The Spirit in the Old Testament
by Peter Roennfeldt
When Dr Peter Roennfeldt was in the process of writing the book that became Calvary to Pentecost—a book that gives much attention to the work of the Holy Spirit among the first disciples of Jesus—he was prompted to take time away from this primary writing task to look at mentions of the Spirit in the Old Testament. What he discovered caught his attention and became the basis for Dr Roennfeldt’s new book His Surprising Presence.
While only described as the “Holy Spirit” three times, Dr Roennfeldt identified more than 120 references to the Spirit, “the Spirit of the Lord”, “God’s Spirit” or similar in the Hebrew scriptures and then proceeded to reflect on these references across the 90 short readings that make up His Surprising Presence. Of course, this begins with Creation, where “the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters” (Genesis 1:2, NLT) but this journey also takes in some of the more obscure stories of the Old Testament, as well as some of its grandest prophecies.
As the title suggests, some of the places in which the Spirit is mentioned are surprising, others are even more challenging. For example, the tragic story of Samson is one of the Old Testament’s most “Spirit”-referenced sequences, so what does this mean for how we understand the story and the stream of poor decision-making that led to Samson’s downfall?
As such, His Surprising Presence is likely to lead you to think about the presence and work of God and His Spirit in our world in ways you have not previously considered. Each devotional reading includes a single reflection question, which is where the reader is invited to do much of the work of applying the observations from Bible texts to our lives, faith and church today.
Whether read as a provocative devotional book or a prompt for deeper study and reflection, His Surprising Presence takes us to new places in our understanding of the Holy Spirit’s role in the stories of God’s people. As well as serving as a companion book to Calvary to Pentecost—as fits its origin story—His Surprising Presence is worth your attention in its own right.
His Surprising Presence and other books by Dr Roennfeldt are available from Adventist bookshops in Australia and New Zealand, or online at adventistbookcentre.com.au/catalogsearch/result/?cat=0&q=Peter+Roennfeldt
Nathan Brown is a book editor at Signs Publishing
