For I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendants...
Isaiah 44:3
One of my favorite things in the world is seeing Scripture line up and be fulfilled from beginning to end. In this verse from Isaiah, I want to focus specifically on the second part: “I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendants.”
Isaiah is telling us that God will pour out his Spirit and his blessing on us.
Let’s start by going all the way back to Genesis where you have God’s covenant with Abraham and his promise to bless the earth, And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Gen 12:2-3)
You then see in our verse from Isaiah the continued promise of blessing as well as a promise of God pouring His Spirit on us.
This promise is affirmed in the book of Ezekiel (39:29), And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord God.
Joel also affirms this promise in chapter 2:28, And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
Jesus promises the Spirit in John 14:26, But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Luke then quotes our verse from Joel in Acts 2:17, In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people; your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
Then you have the beginning of the fulfillment of these prophecies in Acts 2 as the Spirit comes upon the disciples. And right after this happens Peter affirms that the Spirit it is not just for the disciples but for all who God calls to himself in Acts 2:38-39.
Now, why is all of this important?
There are two quick, key lessons I want you to see:
- The unity of Scripture. It’s beautiful. In these few verses we see prophecies from Genesis, Isaiah, Joel, Ezekiel, and John be fulfilled in Acts. Let us thank God for his great Word.
- The Spirit is for us! The Word tells us that the Spirit will be poured out on all people, the prophecies say this and it is affirmed by Peter in Acts. My encouragement for you is to ask the Father for the Spirit. Luke 11:13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! And, we know that He gives the Spirit without measure. (John 3:34)
Father, we invite you here. We thank you for your Son and your Spirit, and we ask that you would send your Spirit to fill us. Amen.
Sam Bretzmann ’10