If you have a Bible, please turn with me to Isaiah 4.

I’m continuing my series on the Holy Spirit, working through the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit was not understood as a distinct Person in a triune Godhead. Jesus Christ was the one who made that clear to His disciples, and the apostles continued His emphasis.

Last month, I focused on “David: The Spirit-Anointed Leader.” From an earlier message, we learned that the Spirit played many different roles in Scripture, first in creation and then in bringing conviction to the human conscience. The Spirit also imparts wisdom, not only in supernatural insight, as with Joseph, but also in craftsmanship. Bezalel the chief tabernacle craftsman was an exemplary Spirit-anointed artist and designer.

The most important role of the Spirit was anointing people for leadership. Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samuel and David were exemplary, Spirit-anointed leaders, though each had different roles. What we discover in the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, is that there were four types of spirit-anointed leaders: the prophet, the priest, the warrior and the king (or judge). Each of these four forenamed leaders had more than one role: Moses was both God’s mouthpiece and the leader of Israel. David was prophet, warrior and king.

We can learn from their example how to respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in our journey with Christ, and display some of the same boldness in our God that they possessed. As you walk with Christ daily and faithfully, the Holy Spirit’s anointing will increase within you.

In the Old Testament, the Spirit was an extension of God’s nature as the life-giving breath. The Hebrew and Greek words for spirit, ruach and pneuma, both mean breath. The human spirit and divine Spirit are both called ruach. The context of a sentence tells you whether the author was referring to a human spirit, the Holy Spirit, another spirit, or simply a breath.

We also learned that God’s Spirit imparts supernatural insight or wisdom, enabling Joseph to interpret dreams. Pharaoh discerned that Joseph had “a divine Spirit” and elevated him to be Grand Vizier of Egypt. From that position, Joseph saved all Egypt and his own family from famine during seven years of drought. God’s Spirit also imparted wisdom in craftsmanship to Bezalel, who decorated Israel’s Tabernacle.

Today I’m going to focus on the Spirit of the LORD in Isaiah. Isaiah was a prophet whose ministry spanned at least four kings, beginning in the 740s BC. By his opening words, Isaiah the son of Amoz, recorded visions during the reigns of King Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. Hezekiah died in 686 BC. Therefore, Isaiah’s ministry as a prophet spanned nearly 60 years! Jewish tradition says Isaiah was killed during the reign of Hezekiah’s wicked son Manasseh, who persecuted righteous priests and prophets. He was purportedly caught hiding in a cedar tree, and was sawn in half therein. Hebrews 11:37 alludes to Isaiah’s death as a man of faith by simply saying, “They were sawn in two.”

Isaiah is rightly included as the first of the writing prophets by both the length of his writings, his influence in the courts of four kings and his preceding other great prophets, such as Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. Micah of Moresheth (737 – 686 BC) was his contemporary. In Isaiah we begin see an emphasis on the Spirit of the LORD as God’s dynamic agent in bringing new revelation and acting mightily through God’s chosen agents, especially Messiah, whose title means “Anointed One.”

It is the Spirit of Yahweh, or the Holy Spirit, who made Messiah the man the Anointed One through leadership and miracles, just as the Spirit had in the lives of Moses and Elijah. The reason Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus in his transfiguration before Apostles Peter, James and John was to validate that Jesus’ authority as Messiah included both the covenant-making authority of Moses and the miracle power of Elijah, who was also prophesied in Malachi to precede the coming of Messiah.

Isaiah 4 first mentions the role of the spirit in a Messianic prophecy. Beginning in v. 2, we read: “In that day the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious; and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing for those of Israel who have escaped. ³ And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. ⁴ When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, ⁵ then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. ⁶ And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.”

This is an eschatological or end times prophecy in foretelling the role of Messiah, using a symbolic term found elsewhere among the prophets Jeremiah and Zechariah as “the Branch of the LORD.” In every case, the use of the Hebrew word, tsemach, meaning a branch or sprout from the line of David, applies to Messiah. In this passage, there are two different Hebrew forms of the word, “Lord.” In vv. 2 and 5, the word for “the LORD” is Yahweh: but in v. 4 it is “Adonai,” suggesting that the Branch of Yahweh is a divine Lord who is different from Yahweh Himself.

Psalm 110:1 reinforces this distinction between Yahweh and Adonai in Isaiah 4, when it says, “The LORD (Yahweh) says to my Lord (Adonai), ‘Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for your feet.’” Jesus quoted this very scripture to challenge the notion that Messiah was exclusively a descendant of David, as the scribes said in reply to his question about whose son Messiah was. Jesus then added, “If David calls Him, ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” To this the scribes had no answer; but Jesus proved that scripture affirmed that Messiah had to be both a son of David and the Son of God.

