The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament

On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit filled Jesus's disciples and inspired them to change the world. But this fiery birth of the church was not the beginning of the Spirit's presence among God's people. Many Christians assume the Spirit worked differently in the Old Testament--temporarily empowering individuals for specific tasks--until Pentecost inaugurated the Spirit's permanent presence. In this learned yet accessible volume, Old Testament scholar Rick Wadholm Jr. challenges that assumption. Drawing on close exegesis of the Hebrew Scriptures, he argues that · the Spirit's abiding presence, not episodic intervention, is the consistent witness of Israel's Scripture; · "coming upon" or "filling" language testifies to the already-abiding Spirit's particular work, not the Spirit's arrival from absence; and · there is strong continuity in the Spirit's activity between the Old and New Testaments. Wadholm shines fresh light on the Spirit's work in familiar Bible texts. The Spirit hovered over creation, filled tabernacle artisans, clothed judges, sustained prophets, empowered kings, inspired psalmists, and envisioned a future in which the Spirit would be poured out on all flesh. Wadholm's rehabilitation of Old Testament pneumatology will interest theologians, biblical scholars, pastors, and students alike, revolutionizing how we understand God and expect divine presence in our own lives.