The Christian tradition believes in a monotheistic personal God who has had a unique presence in Jesus Christ. We truly care to live with the mysterious life of God who has an impact on our lives. The God of Israel was Yahweh, whom the Christians consider God the Father. There is also the presence of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Yahweh, that is present in our lives. Jesus is the Son of God, the Father.
the Spirit of Yahweh
The ruah spirit comes to the bones (Ezek 37:9-37:10)
“Then Yahweh
Said to me.
‘Prophesy to the spirit!
Prophesy!
Son of man!
Say to the spirit!
Thus says Yahweh God!
Come!
From the four winds!
O spirit!
Breathe
Upon these slain ones
That they may live!’
I prophesied
As he commanded me.
The spirit
Came into them,
They lived.
They stood
On their feet,
A vast multitude.”
Yahweh told Ezekiel to prophesize to the spirit. He was to tell the spirit, ruah, to come from the four winds, ruah, and breathe, ruah, on these dead fleshy dry bones. Thus, they might live. Ezekiel, as usual, did what Yahweh had asked him to do. Then the Spirit of Yahweh, ruah, came to these dried-out bones. All these dead bones got a new life. This great multitude of former dry bones stood on their feet. Mission accomplished.
The living spirit and the dry bones (Ezek 37:5-37:6)
“Thus says Yahweh God
To these bones.
‘I will cause the spirit
To enter you.
You shall live.
I will lay sinews
On you.
I will cause flesh
To come
Upon you.
I will cover you
With skin.
I will put the spirit
In you.
You shall live.
You shall know
That I am Yahweh.’”
The oracle of Yahweh, via Ezekiel, was directly to these bones. Yahweh was going to put the spirit or ruah in them. The three ideas of spirit, breath, or wind were encapsulated in this Hebrew word ruah. This ruah was going to enter these dry bones, so that they would live. Yahweh was also going to put muscles, sinews, flesh, and skin on these dry bones. However, it was the ruah, the Spirit of Yahweh, the breath of Yahweh, or the wind of Yahweh that gave them life. Then, of course, they would know that Yahweh was their God.
The trip to the east gate (Ezek 11:1-11:1)
“The Spirit
Lifted me up.
He brought me
To the east gate
Of the house of Yahweh
That faces east.
There,
At the entrance
Of the gateway
There were twenty-five men.
I saw among them
Jaazaniah,
The son of Azzur,
With Pelatiah,
The son of Benaiah,
Officials of the people.”
Once again, the Spirit of Yahweh lifted Ezekiel up. This Holy Spirit brought him to the east gate of the Temple this time. There is a reference to Jaazaniah as in chapter 8 of this work. However, here Jaazaniah is the son of Azzur, not the son of Shaphan. He is among 25 men, not the 70 elders as in chapter 8. Ezekiel is not looking through a wall as in chapter 8, but standing at the east entrance of the Temple. There is no mention of the creeping things here. However, Jaazaniah was joined by another official named Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah. Thus there is a loose connection with chapter 8 of this work.
Divine grandeur (Isa 40:12-40:14)
“Who has measured the waters
In the hollow of his hand?
Who has marked off the heavens
With a span?
Who has enclosed the dust of the earth
In a measure?
Who has weighed the mountains
In scales?
Who has weighed
The hills in a balance?
Who has directed the Spirit of Yahweh?
What counselor has instructed him?
Whom did he consult for his enlightenment?
Who taught him the path of justice?
Who taught him knowledge?
Who showed him the way of understanding?”
In a series of questions, Second Isaiah shows the power of God, his greatness. Yahweh is like a great superman. Who is able to measure the great waters in his hand? Who can span the heavens? Who can measure the earth or weigh the mountains and hills? Who has directed the Spirit of Yahweh? Who are his counselors? Who taught him enlightenment, justice, knowledge, and understanding? The obvious answer is no one because he could do and know all this by himself, without the help of anyone, since he is the great God.
The Spirit of Yahweh (Isa 11:1-11:3)
“A shoot shall come out
From the stump of Jesse.
A branch shall grow out
Of his roots.
The Spirit of Yahweh shall rest upon him,
The spirit of wisdom,
The spirit of understanding,
The spirit of counsel.
The spirit of might,
The spirit of knowledge,
The spirit of piety,
The fear of Yahweh.
His delight shall be
In the fear of Yahweh.”
In this oracle of Yahweh, via Isaiah, the Spirit of Yahweh, the Lord, will rest upon a future king. This king will have his roots in Jesse, the father of David. Thus the Spirit of Yahweh will rest upon someone in the royal line of David. Thus there was great concern to have Jesus be in the line of David, via Joseph. What is the Spirit of Yahweh? For many Christians, it is what they call the “Holy Spirit.” Thus the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of the Lord are one and the same. Since the early CE centuries, Christians have associated this Spirit of Yahweh with anointing, the laying on of hands, or as the western Christians, since the Middle Ages, like to call it confirmation. Thus this sevenfold gift prayer of the Holy Spirit has been part of the Roman Catholic confirmation ritual. The 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit are then wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. In fact, this almost sounds like the later sapiential literature with its emphasis on wisdom and the fear of God. Thus the Christians, with their anointing or confirmation, see the special gift of the Holy Spirit, as described here in Isaiah, present in their ritual worship service of chrismation or confirmation.
The birth of Samson (Judg 13:24-13:25)
“The woman bore a son. She named him Samson. The boy grew. Yahweh blessed him. The Spirit of Yahweh began to stir in him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.”
Samson is close to the Hebrew word for sun. He may have been seen as a mini-sun god among the Israelites. Mahaneh-dan is southwest of Jerusalem. Manoah was in the town of Zorah and part of the vanishing tribe of Dan. However, Mahaneh-dan seems a little bit away from it. This is where the Spirit of Yahweh began to stir in Samson.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 