Roho katika Agano la KaleThe Spirit in the Old Testament
Kazi ya Roho kabla ya Pentekoste: katika uumbaji, akiwawezesha watumishi wa Mungu, juu ya waamuzi, wafalme, na manabii, na ahadi ya siku kuu zaidiThe Spirit's work before Pentecost: in creation, equipping God's servants, upon judges, kings, and prophets, and the promise of a greater day
1. Roho Alikuwepo Tangu Mwanzo1. The Spirit Was There from the Beginning
Tunapofungua Biblia ili kumsoma Roho Mtakatifu, hatuhitaji kusoma mbali, kwa maana yuko katika mstari wa pili. Kabla kiumbe cha kwanza hakijavuta pumzi, "Roho wa Mungu alikuwa akitulia juu ya uso wa maji" (Mwanzo 1:2). Roho si mgeni anayefika tu katika kitabu cha Matendo; amekuwa kazini tangu ukurasa wa kwanza wa Maandiko. Ayubu alikiri, "Roho wa Mungu ameniumba, Na pumzi za Mwenyezi hunipa uhai" (Ayubu 33:4), na mtunga zaburi alimwimbia Bwana, "Wewe hupeleka Roho wako, vinaumbwa" (Zaburi 104:30). Roho yule yule ambaye siku moja angemwagwa juu ya kanisa alikuwa tayari akitulia juu ya maji yenye giza alfajiri ya ulimwengu. Kwa pumzi hiyo hiyo mbingu zenyewe zilifanywa, kwa maana Ayubu alisema, "Kwa Roho wake mbingu zimepambwa" (Ayubu 26:13), na mtunga zaburi aliandika, "Kwa neno la BWANA mbingu zilifanyika, Na jeshi lake lote kwa pumzi ya kinywa chake" (Zaburi 33:6). Ikiwa tunataka kumjua vizuri, lazima tuifuatilie kazi yake katika Agano la Kale lote, tukitazama anachofanya muda mrefu kabla Pentekoste haijaja.When we open the Bible to study the Holy Spirit, we do not have to read far, for He is there in the second verse. Before the first creature ever drew breath, "the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2). The Spirit is no newcomer who arrives only in the book of Acts; He has been at work since the first page of Scripture. Job confessed, "The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life" (Job 33:4), and the psalmist sang to the Lord, "You send forth Your Spirit, they are created" (Psalm 104:30). The same Spirit who would one day be poured out upon the church was already brooding over the dark waters at the dawn of the world. By that same breath the skies themselves were made, for Job said, "By His Spirit He adorned the heavens" (Job 26:13), and the psalmist wrote, "By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth" (Psalm 33:6). If we would know Him well, we must follow His work through the whole Old Testament, watching what He does long before Pentecost ever comes.
2. Roho Anayewezesha kwa Huduma2. The Spirit Who Equips for Service
Mojawapo ya mambo ya kwanza ambayo Agano la Kale linatufundisha kuhusu Roho ni kwamba yeye hutoa uwezo kwa kazi ya Mungu. Hema la kukutania lilipotakiwa kujengwa, Mungu alimchagua fundi aitwaye Bezaleli akasema, "nimemjaza Roho wa Mungu, katika hekima, na akili, na ujuzi, na mambo ya kazi ya ufundi ya kila aina" (Kutoka 31:3). Ustadi wa kukata kito na kufanya kazi ya dhahabu safi kwa ajili ya nyumba ya Mungu wenyewe ulikuwa karama ya Roho. Baadaye, mzigo wa kuwaongoza Israeli ulipokuwa mzito mno kwa mtu mmoja, Bwana "akatwaa sehemu ya Roho aliyekuwa juu yake, akawatia wale wazee sabini" (Hesabu 11:25), nao wakaweza kubeba mzigo pamoja na Musa. Tangu mwanzo kabisa Roho amekuwa Yule anayewafanya watu wa kawaida kufaa kwa huduma ambayo wasingeweza kamwe kuitoa kwa nguvu zao wenyewe. Kwa hakika, kanuni kuu ya kazi yote ya Mungu ilitolewa kwa Zerubabeli katika sentensi moja: "Si kwa uwezo, wala si kwa nguvu, bali ni kwa Roho yangu, asema BWANA wa majeshi" (Zekaria 4:6). Lolote linalofanywa kwa kweli kwa ajili ya Mungu hufanywa kwa Roho, na si kwa nguvu za wanadamu.One of the first things the Old Testament teaches us about the Spirit is that He gives ability for the work of God. When the tabernacle was to be built, God chose a craftsman named Bezalel and said, "I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship" (Exodus 31:3). The skill to cut a gem and to work fine gold for God's house was itself a gift of the Spirit. Later, when the burden of leading Israel grew too heavy for one man, the Lord "took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders" (Numbers 11:25), and they were able to share the load with Moses. From the very beginning the Spirit has been the One who fits ordinary people for service they could never render on their own. Indeed, the great rule of all God's work was given to Zerubbabel in a single sentence: "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6). Whatever is truly done for God is done by the Spirit, and not by the strength of men.
