1 Samuel 16:1-13 “Now the Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons." … (13) Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.”
In this section we want to examine examples given in scripture, of individuals under the old covenant being anointed by the Holy Spirit to stand in the offices of prophet, king and priest. Our first example that we will look at is one who was called by God to be king. In the above quoted passage of scripture we see that David was anointed as king, and that the Holy Spirit came upon him from the day that he was anointed to stand in that office. Before David was anointed as king he had not had any contact with the Holy Spirit, for he was just an ordinary citizen of Israel. We know that David also stood in the office of the prophet, because many of the Psalms were written by David and a number of those Psalms prophesied of Jesus. But for the sake of this teaching, we will just look at what transpired when he was anointed as king. I want you to notice from this passage of scripture that when Samuel anointed David, that the Holy Spirit came upon him and not in him. Also notice that the Holy Spirit only came upon David from that day forward, for He had not been upon David before that day.
1 Kings 19:15-21 “Then the Lord said to him: "Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. (16) Also, you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. … (19) So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. … (21) So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen's equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant.”
Our second example that we will look at is how the Holy Spirit anointed an individual to stand in the office of prophet. In the above quoted passage of scripture we see the prophet Elijah anointing Elisha to stand in the office of the prophet. When Elijah threw his mantle on Elisha, it was a type of the anointing of the Holy Spirit coming on Elisha to stand in the office of the prophet. And so we see that before this incident, that Elisha was just an ordinary believer who had no prior contact with the Holy Spirit. But when Elijah anointed Elisha to stand in the office of prophet, the Holy Spirit came upon Elisha from that day forward to stand in the office of the prophet.
Exodus 40:13-16 “You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. (14) And you shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. (15) You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations." (16) Thus, Moses did; according to all that the Lord had commanded him, so he did.”
Our third example that we will look at is how the Holy Spirit anointed an individual to stand in the office of priest. In the above quoted passage of scripture when the Holy Spirit refers to Aaron and his sons being anointed, He is referring to the anointing oil that Moses poured on them (Numbers 35:25). And so we see that Aaron and his sons, whom the Lord called to serve Him as priests after the order of Aaron, were anointed with oil by the prophet Moses. In scripture, oil is a type of the Holy Spirit coming upon an individual to anoint them to stand in their office. Before Moses anointed these men they had had no prior contact with the Holy Spirit, as they were just ordinary children of Israel.
Judges 6:34 “But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon; then he blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him.”
In all the examples that we have looked at in this section, we have seen that the individuals were ordinary believers who had no prior contact with the Holy Spirit, until such a time as they were anointed by God to stand in their various offices. The moment that they were anointed, then the Holy Spirit would come upon them for the very first time. There were other isolated incidents when the Spirit of the Lord would come upon a certain believer to fulfil a specific task, such as in Gideon’s case for example, which we see taking place in the above quoted passage of scripture. Nevertheless this was always an exception and not the rule, for Gideon was specifically anointed by the Holy Spirit to deliver Israel from the Midianites in battle. Prior to the Holy Spirit coming upon Gideon he had no contact with Him at all and was just an ordinary Israeli citizen.
1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
And so we see that the prophet, king, priest and certain individuals in isolated cases, were the only people that had any contact with the Holy Spirit under the old covenant. So under the old covenant it was impossible for the normal believers to be led by the Spirit of God, because they had no contact with Him at all. As far as being led by the Spirit of God is concerned, this is the main difference between the saints of the old covenant and the saints of the new. For all saints under the new covenant have the Holy Spirit residing on the inside of their re-created spirits. The apostle Paul confirms this truth for us in the above quoted passage of scripture. Because the saints of the new covenant have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, it is entirely possible for them to be led by Him.
Michael E.B. Maher
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