When talk about Holy Spirit, there is every need for us to start from the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit is one of the three persons of the triune God. Although His full power was not revealed to God's people until the ministry of Jesus and later at Pentecost, there are Old Testament passages that refer to Him and His work. The Hebrew word for “spirit” is “ruah”, Greek word “pneuma” and Latin word “spirare” sometimes translated as “wind” and “breath”. Thus the Old Testament references to the breath of life from God or wind from God (Gen 2:7, Ezek 37:9-10) can also refer to the work of God's Spirit.
The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament
The bible describes various activities of the Holy Spirit during the Old Testament times. The Holy Spirit had an active role in creation (Gen 1:2) says that the “Spirit of God moved upon the face of the water” preparing for the creative word of God to shape the world. The Spirit is also the author of life. When God created Adam, it was undoubtedly God's spirit that breathed in to him the breath of life (Gen 2:7). The Spirit was active in communicating God's message to his people. For example, it was “the spirit who instructed the Israelites in the wilderness when the Psalmist of Israel sang their sons. They did so by the spirit of the lord (Num 11:29, 1 Sam 10:5-7).
The leadership of God's Old Testament people was energized by the spirit of the lord. Moses for example, was one with the spirit of God to such an extent that the shared God's very feelings. And also when Moses obediently chose 70 elders to help him lead the Israelites, God took the spirit that was on Moses and put on them (Num 27:18). The same spirit came upon Gideon (Judge 6:34), David (1 Sam 16:13) and Zerubabbel (Zech 4:6).
In other words, in the Old Testament the greatest qualification needed for leadership was the anointing and empowering presence of the spirit of God.
The spirit of God could also come upon individuals to equip them for special service. A notable Old Testament example was Joseph, who was given the spirit to enable him to function effectively in Pharaoh's cabinet (Gen 41:38). Also Bezalei and Oholiah, whom God filled with His spirit in order to do the artistic work needed for the tabernacle construction and also teach others (Exd 31:1-11, 35:30-35). The idea of “being filled with the spirit of God” here is not precisely the same as the baptism in the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. In the Old Testament other words the Holy Spirit was seen only a few select individuals chosen for special services to God (Exd 3:3), the spirit of the lord came upon many of the judges, such as: Orthniel, Jophthap (Judg 3:9) Gideon (Judg 6:34) and Samson (Judg 14:5-6).
There was no general outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all Israel. The spirit only came upon or filled a few people, empowering them for service and prophecy. The outpouring of the spirit in this larger sense did not begin until the great day of Pentecost (Acts 1:8).
The Old Testament looks forward to the coming age of the spirit i.e. the New Testament age. On several occasions prophets prophesied about the role that the spirit would play in the life of the coming Messiah, Isaiah especially characterized the coming King and Servant of the lord as whom the Spirit of God would rest in a special way. When Jesus read the word from Isaiah 61 in His hometown synagogue at Nazareth, he ended with “this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21). Other Old Testament prophecies looked forward to the time, when there would be a general outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all God's people. Most prominent among those passages is Joel 2:28-29) a text quoted on the day of Pentecost by Peter can also be found in Isaiah 32:15-17, 44:3-5, 59:20-2, Ezek 11:19-20, 36:26-27. God promised that when the life and power of His spirit would be enabled to prophecy, have prophetic dreams, live lives of obedience, holiness and righteousness and witness with great power. Thus the Old Testament prophets foresaw and prophesied about the messianic age when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon humanity would occur and be available for all people everywhere.