3. Roho Juu ya Waamuzi3. The Spirit upon the Judges
Katika siku za waamuzi tunamwona Roho akiwajilia watu ili kuwaokoa watu wa Mungu. Israeli walipolia chini ya uonevu, "Roho wa BWANA akamjilia" Othnieli, naye akawaamua Israeli, akatoka kwenda vitani akashinda (Waamuzi 3:10). Hivyo hivyo inasemwa juu ya Gideoni: "Roho wa BWANA akamjilia Gideoni" (Waamuzi 6:34), na mtu mwenye hofu aliyekuwa akipura ngano mafichoni akawa mwokozi hodari. Kwa Samsoni maneno ni yenye nguvu zaidi, kwa maana "Roho wa BWANA akamjilia kwa nguvu" (Waamuzi 14:6), na nguvu zake nyingi hazikuwa zake kamwe bali zilikuwa karama ya Roho. Angalia mpangilio unaopita katika habari zao zote: Roho alimjilia mtu kwa ajili ya kazi fulani, akimwezesha kufanya kile ambacho asingeweza kamwe kufanya peke yake. Ndivyo ilivyokuwa kwa Yeftha pia, kwa maana "Roho wa BWANA akamjilia Yeftha" (Waamuzi 11:29) kabla hajatoka kwenda vitani. Hawa hawakuwa watu wasio na kasoro, kama maisha yao yanavyoonyesha waziwazi, lakini Roho aliwajilia ili kutimiza kazi ambayo Mungu alikuwa ameiamuru.In the days of the judges we watch the Spirit come upon men to deliver God's people. When Israel cried out under oppression, "the Spirit of the LORD came upon" Othniel, and he judged Israel and went out to war and won (Judges 3:10). The same is said of Gideon: "the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon" (Judges 6:34), and a frightened man who had been threshing wheat in hiding became a mighty deliverer. With Samson the words are stronger still, for "the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him" (Judges 14:6), and his great strength was never his own but the Spirit's gift. Notice the pattern that runs through them all: the Spirit came upon a man for a task, equipping him to do what he could never have done alone. So it was with Jephthah too, for "the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah" (Judges 11:29) before he went out to battle. These were not flawless men, as their lives plainly show, yet the Spirit came upon them to accomplish the work God had appointed.
4. Roho Juu ya Wafalme4. The Spirit upon the Kings
Israeli walipoomba mfalme, Roho alipewa mfalme pia. Kuhusu Sauli ilisemwa, "Roho wa Mungu akamjilia" (1 Samweli 10:10); kwa hakika Samweli alikuwa ameahidi kwamba Roho angemjilia na kumgeuza "kuwa mtu mwingine" (1 Samweli 10:6), na kwa muda fulani alitabiri na kuongoza. Lakini maisha ya Sauli yana onyo zito, kwa maana baada ya uasi wake wa muda mrefu "Roho wa BWANA akamwacha Sauli" (1 Samweli 16:14). Kile kilichokuwa kimetolewa kiliondolewa. Daudi alipotiwa mafuta mahali pa Sauli, "Roho wa BWANA akamjilia Daudi kwa nguvu tangu siku ile" (1 Samweli 16:13). Daudi alikuwa ameona yaliyompata Sauli, na kwa hiyo yeye mwenyewe alipoanguka dhambini aliomba ombi lile la kutetemeka, "Usinitenge na uso wako, Wala Roho wako Mtakatifu usiniondolee" (Zaburi 51:11). Huyu ni mtu aliyeujua uwepo wa Roho na aliogopa kuliko mambo yote kuupoteza.When Israel asked for a king, the Spirit was given to the king as well. Of Saul it was said, "the Spirit of God came upon him" (1 Samuel 10:10); indeed Samuel had promised that the Spirit would come upon him and turn him "into another man" (1 Samuel 10:6), and for a season he prophesied and led. But Saul's life holds a solemn warning, for after his long rebellion "the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul" (1 Samuel 16:14). What had been given was taken away. When David was anointed in Saul's place, "the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward" (1 Samuel 16:13). David had seen what became of Saul, and so when he himself fell into sin he prayed that trembling prayer, "Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me" (Psalm 51:11). Here is a man who knew the Spirit's presence and dreaded above all things to lose it.
