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Scripture Reading: Gen. 2:7; Prov. 20:27; Job 32:8; Exo. 35:21; Num. 14:24; Deut. 2:30; Ezra 1:1, 5; Hag. 1:14; Jer. 51:11; Job 6:4; 10:12; 15:13; Psa. 31:5; 32:2; 34:18; 51:10, 12, 17; 77:3, 6; 78:8; Prov. 16:2; Isa. 26:9a; 57:15-16; Psa. 106:33; 18-19, Prov. 16:32; 17:27; 25:28; 18:14; Isa. 29:24; Eccl. 7:8-9; Dan. 5:12; 6:3; Mal. 2:15b-16
The verses listed above are the most precious and the most important verses in the Old Testament regarding the human spirit from Genesis 2 through Malachi 2. It is interesting to see that the first verse refers to the creation of the human spirit, while the last verse in the Old Testament regarding the human spirit exhorts us to take heed to our spirit. We should not just take heed to our outward behavior, but we have to take heed to our inward spirit, because our human spirit is the very source of all our behavior. If we are wrong in the source, regardless of how right we might be in our behavior, we are still wrong. If the source is dirty, then how could the issue be clean? It is impossible. So we all have to take heed to our human spirit. These verses show how strategic, how important, and how prevailing is this matter of our human spirit.
Genesis 2:7 unveils the creation of man. God used the dust of the ground to form a body. Then God breathed into the nostrils of this body of dust the breath of life. Proverbs 20:27 says, “The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah, / Searching all the innermost parts.” The Hebrew word for spirit in this verse is the very word for breath in Genesis 2:7.
The word commonly used in Hebrew for spirit is ruach, but here in Proverbs 20:27 the Hebrew word for spirit is neshamah, not ruach. This is the same word used for breath in Genesis 2:7. This verse is a strong word to prove that the breath of life which was breathed into the nostrils of man’s body of dust at the time of creation is our spirit. Job 32:8 tells us also that there is a spirit in man.
In Proverbs 20:27 the spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah for searching our innermost parts, for God’s dealing with us. God’s dealing with us is always in our spirit and through our spirit. Our human spirit is the means and the organ for God to deal with us, to search us. If you come at night into a building to do something, you cannot do it in darkness. You need light. Our human spirit is a lamp to God for Him to come in to search us, to deal with us.
In Exodus 35:21, during the time when the tabernacle was going to be built up, the people’s spirit made them willing. Not only did their heart move them, but also their spirit prompted them to go on in a fast way to fulfill God’s purpose. This shows that our human spirit is an organ for us to go on to fulfill God’s purpose.
Zechariah 12:1 and Isaiah 42:5 are quite similar to one another. They tell us that in the whole universe there are three main things created by God: the heavens, the earth, and the human spirit. These two verses show us the importance of the human spirit. In the heavens there are many items, and on the earth there are many items, but God did not itemize those things. God just refers to the heavens and the earth. As human beings we also have many parts, but God did not say anything about all the parts of our body or the parts of our soul. God spoke of only one thing: the spirit of man. This shows the importance of our human spirit because our human spirit is the organ, the means, for God to contact us and to deal with us and for us to contact Him and to receive Him.
At the time of Numbers 14:24 most of the Israelites were quite rebellious toward God, but Caleb was different. He did not have a different mind, a different will, a different heart, or different decision. Caleb had a different spirit. Verse 24 then says that Caleb fully followed the Lord. We have no other way to follow the Lord. If we are going to follow the Lord, we have to use the proper organ, our human spirit. Caleb followed the Lord by a different spirit, which was different from all the other spirits.
Deuteronomy 2:30 says that God hardened the spirit of Sihon the king. It does not say that God hardened his heart, but his spirit. God’s dealing with man is always through the spirit. Even He allows a person to be hardened in his spirit.
In Ezra 1:1 and 5, at the time of God’s recovery of His people back to Jerusalem, God stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, and stirred up the people in their spirit. This again shows that God’s dealing with us is through the spirit. It does not say that God stirred up the heart of the king of Persia, because the recovery was altogether God’s dealing, and this dealing was absolutely in the spirit. On the one hand, God stirred up the king’s spirit. On the other hand, God stirred up the captives’ spirit. Then something could be worked out for God’s recovery.
Haggai 1:14 refers to the same thing. God stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the spirit of Joshua, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people for the completion of the building. Ezra 1 tells us about the beginning of the recovery, but Haggai tells us about the continuation of the recovery. The beginning and the continuation of the recovery were altogether matters in the spirit.
Then how about today’s recovery? Surely it could never be something outside of our spirit. It must be something absolutely in our spirit. If God is going to recover His church in so many localities, surely you and I must have our spirit stirred up by God.
Jeremiah 51:11 says also that the Lord “stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His purpose is against Babylon, to destroy her.” This is the vengeance of the Lord, even the vengeance for His temple. Babylon destroyed God’s temple. Now God stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes to destroy Babylon. That was a kind of vengeance God rendered upon Babylon, the vengeance of His temple. Though we are not the kings of the Medes, God still has to stir up our spirit for the destruction of Babylon and for the vengeance of His temple. All of this is in the spirit.
Job 6:4 tells us that to Job’s realization what he suffered was not just something outward but something inward in his spirit. According to our spiritual experiences, Job 6:4 is rather deep. Job says, “The arrows of the Almighty are in me, / The poison of which my spirit drinks up.” This verse shows that although all the sufferings which happened to Job were outward, he realized that God was dealing with him, not just outwardly but inwardly. God’s dealing with him was not just something outward in his surroundings but something inward, deep in his spirit.
