The Holy Spirit · Before Pentecost
The Spirit in the Old Testament
The Holy Spirit did not arrive at Pentecost. He is in the Bible’s second verse, brooding over the deep — and from there the Old Testament shows him filling a craftsman with skill, resting on seventy elders, clothing Gideon like armor, coming mightily on a shepherd boy the day the oil ran down his head. But the era has a grammar of its own: the Spirit comes upon, selectively, for a task — and can depart. The page ends where the era ends: at two promises that everything would widen.
The Verbs
— what the Spirit did before Acts — in the text's own wordsTrace the Spirit through the Old Testament and the verbs themselves tell the story. He moves, fills, rests, clothes, comes upon — strong, sudden, and almost always aimed at a task: a tabernacle to build, a nation to judge, a giant to face. And once, terribly, he departs.
THE OLD TESTAMENT’S OWN VERBS
selective, vocational, and never yet promised to all
MOVED
over creation
FILLED
Bezaleel, the craftsman
RESTED
the seventy elders
CLOTHED
Gideon
CAME MIGHTILY
David, from the anointing on
THEN THE PROMISE WIDENS
A Craftsman and Seventy Elders
— Exodus 31 and Numbers 11 — the range of the giftThe first person Scripture calls “filled with the Spirit of God” is not a prophet — he is Bezaleel, an artisan, filled for “all manner of workmanship.” The Spirit’s first named filling makes beauty for God’s house. Then, in Numbers 11, the Spirit resting on Moses is set on seventy elders and they prophesy — and when two of them prophesy in the wrong place and Joshua wants them silenced, Moses answers with the Old Testament’s most forward-leaning sentence: “would God that all the LORD’s people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!”
And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of craftsmanship, to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze, to cut gemstones for settings, and to carve wood, so that he may be a master of every craft.But Moses replied, “Are you jealous on my account? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would place His Spirit on them!”Moses's wish — the sentence Joel turns into a promise and Pentecost turns into history.
I have filled him with the spirit of God - See Clarkes note on Exo 28:3. In wisdom - חכמה, chochmah, from חכם chacham, to be wise, skillful, or prudent, denoting the compass of mind and strength of capacity necessary to form a wise man: hence our word wisdom, the power of judging what is wise or best to be done; from the Saxon, to teach, to advise, and to judge; hence the doom or judgment of the well taught, wise, or prudent man.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1832), on Exod 31:3
Rested on them - Not only moved them for a time, but took up his settled abode with them, because the use and end of this gift was perpetual. They prophesied - Discoursed of the word and works of God in a marvelous manner, as the prophets did. So this word is used, 1 Sam. x, 5, 6 Joel ii, 28;
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765), on Num 11:25
This Spirit descended upon the seventy elders in Moses' day. My object is to prove that he knew all things and worked according to his will. The seventy elders were chosen: "The Lord then came down in the cloud, and taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, he bestowed it on the seventy elders." It was not that the Spirit was divided, but his gifts were distributed according to the vessels and the capacity of the recipients. Now there were sixty-eight present, and they prophesied. Eldad and Medad were not present.
Cyril of Jerusalem· Catechetical Lecture 16.25 (386), on Num 11:25
Shall we reject those whom Christ has owned, or restrain any from doing good because they are not in every thing of our mind? Moses was of another spirit; so far from silencing these two, and quenching the Spirit in them, he wished all the Lord's people were prophets, that is, that he would put his Spirit upon them.
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710), on Num 11:29
Clothed, Come Upon — and Departed
— Gideon, David, and Saul: the era's power and its acheJudges 6:34 hides a picture in its Hebrew: the Spirit of the LORD clothed himselfwith Gideon — Wesley saw both a robe of honour and a coat of mail in the phrase. At David’s anointing the language deepens: the Spirit comes mightily “from that day forward,” the nearest the era comes to abiding. And the same chapter holds the era’s ache — “the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul.” That is the sentence behind David’s own prayer after his great sin: “take not thy holy spirit from me.” Under the old arrangement, that prayer could be prayed.
So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, who blew the ram’s horn and rallied the Abiezrites behind him.So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah. After the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, a spirit of distress from the LORD began to torment him.Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit.David praying with Saul in his memory — the era's own fear, in the era's own words.
The spirit came - Inspiring him with extraordinary wisdom, and courage, and zeal to vindicate God's honour, and his country's liberty. The Hebrew is, The Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon; clothed him as a robe, to put honour upon him; clothed him as a coat of mail to put a defense upon him. Those are well clad that are thus clothed.
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765), on Judg 6:34
Not that he was at present invested with the royal power, but it was entailed upon him, to come to him in due time. (2.) A divine communication of gifts and graces, to fit him for the government, and make him a type of him who was to be the Messiah, the anointed One, who received the Spirit, not by measure, but without measure.
