Although there is only one God, He is made up of three different persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They work together as a unit, but each has different functions. In this article it will be shown some of the work the Holy Spirit did in the Old Testament.

The Holy Spirit Garnished the Creation.

In terms of the creation, the Father is thought to be the great designer, the Son as the creator (John 1:1-4; Colossians 1:15-16), and the Holy Spirit garnished the creation. Genesis 1:2 says, “The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.” It was not that He was just hovering to see. It seems that He was busy participating in creation. Job explained, “By His Spirit the heavens are garnished” (26:13 ASV). The word “garnished” means to adorn, embellish or decorate. Basically, the Spirit put the finishing touches on God’s creation.

The Holy Spirit Put Life in Man.

God said, “Let Us make man in Our image…Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 1:26; 2:7 NASB). The word “Us” indicates that more than one person in the godhead participated in man’s creation. Job 33:4 adds to one’s understanding by saying, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Interestingly, the New Testament adds evidence to the Old Testament information. Paul calls the Holy Spirit “the Spirit of life” (Romans 8:2).

As the Spirit gave life to the first Adam, so He also gave life to the second Adam (Christ, I Corinthians 15:45). The conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary was by the Holy Spirit. The angel explained to Joseph, “an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit’” (Matthew 1:20). The Spirit fathered the child in Mary’s womb.

Paul also explains that the Holy Spirit gave life to Jesus’ resurrected body, and He will give life to our mortal bodies in the resurrection. “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).

The Holy Spirit Gave Life to Animals.

The psalmist describes the greatness of God by discussing various aspects of the earth and its inhabitants and how they came about. Speaking of the animals the text says, “You send forth Your Spirit, they are created and You renew the face of the ground” (104:30). Since the Holy Spirit is the giver of life, it is understandable that He would give life to the animals just like He gave life to humans.

The Holy Spirit Enabled Men and Women to Accomplish Great Feats.

The Spirit enabled the men who built the tabernacle to have that ability (Exodus 31:1-5). The Spirit was given to the 70 during the wilderness wanderings to assist Moses in judging the people (Numbers 11:10-25). The Spirit guided Joshua and some of the judges of Israel such as Othneil, Gideon, and Samson (Numbers 27:18; Judges 3:10; 6:34; 13:25). King Saul, David, and Solomon were helped by the Holy Spirit (I Samuel 10:6; 16:13; 2 Samuel 23:2). Many more leaders guided by the Holy Spirit could be given with greater detail in all that have been mentioned.

The Holy Spirit Guided the Prophets of the Old Testament.

Peter referred to those Old Testament prophets when he explained. “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:20-21). “One’s own interpretation” does not refer to the reader’s interpretation of Scripture, but of the prophet’s interpretation. Thus, prophets did not write because they had an idea and wanted to express it. They were guided by the Holy Spirit as to what they wrote.

The word “moved” is a picture as to how the Holy Spirit worked. He “moved” them just like a sailboat is moved by the wind. The sailboat does not move by its own power. It moves as the wind blows the boat across the water. The prophets did not move by their own power, but by the power of the Holy Spirit who guided them.

Conclusion

There is a lot of information about what the Holy Spirit was doing during the period covered by the Old Testament. Maybe we have not given enough credit to what the Spirit did. Maybe we do not because we have not looked closely enough at the text of the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit was busy and all that He did was for our benefit whether it was His activity making us a wonderful place in which to live or whether it is guiding the writers of the Old Testament to bring us to Christ, the sacrifice for our sins. Next week we plan to see what the Holy Spirit does today. (Many of the ideas in this article come from The Timeless Trinity for the Ceaseless Centuries by Roy Lanier, Sr. I highly recommend this book. It not only deals with the Holy Spirit, but the other two persons in the godhead),

— Wayne Burger