The Holy Spirit in the OT, or Not
Understanding the role of the Holy Spirit in the OT will bring about a deeper understanding of why the Jews acted the way that they did and why Christians respond to God differently . First, let me state it and then explain it. The average Jew in the OT did not “have” the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit did not come freely on all believers until the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). Now the explanation.
Even though Christianity has many divisions, all Christians can agree on these two sentences: (1) A Christian is someone who has a relationship with the Father through the sacrifice of the Son plus has a connection to the Father through the Holy Spirit. (2) The Holy Spirit is that part of God that “indwells” or lives in all Christians and provides the open communication between Christians and the Father and the Son as well as teaching the Christian about God. To give an illustration, Christ was laid the pipe that connects Christians to the Father, and the Holy Spirit is the communication that happens in that pipe. That is true of all Christians from the Day of Pentecost to the present day.
But the OT occurred before the Day of Pentecost. That means that, in the OT period, the People of God, who we call the Jews, did not individually have that connection with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit only “came” on all believers after the Day of Pentecost. In the OT, then, the average Jew did not have access to the Holy Spirit. Who did? Only the prophets and some of the leaders had the Holy Spirit. Plus the Holy Spirit could come and go, be present and be taken away, unlike after Jesus when the Holy Spirit is always with Christians. Therefore, the OT period, and all the books of the OT, have to be read with an understanding that most of the Jews did not have the Holy Spirit.
But what does the Holy Spirit offer? What is the advantage in having the Holy Spirit? As mentioned above, it is the part of God that connects people to the rest of God. Also, the Holy Spirit teaches people about God, is a guide in how to follow God, and causes people to remember how God has worked in their lives. Therefore, in the OT period, since an average Jew did not “have” the Holy Spirit, what did he or she have to do to please God? That required obedience to the Law. The average Jew did not have the Holy Spirit living in him or her telling them how to live (like Christians do) and so had to follow the 613 rules found in the Law. That is why the Law was so important in the OT period.
By understanding that the average Jew in the OT period did not have the Holy Spirit, it will be easier to understand why individual Jews and the Jews as a whole did much of what they did. Think about this example: the Jews were enslaved in Egypt and God released them and brought them to the Promised Land. That means that the Jews witnessed the 10 plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, God giving the Law to Moses, the different acts of God in the desert, such as leading them in the form of a cloud and a pillar of fire, God giving them manna and quail to eat and water to drink in the desert, and, yet, when they arrived at the Promised Land, they doubted that God could give it to them. Why did they not think God could do that? They had already witnessed God do so much in their lives! Because most of the Jews did not have the Holy Spirit and, so, did not have that connection to God. But who did have the Holy Spirit? Moses and some of the leaders, such as Joshua. They were the ones who said, “Yes, God can do this!” because they had the Holy Spirit. But most of the Jews, who did not have the Holy Spirit, doubted that it was possible.
Having the Holy Spirit, then, is important so that a person can learn more about God because that is how God communicates with each person. On the other hand, in the OT period, what did each Jew have to do in order to understand how to please God if he or she did not have the Holy Spirit? Follow all 613 rules in the Law of Moses. Therefore, although Christians are rightly taught not to follow the Law of Moses, before Jesus that was the way that God decided people would please him since the Holy Spirit had not been given freely to every believer.
© 2020, 2021 Mark Nickens