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710), on 1 Sam 16:13
He having forsaken God and his duty, God, in a way of righteous judgment, withdrew from him those assistances of the good Spirit with which he was directed, animated, and encouraged in his government and wars. He lost all his good qualities. This was the effect of his rejecting God, and an evidence of his being rejected by him.
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710), on 1 Sam 16:14
“Came upon” vs “dwells within” — what actually changed at Pentecost?the readings, held honestly
The classic reading: in the old era the Spirit came upon the few — prophets, priests, kings, judges, craftsmen — vocationally and sometimes temporarily; since Pentecost he indwells everybeliever permanently (John 14:17 — “he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you”; Rom 8:9). Saul’s loss and David’s prayer belong to the old arrangement; “he shall abide with you for ever” (John 14:16) is the new.
The continuity reading:regeneration has always been the Spirit’s work (John 3 speaks to Nicodemus about a birth he should already have understood from Ezekiel 36), so the change is not from absence to presence but from shadow to fullness, from the few to the many, from visitation to permanent indwelling.
Both readings agree on the page’s point: something enormous changed at Pentecost, and the Old Testament itself said it was coming.
The Sevenfold Rest
— Isaiah 11:2 and Zechariah 4:6 — the Spirit and the MessiahThe Old Testament’s deepest word about the Spirit is a word about Messiah: on the Branch from Jesse’s stem the Spirit of the LORD shall rest— not visit — and Isaiah names the rest seven ways: wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, the fear of the LORD. The fathers heard “the seven Spirits of God” of Revelation in this verse. And Zechariah gives the era’s working motto to a discouraged governor rebuilding a temple: not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit.
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.the Spirit RESTS on Messiah — the verb the era reserved for its greatest promise.
So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.And this Holy Spirit is in Scripture especially spoken of by the number seven, whether in Isaiah or in the Apocalypse, where the seven Spirits of God are most directly mentioned, on account of the sevenfold operation of one and the self-same Spirit. And this sevenfold operation is mentioned in Isaiah: "the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and fortitude, of knowledge and piety, the Spirit of the fear of God rested upon him." This fear of the Lord should be understood as pure, enduring forever.
Augustine of Hippo· Explanations of the Psalms 150.1 (430), on Isa 11:2
This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel - This prince was in a trying situation, and he needed especial encouragement from God; and here it is: Not by might, (of thy own), nor by power, (authority from others), but by my Spirit - the providence, authority, power, and energy of the Most High. In this way shall my temple be built; in this way shall my Church be raised and preserved.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1832), on Zech 4:6
The Two Promises
— Ezekiel 36 and Joel 2 — where the era pointsThe era closes on two promises that burst its own grammar. Ezekiel’s new covenant moves the preposition: no longer upon the few but withinyou — a new heart, a new spirit, “and I will put my spirit within you.” Joel widens the circle: all flesh— sons and daughters, old and young, servants and handmaids. Peter stood up at Pentecost and said of that morning’s outpouring, “this is that.” The story of what happened next lives on the Pentecost pages — this page’s work is done when you can see the whole Old Testament leaning toward them.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.And afterward, 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 menservants and maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days.In Eze 18:31 they are commanded, "Make you a new heart, and a new spirit." Here God says, "A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you." Thus the responsibility of man, and the sovereign grace of God, are shown to be coexistent.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871), on Ezek 36:26
And I will put my Spirit within you - To keep the heart of flesh alive, the feeling heart still sensible, the loving heart still happy. I will put my Spirit, the great principle of light, life, and love, within you, to actuate the new spirit, and to influence the new affections and passions; that the animal spirit may not become brutish, that the mental powers become not foolish.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1832), on Ezek 36:27
Shall come to pass afterward - אחרי כן acharey ken, after this; the same, says Kimchi, as in the latter days, which always refers to the days of the Messiah; and thus this prophecy is to be interpreted: and we have the testimony of St. Peter, Act 2:17, that this prophecy relates to that mighty effusion of the Holy Spirit which took place after the day of pentecost. Nor is there any evidence that such an effusion took place, nor such effects were produced, from the days of this prophet till the day of pentecost.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1832), on Joel 2:28
"Prophesying" in the New Testament is applied to all speaking under the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, and not merely to foretelling events. All true Christians are "priests" and "ministers" of our God (Isa 61:6), and have the Spirit (Eze 36:26, 27). Besides this, probably, a special gift of prophecy and miracle-working is to be given at or before Messiah's coming again.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871), on Joel 2:28
Closing
Moved, filled, rested, clothed, came, departed — then within, then all flesh. The Old Testament gives the Spirit’s story a shape that only Pentecost completes, and Moses’s impossible wish — all the LORD’s people, prophets — turns out to have been a prophecy of its own.