E4-7: What was the Holy Spirit’s relationship to men in the Old Testament era?

You will speak to him and put the words in his mouth;
and I will be with your mouth and his,
teaching you both what to do.
-Exodus 4:15

God tells Moses He is going to “EHYEH” or “be there” with him and his brother Aaron.

This is interesting because in this pre-New Testament era, how exactly was God going to be with Moses and Aaron?

At this point in time, the Holy Spirit had yet to dwell within man. 

Shavuot or Pentecost was still about 1400 years away.

So how or in what form was God going to be with Moses?

Well, in the Old Testament, whenever the Holy Spirit is mentioned concerning its relationship to men, the word “upon” is quite frequently used.

For example, with Samson we are told “The Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat.”-Judges 14:6

Or when God raised Othniel the son of Kenaz to deliver Israel, we are told “The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand, so that he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.” -Judges 3:10

Or when David became King of Israel, we are told “So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David.”-1 Samuel 16:13 

Now contrast this with how the Holy Spirit is talked about in relationship to men in the New Testament.

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?-1 Corinthians 3:16

Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.-2 Timothy 1:14

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.-Ephesians 5:18

Notice the difference.

“Upon” is referring to an external condition.

“Within” is an internal condition.

There are three important takeaways we get from all of this.

First, this teaching doesn’t mesh well with the simplistic doctrinal view that God’s full range of manifestations must be limited to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And don’t forget, we’ve already been introduced to an entity known as the “Angel of the Lord” that also doesn’t readily fit the trinity teaching.

Second, let us not forget that the power Moses wielded didn’t come from himself.

Moses was not a sorcerer (though many in Egypt did view him as one).

Moses’s power came from God and was subject to the Will of God.

The same goes for the faithful believer today.

Whatever power a believer has comes from God’s Spirit and must conform to God’s Will.

We can’t just willy-nilly remove a car from a certain parking spot so we can park closer to the supermarket entrance (though I sometimes wish we could).

Finally, and this may be the most important point of all, in the Old Testament age, when God’s Spirit came upon men, they were able to achieve some pretty mind-blowing AWESOME things.

Whether it was being endowed with supernatural wisdom to solve perplexing problems like King Solomon or possessing incredible endurance and strength to emerge victorious in war (like when David slew Goliath), when God’s Spirit came upon men, they were unstoppable.

So if the Bible heroes in the OT age were able to achieve what they did when God’s Spirit came UPON them, how much more bold and confident should we be knowing that God’s Spirit resides WITHIN us!!!