This second Lord, Adonai, in Isaiah 4:4 washes away the sins of Zion “by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning.” Although we know that Christ removed all sin through his death on the cross, this phrase “the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning” clearly suggests the work of the Holy Spirit in bringing deep conviction about the judgment of God and the burning abhorrence of sin that purges away any desire to continue a life of sin. It also reminds us of what Matthew wrote about Jesus when he purged the court of the Gentiles in the temple of the moneychangers, “Zeal for Your house has consumed me.”

Now look at vv. 5-6: “Then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. ⁶ And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.”

What did the phrase “a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flame by night” recall for Isaiah’s listeners? The same cloud and flame that guided the children of Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness under Moses. These were thrilling words for listening Israelites, portending a mighty renewal of righteousness under Messiah’s leadership. The succeeding phrase in v.5 “For over all the glory there will be a covering” also harkened back to the inauguration of Moses’ tabernacle and Solomon’s temple. In both cases, the Spirit of the LORD so filled the House of God that the priests could not enter into His presence. Thus, the Lord Adonai’s spirit of judgment and of burning would bring the renewal of Zion, where Jerusalem is exalted above all the nations. This prophecy reinforced the mighty proclamation of Isaiah 2, which Isaiah’s contemporary Micah also recorded in chapter 4 as part of his call to repentance for the kingdom of Judah in the late 8^th century.

The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. ² Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it. ³ And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. ⁴ And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war.

Micah 4:4 added to this prophecy, “Each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, with no one to make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.” Compare that with the promise of Isaiah 4: “For over all the glory there will be a covering. And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.” Safety and protection in the tabernacle of Messiah’s covering is the promise of God and the work of the Holy Spirit for His people, which we experience in part in our relationship with Christ, but will reach its eschatological fulfillment when Jesus returns to establish His kingdom over all the earth.

Now let’s turn to Isaiah chapter 11. Along with chapter 9 this is another pinnacle of prophetic revelation that clearly applies to Messiah as a descendant of David who is mightily anointed by the Spirit of God.

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. ² The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. ³ His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; ⁴ But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. ⁵ Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist.

⁶ The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. ⁷ The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. ⁸ The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. ⁹ They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. ¹⁰ “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious.”

Remember the phrase “the Branch of the LORD” in Isaiah 4:2? Isaiah 11:1, uses parallel phrases to reinforce that Messiah will come like a twig from the seed of King David’s father, Jesse. The Hebrew word for branch here is different from the one in Isa.4:4. This time Isaiah uses netzer for branch, and that word is significant. It’s the only time the Bible uses this word in a messianic prophecy, unlike tsemach in chapter 4, in Jeremiah 23 and 31 and Zechariah 3 and 6; but it still has the same meaning. Messiah would stem from Jesse, the family line of David, like a tender branch, seemingly unimpressive, without any trappings of royalty when He came.

Why is netzer significant? Because Jesus grew up in the town of Netzeroth or Nazareth. Jesus of Nazareth literally means “Jesus of Branchville;” so even his hometown’s name pointed to him as the coming Messiah, just as his birth in David’s birthplace of Bethlehem fulfilled the prophetic promise of Micah 5:2. That’s why Matthew 2:22-23 says of Joseph, “Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: ‘He shall be called a Nazarene.’” Jesus was God’s netzer, or Branch, who grew up in Netzeroth.

Netzer is the first specific reference in the Bible to Jesus being a branch from the line of King David; but it’s the only time netzer is used. I believe the Spirit of God hid this clue from the scribes about Jesus’ identity.

What is the sure sign that this “stem of Jesse” is the promised Messiah? It is the Spirit of the Lord resting upon Him making him moshiach, or the Anointed One. Over three centuries earlier Psalm 2 clearly identified prophetically the Anointed One, Messiah, as God’s designated heir. That’s why this psalm is placed right after Psalm 1, which lays out the foundation of righteous living for God’s people: turning from the paths of the ungodly and meditating and walking in God’s law. Psalm 2 is the first prophetic declaration in the Bible about a coming Anointed King who would be the Son of God and would claim the ends of the earth as His inheritance.

Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? ² The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed [or Messiah], saying, ³ “Let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us.” ⁴ He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. ⁵ Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: ⁶ “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.” ⁷ “I will declare the decree: the Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. ⁸ Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. ⁹ You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ” ¹⁰ Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. ¹¹ Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. ¹² Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

Psalm 2 says clearly that what sets apart this king from all others is that He is the Anointed One, Messiah, anointed by God’s Spirit to rule and reign over all the nations and to crush his enemies like pottery. We are commanded to “kiss the Son” – the traditional act of loyalty to a king.

