Waiting for the Holy Spirit

Let’s now take a brief journey through the Old Testament. I want you to understand that when Jesus came to this earth, everyone was waiting for the Holy Spirit.

Let’s begin with Moses. When he was in the wilderness patiently leading the people of Israel, there came a time when the people complained because there was no meat, and they stood outside their tents weeping. This deeply burdened and distressed Moses, so the Lord told him to gather seventy of the elders of Israel, that He would come down and put the Spirit that was on Moses onto them, and that they would help him bear the heavy burden of the people.

When this happened, all the elders began to prophesy. In fact, two of them, who had also been summoned but stayed behind at the camp, were also filled with the Holy Spirit and began to prophesy. In that moment, a desire was born in Moses’ heart:

“I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit on them!”

The Spirit of God was later upon Joshua, the judges of Israel, its kings, and David. The promise however came through the prophet Isaiah in 8th century B.C:

“Until the Spirit is poured out on us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest.” — Isaiah 32:15

It was at that moment that the hearts of the people began to burn with longing for the Holy Spirit.

Later, Isaiah prophesied that the Holy Spirit would be poured out on future generations (Isaiah 44:2–3), and that in the face of our enemies, we would need the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 59:19–21).

They were waiting for the Holy Spirit!