Week Three: The Holy Spirit Speaks

Verse to memorize

“The Spirit of the Lord speaks through me.”

Passage

In Ancient Israel, the king held a very special place both politically and religiously that was different from other kings in the Ancient Near East. A new Israelite king was not crowned, rather he was “anointed” (messiah in Hebrew means anointed one). His job was not only to lead the armies of Israel “out and back in”, but also to “keep a copy of the Torah (Law) with him and… read in it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, diligently observing all the words of this law and these statutes”. (Dt 17:18 & 19).

The most famous and powerful of all the kings of Israel were King David and his son King Solomon. They lived roughly 1000 years before Jesus. During their reigns, Israel had peace with the neighboring countries and controlled the widest expanse of territory. While David committed some grave sins, he was very devout. He admitted his sins and lamented them greatly in Psalm 51. Listen as the aged and dying King David instructs young Solomon on the role of the king:

Now, these are the last words of David, son of Jesse, the oracle of the man whom God exalted, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the favorite of the Strong One of Israel:

The Spirit of the LORD speaks through me,
His word is upon my tongue.
The God of Israel has spoken,
the Rock of Israel has said to me:
One who rules over people justly,
ruling in the fear of God,
is like the light of morning,
like the sun rising on a cloudless morning,
gleaming from the rain on the grassy land. (NRSV)
2 Samuel 23:1-4

Meditation Questions

1) Q: Who was King David in the Bible? A: The youngest of the many sons of Jesse of Bethlehem. He was a young shepherd tending his father’s flocks when God told the prophet Samuel to anoint him king in Israel. Q: When did he live? A: Roughly 1000 years before Our Lord Jesus Christ. Q: Why is David so important in the Bible? A: He was their greatest king. He wrote many Psalms. God made a messianic promise to David in 2 Sam 7:12, that God would raise up descendants for David and establish their kingdom. Through Mary, Jesus is a descendant of King David. And Jesus quotes David many times in the New Testament.

2) Q: In the poetry above, how should a king of Israel rule, according to David? A: Justly and in fear of God. (We will talk about the notion of “fear of the LORD” next week). Q: How does David get the knowledge to instruct his son? A: From “the Spirit of the LORD God”. Yes, David made the very high claim that the Spirit “speaks through me”!

3) Q: Last week we saw the Holy Spirit present at the creation of the world, “a wind/spirit swept over the face of the waters”. Now we see the Holy Spirit active in the Old Testament again in the life of the greatest Israelite king. Q: What do we call a person through whom the Spirit speaks? A: A prophet.

4) Q: Can the Holy Spirit speak through you? A: Yes! If you open yourself up to God in prayer or read God’s word in the Bible. The Holy Spirit is looking for people to speak through. He never speaks of Himself. He moves us! (CCC 687)

Video

Courtesy of The Bible Project