5. Roho katika Manabii5. The Spirit in the Prophets
Zaidi ya yote, Roho ndiye aliyenena kupitia manabii. Neno la Mungu lilipomjia nabii, lilikuja kwa Roho. Ezekieli alishuhudia, "Roho akaniingia aliposema nami, akanisimamisha kwa miguu yangu" (Ezekieli 2:2). Mika alitangaza, "nimejaa nguvu kwa Roho wa BWANA, na hukumu, na uweza, ili nimhubiri Yakobo kosa lake" (Mika 3:8). Muda mrefu baadaye Nehemia aliangalia nyuma katika karne nyingi akakiri kwamba Mungu alikuwa amewaonya watu wake "kwa Roho wako katika manabii wako" (Nehemia 9:30), na Isaya alikumbuka jinsi Mungu alivyomweka "Roho wake Mtakatifu" kati ya watu wake katika siku za Musa (Isaya 63:11). Kwa hiyo Petro alipoandika baadaye kwamba "watakatifu wa Mungu walinena wakiongozwa na Roho Mtakatifu" (2 Petro 1:21), alikuwa akifupisha tu habari yote ndefu ya Agano la Kale. Zekaria alisema vivyo hivyo kuhusu vizazi vilivyomtangulia, kwamba Bwana alikuwa ametuma maneno yake "kwa Roho wake, kwa mkono wa manabii wa kwanza" (Zekaria 7:12). Kila neno la kweli ambalo manabii waliwahi kunena lilikuwa neno la Roho kupitia wao.Above all, the Spirit was the One who spoke through the prophets. When the word of God came to a prophet, it came by the Spirit. Ezekiel testified, "the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet" (Ezekiel 2:2). Micah declared, "I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD, and of justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression" (Micah 3:8). Long afterward Nehemiah looked back over the centuries and confessed that God had warned His people "by Your Spirit in Your prophets" (Nehemiah 9:30), and Isaiah remembered how God had set "His Holy Spirit" among His people in the days of Moses (Isaiah 63:11). So when Peter later wrote that "holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21), he was simply summing up the whole long story of the Old Testament. Zechariah said the same of the generations before him, that the Lord had sent His words "by His Spirit through the former prophets" (Zechariah 7:12). Every true word the prophets ever spoke was the Spirit's word through them.
6. Kipimo cha Agano la Kale6. The Measure of the Old Covenant
Sasa lazima tuone jambo lililo la kawaida katika habari hizi zote, kwa maana linatuandaa kwa kile kinachofuata. Katika Agano la Kale Roho kwa kawaida aliwajilia watu binafsi waliochaguliwa, fundi, mwamuzi, mfalme, nabii, naye alikuja kwa ajili ya kazi fulani. Alikuwa bado hajamwagwa juu ya watu wote wa Mungu kwa usawa. Zaidi ya hayo, kuja kwake kungeweza kuondolewa, kama Sauli alivyojifunza kwa huzuni yake na kama Daudi alivyoogopa katika ombi lake. Roho alikuwa kazini kwa kweli, na watu waaminifu wa Mungu walimjua na kumpenda; lakini kuja kwake katika siku hizo kulikuwa kwa kuchagua, na kwa kiasi fulani kungeweza kuondolewa. Hatupaswi kufikiri kwamba watakatifu wa Agano la Kale walikuwa wageni kwa Roho, kwa maana hawakuwa; Daudi na manabii walienenda karibu naye. Tofauti ilikuwa katika namna na kiasi cha kuja kwake. Alikaa juu ya baadhi na si wengine, alikuja kwa majira na kwa kazi maalum, na angeweza kuondoka. Watakatifu wa Agano la Kale walitembea katika mwanga mkali wa asubuhi, lakini adhuhuri iliyo kamili zaidi ilikuwa bado inakuja, nao wenyewe walifundishwa kuinua macho yao na kuitazamia.Now we must notice something common to all these accounts, for it prepares us for what comes next. In the Old Testament the Spirit usually came upon chosen individuals, a craftsman, a judge, a king, a prophet, and He came for a particular task. He was not yet poured out upon all of God's people alike. What is more, His coming could be withdrawn, as Saul learned to his sorrow and as David feared in his prayer. The Spirit was truly at work, and God's faithful people knew Him and loved Him; but His coming in those days was selective, and in some measure it could be taken away. We should not think the Old Testament saints were strangers to the Spirit, for they were not; David and the prophets walked closely with Him. The difference lay in the manner and the measure of His coming. He rested upon some and not others, He came for seasons and tasks, and He could depart. The Old Testament saints walked in the bright light of morning, but a fuller noonday was still to come, and they themselves were taught to lift their eyes and look for it.
