men's hearts were only evil con tinually. The Holy Spirit endeav ored to bring them to God while they resisted His prompting. The word "strive" as used of the Holy Spirit means "to bring to charge guilt against." In this means it was His purpose to show them the fol ly of their ways. He used Noah as a preacher of righteousness to fur ther retard the spread of evil. How much we owe to this same re straining Holy Spirit. Think what would happen if it were not for His operation in the world. A moral whirlpool of chaos and confusion would occur. Without doubt He is the most potent factor in arrest ing the progress of evil across the face of the globe. Additionally, He is the Spirit of Wisdom (Exodus 31:3-6). The pas sage shows how men were given divine guidance in workmanship on the tabernacle. Earlier, in the case of Joseph, King Pharaoh of Egypt testified, "Can we find such a man as this, a man in whom the Spirit of God is found?" Even though he was an unbeliever, he saw the power of the Almighty. Deuteronomy 34:9 tells us that Joshua was full of the Spirit of wis dom. And He is still the Spirit of Wisdom so much greater than our finite minds no matter their de gree of cultivation and education. We so often fail because we de pend too much on the wisdom of men rather than seeking the guid ance of the Holy Spirit. In Judges we see the Holy Spirit as the one who imparts strength to those in places of leadership during desperate times in Israel's history (3:10; 6:34; 11;29; and 13:25). He made men mighty and victorious for the glory of God's people in those difficult times. Paul Page 55
plete unfolding of it, however, awaits a coming prophetic day. Pentecost was a foretaste of the glory that will eventually be when the Holy Spirit is poured out on all flesh. Zechariah 12:10 also gives us a picture of the Holy Spirit in refer ence to God's grace which will again come upon His ancient peo ple Israel. There will be a deep and revolutionary repentance bringing about the rebirth of the nation it self as the people truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope you will take the time to look up these passages and to study them for yourself. Throughout the Old Testament we see how the Holy Spirit's min istry was dominant in the lives of specific individuals. There is an ob vious difference between His min istry to individuals in the Old and the New Testament. In the former, His work was more transient. He came upon them with power so that they could accomplish certain tasks. Since Christ was raised from the dead, however, we find His work to be internal. Once the Holy Spirit enters a believer's life to in dwell him, He is abiding constant ly, never to leave us (John 14:16, 17). The Holy Spirit exercised di vine sovereignty in all of His oper ations. Psalms 51:11 quotes David agonizing, "Take not thy Holy Spir it from me." Had the king lived in the New Testament dispensation he would never needed to have prayed that. There is a completely different relationship which we can enjoy today. In studying further, we see Him as the Spirit of Striving (Genesis 6:3). Before the days of the flood there was a world fast plunging in to corruption. The imaginations of
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