The Missing Person (continued)

 Last time, I promised to address the Holy Spirit's relationship to people in the Old Testament era.  This is perhaps the area of greatest debate among evangelicals.  To what degree does the Holy Spirit work in believers prior to the Church age?  Dispensationalism has tended to teach a greater discontinuity between the Old and New Testament eras, which is applied to the work of the Holy Spirit, as well as other areas.

 Discontinuity is certainly apparent between those eras, especially in the shift from Israel to the Church as the functional body that God is working in and through.  Although, this is not the replacement of Israel by the Church, as we will see in a later topic.  So, how much of the Holy Spirit's work in the New Testament era is new and not found in the Old Testament era?

 One approach to answering that question is a consideration of the prepositions used in describing the Holy Spirit's relationship to people.  A number of prepositions are used with various meanings, including "in" and "coming upon".  With regard to "in", several people are described as being indwelt with the Holy Spirit.  Pharaoh identifies Joseph as someone "in whom is the Spirit of God" (Genesis 41:38).  Although this is a pagan interpretation of Joseph, it matches the divine enabling that Joseph possessed in interpreting dreams.  Joshua is also described as "a man in whom is the Spirit" (Joshua 27:18).  Daniel is similarly labelled by Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:8), the queen mother to Belshazzar (Daniel 5:11-14) and in the reign of Darius (Daniel 6:3).

 These references have no indication of a temporary provision, rather a permanent presence in each one.  It seems that the Holy Spirit does indwell certain Old Testament believers, which continues in the New Testament era for all believers (1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19).  The Holy Spirit's indwelling enables these significant leaders to accomplish God's purpose for each of them.

 The more common description is "coming upon", which is applied to an unbeliever in the case of Balaam (Numbers 24:2) and believers from the Judges to Prophets.  These include Othniel, Gideon, Jephthah and Samson (Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 14:6, 19; 15:14), Saul, Saul's messengers and David (1 Samuel 10:6, 10; 11:6; 19:23; 19:20; 16:13), a soldier, Amasai (1 Chronicles 12:18) and Azariah and Jahaziel (2 Chronicles 15:1; 20:14).  In association with this relationship is the description of the hand of the Lord coming upon people in 2 Kings 3:15 and Ezekiel 1:3.  Both are somewhat unique to the Old Testament era and perhaps best known among evangelicals.

 One final description of the Holy Spirit's relationship to people is the term "filled", which is as surprising as being indwelt.  The craftsmen who oversaw the construction of the Tabernacle, Bezalel and Oholiab, are filled with the Spirit of God (Exodus 31:3; 35:31).  It is worth noting that the last Old Testament prophet, John the Baptiser, was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb (Luke 1:15).  Elizabeth and Zacharias are also described as filled (Luke 1:41, 67).

So, I hope you can see that the Holy Spirit is active in people's lives in the Old Testament era and necessarily so.  Without divine enabling, believers cannot live pleasing to God nor serve Him faithfully.  We are blessed to live and serve in the New Testament era, which has an even greater activity of the Holy Spirit, as we shall see.  How much more should we live pleasing to God and serve Him faithfully.

Next time, we will explore the Holy Spirit's ministry in the life of Jesus.  Until then, be thankful for God's incredible gift of the Holy Spirit to each one of us.