Job 10:12 says, “You have granted me life and lovingkindness.” This means that God had granted Job to live and to enjoy so many good things. In addition, “Your visitation has preserved my spirit” (v. 12). Have you ever realized God’s visitation? Job 15:13 says, “You turn your spirit against God.” All these verses show us that the relationship, the fellowship, between us and God is absolutely a matter in our spirit.
Psalm 31:5 says, “Into Your hand I commit my spirit.” Remember that this is a word spoken in the Old Testament by an Old Testament saint. Have you, as a New Testament saint, ever said something like “I commit my spirit into Your hand”? Mostly we say that we commit our heart into God’s hand. Psalm 32:2 says, “Blessed is the man...in whose spirit there is no deceit.” Again, all this portrays clearly that the fellowship and the relationship between us and God is absolutely in our spirit.
In Psalm 34:18 there is a contrite spirit, and in Psalm 51:10, a “steadfast spirit.” In Psalm 51:12 there is a “willing spirit.” Psalm 51 is a prayer of David. In verse 10 he says, “Renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Then in verse 12 he says, “Restore to me the gladness of Your salvation, / And sustain me with a willing spirit.” Then in verse 17 is a “broken spirit.” Psalm 51 shows us a contrite spirit, a steadfast spirit, a willing spirit, and a broken spirit.
Psalm 77:3 says, “I complain, and my spirit faints.” Verse 6 says, “I remember my song in the night; / I muse with my own heart, and my spirit carefully searches.” The psalmist mused with his own heart, but his spirit carefully searched in the presence of God.
Psalm 78:8 says that the spirit of the children of Israel was not faithful to God. We need a faithful spirit to God. We do not only need to make up our mind or have a strong will, but we need to have a faithful spirit to God.
Proverbs 16:2 says, “All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes, / But Jehovah weighs the spirits.” God puts our spirit on the balance, on the scale, to weigh it. God cares for what we are in our spirit. We consider our ways; He weighs our spirit.
Isaiah 26:9 says, “My soul desires You in the night; / Indeed my spirit within me seeks You at the dawn.” To desire the Lord is something of the soul, but to seek the Lord is something of the spirit. With our soul we desire the Lord. With our spirit within us we seek Him. We have to seek the Lord with our spirit.
Isaiah 57:15-16 speaks of a contrite and lowly spirit. Verse 16 says that the Lord would not be so hard with us. If He would be too hard with us, then our spirit would faint. Sometimes the Lord allows certain things to happen to us, but still there is a certain kind of limitation because the Lord is careful about our spirit. He knows our spirit cannot suffer that much in a certain hard situation, so He would not allow too much suffering in order that our spirit would not faint. This tells us that God is concerned for our spirit.
Psalm 106:33 tells us that the children of Israel provoked Moses’ spirit (Darby). This shows us that the spirit is the deepest part of a person and the most important part. I may provoke your mind. That does not mean much. But if I provoke your spirit, that is really something serious.
Proverbs 16:32 says, “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty; / And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.” This shows the importance of our spirit. If you could rule your spirit, that means you are so strong. To rule your spirit is better than capturing a city.
Proverbs 25:28 says, “Like a city that is broken down, without walls, / Is a man whose spirit is without restraint.” If you cannot manage your spirit, that means you have been defeated like a city that has been broken down with all the walls torn down. Your protection is with your spirit and in your spirit.
Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, / And a haughty spirit before a fall.” To be haughty in spirit, to be proud in spirit, is awful. “It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor” (v. 19).
We need a fervent spirit for the Lord, but sometimes for the understanding, we need to be cool in spirit (17:27). It is easy for the sisters to be hot, to be fervent, but it is rather hard for them to be cool. For God’s interest we need to be fervent, on fire, but for understanding we need to be cool in the spirit. We need a cool spirit to understand the spiritual things.
Proverbs 18:14a says, “The spirit of a man can sustain his sickness.” Sickness here means “illness.” The spirit of a man can sustain his illness. When we are sick physically, if our spirit is weak, that is terrible. That is really serious. If we are strong in spirit, regardless of how ill we are in the body, our spirit can sustain the physical illness. “But a broken spirit who can bear?” (v. 14b). When your spirit is broken, that is really serious.
Isaiah 29:24 says, “Those who have erred in spirit will come to understand.” To err in another part of our being is not so serious, but if we err in the spirit, that is really serious.
Ecclesiastes 7:8-9 says, “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; / Better is patience of spirit than haughtiness of spirit. / Do not be quick in your spirit to become angry.” If you could be patient and not quick, you would be all right. Many times we are patient, but just patient in our emotions, not in the spirit. The people who are patient in their emotions eventually will be very impatient in their spirit. The real patience, the everlasting patience, is in the spirit. We need to be patient in our spirit, not quick in our spirit.
Daniel 5:12 and 6:3 tell us that Daniel was a man with an excellent spirit. “This Daniel distinguished himself among the chief ministers and satraps because in him there was an excellent spirit” (6:3).
Finally, Malachi 2:15-16 tells us to take heed to our spirit. Brothers and sisters, take heed to your spirit. Do not argue. Do not excuse yourself. You have to take heed to your spirit. Your spirit is the source of your behavior. God cares for your spirit, and you have to take heed to it.
