Last week we got as far as Judges as we see how the Spirit of God moved in the Old Testament. This week I want to look at kings, prophets and priests. Let’s start with the Kings of Israel and Judah.
Samuel
The people of Israel were to be the people of God but they wanted to be like the nations around them. Samuel was the prophet of God and the last judge. You will remember that he was dedicated to God at a very young age. He lived in the Temple and was raised by Eli the priest. We read in 1 Samuel 2:21 “… Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord”. Yet he didn’t know this Presence as we read in 1 Samuel 3:1, “In those days the word of the LORD was rare: there were not many visions” it was in this climate that God calls Samuel but it took The Lord calling him three times before Eli realized God was speaking to Samuel.
Eli and the priests were still going all the rituals but didn’t know the Presence of God. We can do this as well. We can attend church and the mid-week service … we can spend an hour in prayer … but … if we don’t know the Presence of God … the Person of the Holy Spirit … it really is useless … just ritual without life
In verse 7 of chapter 3 we read,”Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him” but that changed this night … and we read in verse 19, “The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground”
Saul, David and Solomon
Although not specifically mentioned, we see the Holy Spirit leading Samuel. When Samuel was old he tried appointing his sons as the leaders of Israel but they didn’t follow his way … they didn’t know the voice or the presence of God. Instead, the people called out for a king.
So Samuel anoints the first king … Saul … he is anointed with olive oil … a symbol of the Holy Spirit …and Saul is told that he would meet a group of prophets and in 1 Samuel 10:6 we read, “The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophecy with them, and you will be changed into a different person”
When the Holy Spirit comes on a person, they will become a different person … it may be that their natural abilities are enhanced … as in the case of Bezalel and Oholiab when they were anointed to build the Tabernacle.
“when the Spirit of God acts on the spirit of man He enables people to do that which is totally beyond their capacity to do, and to be what is beyond their capacity to be, and to say what is beyond their capacity to say. Those are the three areas in which the Spirit of God throughout the Old Testament operates—enabling men to do, to be, and to say what is totally beyond the reach of their flesh and is therefore abnormal.“
God changed Saul heart … but sad to say … Saul became proud and God took the kingdom from him … He removed the Holy Spirit and instead David was anointed …1 Samuel 16:13 has Samuel anointing David with oil and it say, “… and from that day on, the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David”.
Of course David broke a number of commandments when he laid with Bathsheba and then had her husband killed in battle. Psalm 51 is a cry to the Lord … where at one point he cries “Take not your Holy Spirit from me”. David had seen what happened to Saul and didn’t want the same thing to happen to him
Solomon was promised wisdom … which would come from the Holy Spirit … but he also turned from the Lord … when he wrote Proverbs it was through the Holy Spirit giving him wisdom … but as I mentioned earlier … he turned from the Lord … starting following the gods of his many wives … in fact, after him no king is mentioned as having the Holy Spirit upon them yet we can see the Holy Spirit leading those who “did right in the sight of the Lord” Thrones were either occupied by sons of the ruler or taken through coups. We see no king after David who was anointed with oil. Today, We see sons or daughter and sometimes spouses taking over ministries in which God anointed the original leader in a mighty way. But … just because one person is anointed … it doesn’t mean the spouse or son or daughter is anointed … each one of us has to seek God and have our own fresh anointing … one that will change us but will work within our personalities.
Throughout the history of Israel, and the other nation of the Middle East, we can see God moving by His Spirit. He used the nations around Israel and Judah to punish them … battles were won or lost as God moved either upon or against armies. Of course His main work was through Assyria and Babylon …
Prophets
While the kings were ruling in both the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah, God also raised up prophets … to try to bring correction to the actions of the kings and the people … to turn them back to God …
We see when the Holy Spirit came upon a person they were changed. The Holy Spirit may have helped them used their own gifts in an extraordinary way. He may have given them the ability to do something they couldn’t do before and, the Holy Spirit will help them speak in ways they couldn’t before ..To speak the Word of God. This is what happened to the prophets. They spoke the Word of God in truth and in boldness.
The kings and the people most of the time didn’t want to hear the truth and the prophets paid dearly … Isaiah was put into a hollow log and sawed in two. Jeremiah was thrown in a pit … others were run through with a sword.
They were also directed to do strange things … Saul prophecied … David danced before the ark … Isaiah ran naked through the streets… Jeremiah was not allowed to marry … Hosea was told to marry a prostitute.
Today, we see people filled with the Holy Spirit and we see a mighty anointing on their ministry … what do we do … we try to copy what they are doing … it becomes the newest thing … but … so often it doesn’t work …God deals with each one of us differently … we are unique … so rather than trying to follow the ministry down the street… Seek God … what is He saying to you … how is He anointing you …… and then flow in that anointing
In relation to the prophets “There is one phrase of four words that occurs 3,808 times in the Old Testament alone: “Thus says the Lord,” and that phrase comes again and again. Wherever it comes, it is not a man preaching, it is a man prophesying. We also see men saying they were speaking the word of God but it was not the Spirit of God on them … rather it was their own thoughts and imaginations …
Priests
After the kings and prophets God used priests as leaders. Ezra and Zerubbabel were priests that God used after the exile … anointing them to lead their people.
Overall, we don’t see many who were touched by the Spirit of God in the Old Testament. We see the Spirit of God coming in leaders but “There is no emphasis at all on the ordinary, average, common, everyday Israelite experiencing the ruach Adonai.” And, on those the Spirit God did come, it wasn’t a permanent state. In fact the only ones where it appears the Holy Spirit was operating more or less continually are: Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Daniel, Samuel, Elijah and Elisha.
There is in the whole Old Testament one man alone of whom it is specifically said that the Spirit remained with him from the day the Spirit came on him, and that is King David.
In the Old Testament we see kings, prophets and priests … we may see some who were king and prophet such as David or priest and prophet like Ezekiel but we don’t see one who is all three … king-priest-prophet.
The hope of Israel was not just to have a Spirit filled king but also that his subject would also be Spirit filled as indicated in Joel
Yet … in Isaiah we see a picture of a king … of the line of David … springing up from the root of Jesse … one on whom the Spirit of the Lord is on … in Isaiah 11 … the root of Jesse is not only king but prophet and priest as well.
The Old Testament hinted of this Kingdom of heaven where both monarch and subjects would be Spirit filled and led … but it would be in the New Testament we would see the start of the fulfillment. Jesus stood up and proclaimed from Isaiah 42 that “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me” saying that that prophecy was fulfilled in their midst that day.
On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit would be poured out upon the apostles and followers of Christ … the beginning of the fulfillment of Joel … not just the leaders but all flesh would be anointed and the the kingdom of God where both king and subjects are filled with the Spirit of God started being fulfilled.
What this means is that today no longer is it just leaders who are touched by the Spirit of the Lord but each believer is commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit … and we … you and I can become changed people … filled with power so that we can do … and be … and say .. what is beyond our natural abilities … and to truly be sons and daughters of the most high God. We are part of the Kingdom of God that is and yet is still to come …
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