Isaiah 32:15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.

Ezekiel 36:25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:

3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

MEMORY VERSE: For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring. —Isaiah 44:3

CENTRAL THOUGHT: All through the thousands of years in which God promised and brought forth a people, delivered them, led them, gave them a law, bore with their unfaithfulness and rebellion, sent them judgments, banished them into captivity and brought them back time after time, He gave prophecies that there would come a fullness of time where He would send forth His Spirit, bringing deliverance and victory and cleansing to the hearts of all mankind.

WORD DEFINITIONS

Ezekiel 36:26 “Stony heart”: a perverse, hard heart. “A heart of flesh”: the soft flesh of the body as contrasted with stone.

Malachi 3:1 “Messenger”: angel or messenger; not by nature, but by office, and is the same as “Elijah the prophet” in Malachi 4:5, who is clearly identified by Christ to be John the Baptist (Matthew 11:10-14). “Messenger of the covenant”: Jesus Christ, the Son, Who, after His ascension, baptized the believers with the Holy Spirit and with fire, as He had promised. “Fullers’ soap” (The Septuagint says, “As the grass of the washers”): an herb or plant, which purifies or cleanses and was used for washing; used by persons (fullers) who did washing of clothes and taking out of spots.

Isaiah 44:3 “Floods”: to drop; flow; pour down.

LESSON BACKGROUND

Prophesying some 700 years before Christ, Isaiah wrote so many prophecies about the Messiah, His kingdom, and the plan of salvation that he has been called the Gospel (Messianic) prophet. The 32nd chapter foretells the blessings of Christ’s kingdom, along with warnings of desolation before the time of return and blessing. He speaks of the Spirit being poured out, and the effects in the lives of his people—judgment, righteousness, peace, quietness, and assurance. Verse 3 in Chapter 44 echoes other scriptures about the Holy Spirit as it speaks about floods of water for the dry and thirsty.

Other precious promises are given by Ezekiel in chapter 36, where comfort is offered to those who had been forsaken and chastened by the Lord for their years of idolatry and rebellion. Yes, this came true in a historical way, but the true meaning is in a spiritual way. To those who have wandered away from God, if they will return, He has a healing for their backsliding, hard heart—a soft, tender heart and His Holy Spirit to cause them to walk in His ways.

Joel’s prophecy also comes after the time of exile and judgment upon Israel. We know this points forward to the day of Pentecost, when Jesus sent the “Promise of the Father” into the hearts of His disciples gathered in the upper room, because Peter exclaims to the people who witnessed the scene, “This is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel!”

The prophet Malachi, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, testified of “the glory that should follow” the coming of first, John the Baptist and then, Jesus Christ, who suffered and died, rose again, ascended to the Father, and then baptized His followers with the Refiner and Purifier, the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist himself pointed to Jesus as the one who would burn up the chaff with “unquenchable fire.”

Thank God for these definite, detailed prophesies and promises from the Old Testament that give us much understanding of what the Holy Spirit will accomplish in our lives when He is POURED OUT!

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

DISCUSSION:

1. Isaiah’s Vision: Looking at both verses from Isaiah in the lesson, to what was the Holy Spirit compared, and what is His effect in the life?

2. Ezekiel’s Promise: What precedes the putting of the Spirit “within you” and what will He cause in the heart and life?

3. Joel’s Prophesy: What words explain the gender and racial barriers that are removed in the pouring out of the Spirit?

4. Malachi’s Message: What must take place in the heart before acceptable worship can take place? How does Jesus accomplish this?

COMMENTS AND APPLICATION

From the very beginning, God looked way ahead to a time when He would send His Spirit to fill the hearts of men and women. He longed for a people who would serve Him wholly, with pure hearts. He longed for ALL people on the face of the earth—men, women, all nations, all languages—not just the Jews, to be His own temple, where He could dwell. He wanted people to be at peace, to rest in Him, to abide in Him. He desired holy lives free from constant sinning and backsliding.

Truly, this is the “glory that should follow.” The prophets were only able to enquire about and search diligently about this salvation and grace; the angels desired to look into these things, as well (I Peter 1:10-12). Because of Christ, we in these latter days are privileged to experience them.

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

REFLECTIONS

Isn’t it wonderful to be living in this day and time? We are living in the promise! We daily need the Holy Spirit to convict us, to teach us, and to be “a word behind us saying this is the way walk ye in it.”

The presence of the Holy Spirit is felt at a very early age as He visits children’s hearts with a voice of conviction. How precious it is to see children respond to the Holy Spirit at an altar of prayer and repentance. As children mature into adults, they have a lot of decisions to make; spiritual decisions as well as temporal decisions. It is during this time period that career paths are chosen as well as lifelong companions; the Holy Spirit can be right there to lead and to guide.

We need the Holy Spirit to place us in His body to actively serve in the congregation, in the family, in the workplace, and in the community.

Lastly, we need the Holy Spirit in our old age to help keep our focus on the Lord and the eternal goal. The Holy Spirit can help us bear courageously the afflictions of age and leave behind an example of holiness as we become a part of that great cloud of witnesses. As you can see, we never outgrow the need for the Holy Spirit. We must have Him to take possession of our lives so that we can safely reach that heavenly goal.

—Sis. LaDawna Adams