2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
As you know, I have written you my opinion (one shared with many others) that Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are very present all over the OT. It is also understood that God is one God in three persons. So, when asking the question: Who is God? it is very appropriate to include all three persons of the Trinity in this discussion. This morning, the Lord directs me to look at His word to see how He manifests Himself as the “Angel of the Lord.” Things have always been less defined in the OT. I feel that has to do with God’s system of gradual revelation of His truths as He feels we are ready for them. Christians and Jewish believers in Christ certainly see the OT as a foreshadowing of the NT. So, with that in mind, let’s follow God’s command to look at some Scriptures where He can be found as the “Angel of the Lord.”
GN 16 tells the story of the trouble between Abram’s wife, Sarai, and Egyptian slave girl, Hagar. After ten years in Canaan, Sarai was unable to get pregnant. Sarai and Abram agreed that he should sleep with Hagar to impregnate her. This happened, and Hagar became pregnant. Afterward, the trouble between Sarai and Hagar began. Sarai treated Hagar cruelly, and Hagar ran away. GN 16: 7-13, “The Angel of the Lord met Hagar at a spring in the desert on the road to Shur and said, ‘Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?’ She answered, ‘I am running away from my mistress.’ He said, ‘Go back to her and be her slave.’ Then He said, ‘I will give you so many descendants that no one will be able to count them. You are going to have a son, and you will name him Ishmael [which means “God hears” in Hebrew], because the Lord has heard your cry of distress. But your son will live like a wild donkey; he will live apart from all his relatives.’ Hagar asked herself, ‘Have I really seen God and lived to tell about it.’ So she called the Lord Who had spoken to her, ‘A God Who Sees.’ “ It is clear from this citation that this is no ordinary angel, as no angel could have made the promise of a nation to come from this baby that was made here. We know from GN 16: 15, that Hagar did bore Abram a son, called Ishmael. We also know that Ishmael, referred to as the “child of the flesh” as opposed to Abram’s son with Sarai born 13 years later-Isaac-who is referred to as the “child of the promise.” It is from Ishmael’s line that the Arab nations arose. It was from Isaac’s line that Israel, God’s chosen people, arose.
The Angel of the Lord appears again in GN 22, the story of how God tested Abraham’s faith by commanding him to sacrifice Isaac. Here is a beautiful example of God giving a person an assignment that is impossible for the person to understand. This story is particularly powerful because it not only demonstrates God’s compassion for those willing to accept an assignment they don’t understand and show courage of faith, but it foreshadows God’s own sacrifice of His only Son on the cross. As you know, Abraham obeyed God by tying Isaac up and placing him on the altar. Just before Abraham carries out the sacrifice, the Angel of the Lord intervenes. GN 22: 11-18, “But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven. ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ He answered, ‘Here I am.’ ‘Do not hurt the boy or do anything to him,’ the Angel answered. ‘Now I know that you have obedient reverence for God, because you have not kept back your only son from Him.’ Abraham looked around and saw a ram caught in a bush by it’s horns. He went and got it and offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son. Abraham named that place ‘The Lord Provides.’ The Angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time, ‘I make a vow by My own name-the Lord is speaking-that I will richly bless you. Because you did this and did not keep back your only son from Me, I promise that I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand along the seashore. Your descendants will conquer their enemies. All the nations will ask Me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants-all because you obeyed My command.”
There are some very interesting uses of language here. If we look at (12), we can see God is referred to in the third person, “Now I know that you have obedient reverence for God, because you have not kept back your only son from Him.” That might indicate that it is Jesus speaking from heaven at this point. Yet, in (16) and (18) the voice being heard by Abraham is clearly God speaking. Not only is that said in (16), but only God can make the promise of many descendants for Abraham that is made here. That kind of presentation reveals a secret that at the time when largely unnoticed. That secret is discussed by Christ much later in JN 14: 9 & 11, “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father…Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.” When we read the word of God, we can look at it as giving God the opportunity to reveal to us Who He really is.
I can see that I have hardly scratched the surface of the wonderful ways that God reveals Himself as the Angel of the Lord. So with your permission, I will keep writing as God directs me on this subject, sharing these wonderful citations with you. If you are wondering why is it important for me to read messages on this subject, please understand that everything we are and everything we have comes from God. He wants us to know Him, not just as an academic exercise, but as a real and living presence in our lives. No matter how many times He leads me back to certain citations I’ve read before, it is because He has something new to reveal to me and those who read what I write. So, Dear Ones, I place myself in His hands and invite you to come along for the ride on which He plans to take us. Never be bored at hearing over and over again the message that God loves us. When our troubles beset us, it’s a message too easy to forget.
PRAYER: O Lord, in so many ways, You have revealed Yourself to us through Your word. Some of these ways, particularly in the OT which was written before You chose to reveal many of the mysteries that we now know, we find subtle ways You have shown us Yourself like the ones You directed me to discuss today. It never ceases to amaze one, with the human limitations of perspective that I have, how You make the truth of Your identity known to the unfaithful, like Hagar. She hadn’t accepted You as her one and only God, yet she knew Who You were when You spoke to her. We must also understand that the faith we have comes from You. How remarkable is the courage of faith that Abraham showed! You blessed Him abundantly, just as You bless anyone in proportion to his faith in You. Through these two stores, You have demonstrated that You have compassion for mankind, You are consistent, You attempt to direct even those who are not committed to You on a path of righteousness, and You keep Your promises. For those of us blessed to live in a time when You have revealed so many of Your secrets, such as the identity and existence of the Trinity, You allow us to go back to the OT and see it’s presence there. These are the acts of an Abba Who loves His children beyond measure. In humility, we offer You adoration, worship, praise, trust, obedience, loyalty, glory, honor, and thanks. In the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Tomorrow, we will follow the path the Lord directs and look at more citations on the Angel of the Lord. In that way, we can open our hearts to our Father and let Him reveal His most gracious and perfect Self to us. In the meanwhile, never forget that He eagerly awaits the times when we seek Him out. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn