7 is for the Holy Spirit

1356 words long.

Published on 2024-03-09

The Fourth Most Common Number

Seven (paired with the related word seventh) is the fourth most commonly occurring number in the Bible, after one, two, and three. As such, it serves many purposes. Here are some of them:

completeness in time
extremity in degree
the creation
material purity
spiritual holiness
devotion
consecration
omnipresence
the Holy Spirit

Some Bible books that use seven often are (in descending frequency):

Leviticus
Revelation
Genesis
Numbers
1&2 Chronicles
Exodus
Ezekiel

As you can see, the Pentateuch makes significant use of the number. Some magnificent sevens:

Leviticus regulates holy living, the consecrating of priests, the treatment for skin disease and the keeping of feasts which lasted seven days.
Genesis describes the creation in seven days and the purification of the world by the flood, which began seven days after God's final announcement.
Numbers speaks of the seven lamps in the tabernacle.
Joshua tells of the fall of Jericho, dedicated to destruction after the people marched around the city for seven days.
Isaiah does not use the number seven, but instead lists the seven spirits of God.
Psalms applies the purity to God's words, saying:

The words of the Lord are pure words,

like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,

purified seven times.

- Psalm 12:6

The Seven Spirits of God

The last mentions of the number seven in the Old Testament may be the most profound. They are found in the words of Zechariah.

¹ And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. ² And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. ³ And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” ⁴ And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵ Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” ⁶ Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. ⁷ Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. ¹⁰ For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.

“These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.”

- Zechariah 4:1-10

The omnipresence of God, whose eyes go out into all the earth is taken up by John with similar language in Revelation.

And between the throne and the four living creatures

and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing,

as though it had been slain,

with seven horns and with seven eyes,

which are the seven spirits of God

sent out into all the earth.

- Revelation 5:6

So Zechariah speaks of the seven eyes of the Lord, while John says it is the Lamb who has seven eyes and then says that they are the seven spirits of God. What Zechariah and John number, Isaiah lists, when he tells us the names of all seven spirits:

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—

the Spirit of wisdom

and of understanding,

the Spirit of counsel

and of might,

the Spirit of the knowledge

and fear of the LORD—

and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,

or decide by what he hears with his ears;

- Isaiah 11:1-3, NIV

The names of these spirits are vital. Each spirit matches one of the seven pillars of wisdom to illuminate it.

Psalm 7

In Plague, Precept, Prophet, Peace, I showed that some psalms supply the spiritual meaning for the number associated with that Psalm. This is true for Psalm 7 and the number seven. The Psalm speaks of the Holy Spirit. Here is some of what was said about this psalm in the chapter "Selah: Stop, Entreat, Listen, Apply, Hear":

Psalm 7 speaks of judgment executed with sword and bow. This calls to mind the Great Flood. After the flood, God “hung up is bow” symbolically, by the sign of the rainbow. The flood began on the 17th day of the second month and ended when the Ark ran aground on the 17th day of the seventh month. By this token the number 17 symbolizes victory, for God was victorious over mankind. Psalm 7 has seventeen verses. Since the flood used water to wash away man’s evil, it symbolizes baptism by the Holy Spirit.

There is also a negative reference to the Holy Spirit. One ministry of the Holy Spirit is to act as midwife, as illustrated by Elihu’s role in Job. Psalm 7 speaks of the midwifery of the wicked:

Behold, the wicked man conceives evil

and is pregnant with mischief

and gives birth to lies.

- Psalm 7:14, ESV

We do NOT want THAT midwife, which brings death. No, we want a midwife that brings life...

Seven brings Life

The number seven brings life. Many natural biological processes occur over timespans that are multiples of seven days. An article by Michael Hunt shows how the gestational periods of animals follow this pattern:

mouse: 21 days (3 x 7)
cat: 56 days (8 x 7)
sheep: 147 days (21 x 7)
hare & rat: 28 days (4x7)
dog: 63 days (9 x 7)
hen: 21 days (3 x 7)
humans: 280 days (40 x 7)
lion: 98 days (14 x 7)
duck: days 42 (6 x 7)

Hunt, Michael. “The Significance of Numbers in Scripture”, Agape Bible Study, 2012.

This even affects the beating of the human heart, as Arnie Gotfryd shares in “The Biological Shabbat Clock”. Every seven days many of our bodily processes change, including:

lower blood pressure
slower heart rate
altered blood chemistry
lower body temperature
reduced kidney function
slower tooth development
altered urine chemistry and volume
reduced stress hormones
changes to neurotransmitters
more aggressive immune system response

Gotfryd, Arnie. “The Biological Shabbat Clock”. chanda.org, 2011.

This explains factors related to disease, such as:

why colds usually last a week,
why chicken pox symptoms appear after fourteen days,
why the chance of kidney transplant rejection ticks up every seven days after the operation,
why the incubation period for other diseases – including Covid-19 – is also seven or fourteen days.

By resting, our body is prepared for the fight and signals that it is combatting disease show up. This tells us that biologically, our birth, our life, and in the case of disease, even our death, are all governed by the weekly rhythms. In Revelation, its sevens tell us that spiritually, our judgment by God is also governed by sevens.

During creation week, the seventh day is the day of rest, the day of peace. If seven indicates the completion of a process, may the completion of our days also end in peace.

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