them and bless them.
So then, the Passage quoted in Acts chapter Two is one of Restoration. God announcing that restoration promised by Joel was at hand.
Basically what Acts 2:19-21 says is that the church will be established before God destroys Jerusalem. No more or less. Notice in the quote above that all of the events were to happen in the last days (the last days of God's theocratic reign over Israel) before the Day of the Lord (before the Temple was destroyed)..