7. Ahadi ya Siku Kuu Zaidi7. The Promise of a Greater Day
Kwa maana Mungu hakuwaacha watu wake bila ahadi. Kupitia nabii Yoeli aliahidi siku isiyofanana na yoyote waliyowahi kuijua: "nitamwaga Roho yangu juu ya wote wenye mwili; na wana wenu waume na wa kike watatabiri" (Yoeli 2:28). Si wachache waliochaguliwa, bali wote wenye mwili; si mfalme na nabii peke yao, bali wana na binti, watumishi wa kiume na wa kike vilevile. Kupitia Ezekieli Mungu aliahidi kazi ya ndani pia: "Nami nitatia Roho yangu ndani yenu, na kuwaendesha katika sheria zangu" (Ezekieli 36:27), na katika bonde la mifupa mikavu aliapa, "Nami nitatia Roho yangu ndani yenu, nanyi mtaishi" (Ezekieli 37:14). Isaya aliisubiri baraka hiyo hiyo, akiitamani siku "hata Roho atakapomwagwa juu yetu kutoka juu" (Isaya 32:15), naye akamsikia Mungu akisema, "nitamwaga Roho yangu juu ya uzao wako" (Isaya 44:3). Kile ambacho agano la kale liliwapa wachache, agano jipya lingewapa wote; kile ambacho kingeweza kuondolewa zamani, sasa Mungu aliahidi kukitia ndani ya watu wake na kutokiondoa. Agano la Kale halimaliziki kwa kutokuwepo kwa Roho; linamalizika likiegemea mbele, likisubiri siku ambayo Roho angemwagwa juu ya wote na angekuja kukaa ndani ya watu wa Mungu ili abaki.For God did not leave His people without a promise. Through the prophet Joel He pledged a day unlike any they had known: "I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy" (Joel 2:28). Not a chosen few, but all flesh; not the king and the prophet only, but sons and daughters, menservants and maidservants alike. Through Ezekiel God promised an inward work as well: "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes" (Ezekiel 36:27), and in the valley of dry bones He vowed, "I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live" (Ezekiel 37:14). Isaiah waited for the same blessing, longing for the day "till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high" (Isaiah 32:15), and he heard God say, "I will pour My Spirit on your descendants" (Isaiah 44:3). What the old covenant gave to a few, the new covenant would give to all; what could once be withdrawn, God now promised to put within His people and not remove. The Old Testament does not close in the Spirit's absence; it closes leaning forward, waiting for the day when the Spirit would be poured out on all and would come to dwell within God's people to stay.
8. Roho na Masihi Ajaye8. The Spirit and the Coming Messiah
Kulikuwa na ahadi moja kuu kuliko zote. Roho ambaye angemwagwa juu ya wote wenye mwili angekaa kwanza, kwa utimilifu wake, juu ya Yule Ajaye. Isaya alitabiri kuhusu Masihi, "Na Roho wa BWANA atakaa juu yake, Roho wa hekima na ufahamu, Roho wa shauri na uweza" (Isaya 11:2). Kuhusu Mtumishi huyo huyo aliyechaguliwa Mungu alisema, "Nimeweka Roho yangu juu yake; naye atawatolea mataifa hukumu" (Isaya 42:1). Na Mtumishi mwenyewe siku moja angesimama na kusema, "Roho wa Bwana MUNGU yu juu yangu; kwa maana BWANA amenitia mafuta niwahubiri maskini habari njema" (Isaya 61:1). Agano la Kale lote, basi, linaelekeza mbele zaidi ya lenyewe. Roho aliyetulia juu ya uumbaji, aliyewawezesha mafundi, aliyewajilia waamuzi na wafalme, aliyenena kupitia manabii, na aliyeahidiwa kwa wote wenye mwili, angekuja kwanza na kikamilifu juu ya Kristo mwenyewe. Ili kuona jinsi ahadi hiyo ya kale ilivyotimizwa, lazima tugeukie Injili na siku ile kuu ya Pentekoste, wakati kusubiri kwa muda mrefu kwa Agano la Kale kungejibiwa hatimaye.There was one promise greater than all the rest. The Spirit who would be poured out on all flesh would first rest, in His fullness, upon the Coming One. Isaiah foretold of the Messiah, "The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might" (Isaiah 11:2). Of the same chosen Servant God said, "I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles" (Isaiah 42:1). And the Servant Himself would one day stand and say, "The Spirit of the LORD God is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor" (Isaiah 61:1). The whole Old Testament, then, points beyond itself. The Spirit who hovered over creation, who equipped the craftsmen, who came upon the judges and kings, who spoke through the prophets, and who was promised to all flesh, would come first and fully upon Christ Himself. To see how that ancient promise was kept, we must turn to the Gospels and to the great day of Pentecost, when the long waiting of the Old Testament would at last be answered.