Before Acts 2:  To Whom Was the Holy Spirit Given and Why?

Genesis chapter 1 to Acts 1 - The Spirit's Influence On Them - Part 2:

In the preceding question, we saw the influence that the Spirit had in causing these people to speak God's word.  Following are additional scriptures from Genesis 1 to Acts 1 that give specific reference to other influences the Holy Spirit had on these leaders and prophets:

Joseph, the son of Jacob:

Genesis 41:38-39 -- "Then Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find a man like this, in whom is a divine spirit?" So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are." (NAS)

Belzalel of the tribe of Judah, whom God called to help build the tabernacle: 

Exodus 31:3 -- "And I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, (NAS)

Exodus 35:31 -- "And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding and in knowledge and in all craftsmanship;"   (NAS)

Moses and the 70 elders that led the Children of Israel after the Exodus:

Numbers 11:17 -- "Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you shall not bear it all alone." (NAS)

Numbers 11:25 -- "Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And it came about that when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again. But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp." (NAS)

Joshua, whom God called to lead the Children of Israel after Moses died:

Numbers 27:18-21 -- "So the LORD said to Moses, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation; and commission him in their sight. And you shall put some of your authority on him, in order that all the congregation of the sons of Israel may obey him. " (NAS)

Deuteronomy 34:9 -- "Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses." (NAS)  

Othniel, one of the first judges of Israel:  

Judges 3:10 -- "And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand, so that he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim." (NAS)  

Gideon, another judge of Israel.

Judges 6:34 -- "So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon; and he blew a trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him." (NAS)  

Jephthah, another judge of Israel:

Judges 11:29 -- "Now the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, so that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon." (NAS)  

Samson, another judge of Israel:

Judges 13:25 -- "And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol." (NAS)

Judges 14:6 -- "And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, so that he tore him as one tears a kid though he had nothing in his hand; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done." (NAS)

Judges 14:19 -- "Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of them and took their spoil, and gave the changes of clothes to those who told the riddle. And his anger burned, and he went up to his father's house." (NAS)

Judges 15:14 -- "When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily so that the ropes that were on his arms were as flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds dropped from his hands." (NAS)

Saul, the first earthly king of Israel:

1 Samuel 10:6 -- "Then the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man." (NAS)

1 Samuel 10:10 -- "When they came to the hill there, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them. (NAS)

1 Samuel 11:6 -- "Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he became very angry." (NAS)

1 Samuel 16:14 -- "Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him." (NAS)  

King David:

1 Samuel 16:13 -- "Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah." (NAS)

2 Samuel 23:2 -- "The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue." (NAS)  

Amasai, the chief of the 30 leaders of David’s armies:

1 Chronicles 12:18 -- "Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, who was the chief of the thirty, and he said, "We are yours, O David, and with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to him who helps you; indeed, your God helps you!" Then David received them and made them captains of the band." (NAS)  

Prophecies referring to Jesus Christ:

Isaiah 11:2 -- "And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD." (NAS)

Isaiah 42:1 -- "Behold, My servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations." (NAS)

John the Baptizer:

Luke 1:15-17 -- "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine or liquor; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, while yet in his mother's womb. And he will turn back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous; so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (NAS)

Jesus, the Son of God and Messiah:

Matthew 1:18 -- "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit." (NAS)

Matt 1:20 -- "But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." (NAS)

Matthew 3:16 -- "And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him..." (NAS)

Matthew 4:1 -- "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." (NAS)

Matthew 12:18 -- "Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles." (NAS)

Matthew 12:28 -- "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." (NAS)

Mark 1:10 -- "And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; (NAS)

Mark 1:12 -- "And immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. (NAS)

Luke 3:22 -- "and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, "Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased." (NAS)

Luke 4:1 -- "And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness." (NAS)

Luke 4:14 -- "And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit; and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district." (NAS)

Luke 4:18 -- "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden," (NAS)

Luke 10:21 -- "At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes. Yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in Thy sight." (NAS)

John 1:32-33 -- "And John bore witness saying, "I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. And I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, `He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.'" (NAS)

Acts 1:2 -- "...until the day when He was taken up, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen." (NAS)

Jesus' apostles:

John 20:21-22 -- "Jesus therefore said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." (NAS)

Question:

According to the scriptures above, when the leaders received the Holy Spirit during this timeframe...what did the Holy Spirit generally cause them to do?

1. They all shook or rolled on the floor uncontrollably.
2. These men received wisdom, knowledge and power to lead, to bear burdens, to make judgments, to comfort the children of God and/or to teach God's word.
3. They all became perfect.
4. They all spoke languages that no one could understand.