The Seven-Fold Spirit of God: The Spirit of Yehovah

In this series of articles, I’m looking at Isaiah 11:2, where the prophet articulates the seven-fold anointing of the Holy Spirit that will be upon the Branch of Jesse, who is Jesus, the Servant-Messiah. This post will focus on the first of these anointings, the Spirit of the LORD. Notice that in most versions of the Scripture, the capitalized “LORD” is replacing the personal name of God, which is Yehovah, or Yahweh.

At first glance, it might seem that this designation would not be separate from the other six, but would rather serve as a general heading for all the other dimensions of the Holy Spirit. However, when we look at the passages where the phrase “the Spirit of the LORD” is used, there are specific and powerful implications for us as the people of God. Please consider these thoughts:

There are a number of situations where the Spirit of Yehovah “came upon” an individual for a specific work of power in leadership and warfare. The Hebrew language that we have translated “came upon” literally means “to rush upon with great force.” Consider these examples:

In Judges 3:10, we see how the Spirit of Yehovah “came upon” Othniel, who was the younger brother of Caleb. The purpose of this anointing was that he might judge Israel (that is, rule the nation by the power of God’s anointing), and lead the armies into battle for the establishment of the nation in its God-given territories.

Then in Judges 6, we have the story of Gideon, how the Spirit of Yehovah “came upon” him in a powerful way for courage, for authority in leadership, and in miraculous power to deliver Israel once again from the ravages of the enemy. The idea in that story is that the Spirit of Yehovah “clothed Gideon like a glove,” and Gideon in effect became the hand of Yehovah to deal with the issues confronting the nation.

What about for us today? In the face of the coronavirus crisis with all of its implications across the spectrum of nations and cultures, we need the Spirit of Yehovah to rush upon us! I believe that these stories should give us courage to 1) pray for our leaders at every level of society to be clothed with the wisdom, power, and authority of God to lead our nation, our businesses, our schools, our churches, and our personal spheres of influence in the ways and character of God. 

Since the Holy Spirit was made available under the Old Covenant for such matters, and since we are the recipients of a New Covenant, and since we have been given THIS SAME Holy Spirit, it’s important – even essential – that we learn how to appropriate the power and authority of the Spirit of Yehovah to accomplish His purposes in our time.

So, the question for us is: where is the enemy at work, where is he trying to make inroads in your life, and in the situations that you care about? Certainly with the current medical crisis hitting the nations of the earth, there is a need for the power and authority of Yehovah to come upon our leaders at every level, and upon us as we stand to face the enemy. Come, Spirit of Yehovah! Rest on us your people, and give us victory even as you did in days past. You are the same, yesterday, today, and forever, so stretch out Your hand upon us, and give us your strength.

Through the might Name of Jesus, Amen.