It is to this Anointed King that Isaiah clearly points in chapter eleven. What are the emblems of Messiah’s anointing? Isaiah gives six characteristics in 11:2 that reveal His exceptional character, each of which are empowered by the Holy Spirit: “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” An evangelist friend of mine calls this the seven spirits of God; the ways the Holy Spirit can anoint a leader like our Savior. Let’s look more closely at these “spirits” that defined Isaiah’s vision of the Branch of the root of Jesse, and the effects of His government.

What comes immediately to my mind when I read this is the focus on virtues of an anointed King. The young King Solomon displayed all these virtues, before he was compromised by idol-worshipping foreign wives. Isaiah and the court must have been familiar with Solomon’s Proverbs, as excellent a collection of wise sayings as to be found anywhere in the ancient world.

Proverbs begins this way: “The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: ² To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, ³ to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity; ⁴ to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion— ⁵ a wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, ⁶ to understand a proverb and an enigma, the words of the wise and their riddles. ⁷ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

What Solomon possessed with human excellence, Messiah will possess with divine, Isaiah says; for the Spirit of the LORD will rest upon Him continually. These counsels in Proverbs are something you should becoming intimately familiar with, for they will guard you. They “give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.”

Of the six “spirits”, or dynamic virtues, that the Holy Spirit imparts to Messiah wisdom comes first. To me, there are three outstanding virtues we can ascribe to God that contain all the others: Holiness, Love and Wisdom. Our Triune God shares to an infinite degree all three qualities, but we could say one is more associated in scripture with one Person than the other. God first revealed Himself to Moses as holy – set apart from the creation, the common and the profane. He was El Elyon, God Most High, to ancient peoples throughout the Middle East long before He gave His covenantal name Yahweh to Moses, translated as “the LORD”.

Holiness is much more than being sinless. God’s holiness reflects his transcendence from the creation. God is invisible, imperceptible and inscrutable to the creation, even the angels, until He reveals Himself. God possesses three transcendent qualities that no creature may ever possess, called incommunicable attributes by theologians. God is eternal – He always was, and is, and is to come. God is infinite, with all His attributes in infinite perfection. God is unchanging or immutable – He can neither increase nor decrease.

God’s immutability is an important theological difference between the Christian understanding of God and the Mormon one. They see God the Father as a distinct, physical Being with the capacity for infinite increase rather than an infinite, unchanging Spirit.

The second attribute of God we attribute most plainly to God the Son, Jesus Christ. Both by precept and practice, Jesus demonstrated God’s love toward His people. The Old Testament frequently attributes the Hebrew virtue of chesed to God. Chesed is variously translated as lovingkindness, steadfast love, loyalty, kindness, mercy or unfailing love. It is God’s covenant-based, unvarying loyalty, kindness, mercy and love toward his people. But Jesus was intimate with His Jewish people the way God could not be. He was, and is, Immanuel: God with us.

Jesus displayed a second attribute of God that theologians call immanence, from Immanuel. Immanence is God’s omnipresent intimacy with His creation down to the tiniest detail. Hebrews 4:15 describes the immanent qualities of Christ that make Him qualified to be our eternal High Priest. “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for our sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” Romans 5:8 says, “God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” While God is our Father, Jesus is our Bridegroom, the most intimate relationship of love.

The third great character attribute of God is wisdom. All of creation reveals the wisdom of God in its manifold perfection that is yet, dynamic and changing. From the tiniest subatomic particle and quantum mechanics which describe their interactions, to the entire universe with its superclusters of galaxies forming a dazzling three-dimensional weave stretching across billions of light years, everything in the universe displays perfection and order beyond anything humans are able to create.

We associate wisdom most particularly with the Person of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who delights in displaying the creative genius of the Godhead, the One who guides secretly all things to their appointed end. Wisdom, like the Holy Spirit, is imperceptible to us at first, until we understand the reason for doing something or being something the right way.

Solomon pairs wisdom and understanding together. Someone has said that Wisdom tells us the right thing to do, while understanding tells us how to do things right. By understanding the properties, and dangers, of electricity, a skilled electrician knows how to install wiring, circuits, transformers and other electrical equipment properly. That’s wisdom, understanding and knowledge adapted to that field.

Messiah also possesses the spirit of counsel and might. We associate the word counsel with offering advice, as with a counselor. The Holy Spirit is the divine Counselor who indwells us to give us wise counsel. But counsel requires might to execute difficult challenging tasks. A wise leader seeks the counsel of advisors to arrive at the right decision to a problem and the strategy to execute it properly. The Triune God is His own counselor, whose decrees are the fruit of His eternal communion within Himself. The fruit of God’s decrees are what we call Providence – how God invisibly guides everything that occurs in the earth.

Even when we make mistakes, God makes no mistakes, but weaves our mistakes into His perfect plan. He allows us to experience a measure of pain and loss from our mistakes, but helps us learn and grow from the experience to acquire wisdom and understanding.

The spirit of counsel and might also recalls for me Ephesians 6:10-12: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”