JESUS - Angel Of The LORD

We're taking a quick walk through some of the Biblical teachings about angels and the rebel angels known as demons. Today we go a little further into the narrative.

After the serpent in the garden the next angel we come upon may not be an angel at all. He is called the angel of the LORD. He shows himself to Hagar, the Egyptian servant woman Sarai gave to Abram when it seemed Sarai herself was unable to conceive. But then when Hagar became pregnant, Sarai couldn't deal with it and insisted that Abram get rid of her.

But Abram said to Sarai, "Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please." Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her. 

The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" 

She said, "I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai." 

The angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress and submit to her." The angel of the LORD also said to her, "I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude." And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has listened to your affliction. He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen." 

So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You are a God of seeing," for she said, "Truly here I have seen him who looks after me." Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered. - Gen 16:3-16 ESV

Did you catch it? "So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, 'You are a God of seeing' . . . I have seen him who looks after me." Did she mean that the angel was the LORD? It sure sounds like it.

The next time we encounter this mysterious angel of the LORD is at the very moment that Abraham is about to slaughter his son Isaac in obedience to the LORD.

But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I."  

He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." 

And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, "The LORD will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."  

And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, "By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." - Gen 22:1-18 ESV

There it is again, "By myself I have sworn . . .I will surely bless you . . ." What's an angel doing swearing by himself and blessing? Only the LORD may so speak and do.

And then we have Jacob. After successful marriages to Rachel and Leah and becoming a wealthy man, he headed back to where he had grown up, knowing he would have to deal with his estranged brother Esau. The night before the two brothers met Jacob had a wrestling match with some strange man all through the night. In the morning the man who wouldn't reveal his name left Jacob with his hip out of joint and a blessing that only the LORD could give—a new name, Israel (the one who wrestled with God). Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying,

"For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered." - Gen 32:30 ESV

And so it goes, again and again and again in the Old Testament. The angel of the LORD occurs 56 times and the angel of God occurs 10 times. He appears to Abraham, Hagar, Isaac, Jacob, Manoah and his wife, Moses, Joshua and many others.

Jewish Rabbis have long been puzzled by this. Since they deny the deity of Christ Jesus they are forced to conclude that the angel of the LORD is probably Michael, the chief or arch-angel. But Christians from early on have taken the angel of the LORD to be none other than the second Person of the Holy Trinity, through whom all things were created and who came once and for all to unite Himself with all mankind as Jesus, Son of Mary and Son of God (John 1:1-14). 

In other words, the angel of the LORD was the LORD Himself, the One whose name was and is so revered that Israel of old would not speak it. Instead of putting vowels to the four-lettered name by which He revealed Himself to Moses, YHWH, they would speak only the name that now appears in English translations, the LORD. The Apostle Paul clears up the mystery quite succinctly. 

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is LORD and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. - Rom 10:9 ESV 

Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is LORD" except in the Holy Spirit. - 1Cor 12:3 ESV 

 Christians from New Testament times to the present believe the Word. Across the ages, from Adam to Abraham, Moses and on to the present, God was at work in Christ. Through His mysterious and wondrous plan He reconciled the world to Himself (2 Cor. 5:14-21). The Angel of the LORD was none other than the God of the Covenant, the One we now identify as YAHWEH, the name above all others, YAHWEH SAVIOR (Jesus). And now, at the name JESUS every knee in heaven, on earth and under the earth must bow in obedience and love and "every tongue confess that Jesus MESSIAH (Christ) is LORD, to the glory of God the Father." - Phil. 2:5-11 ESV

We'll look some more at angels next time. If you're interested in an in depth look at the whole question of angels, check into the following resources:

• The Lutheran Difference: Angels and Demons by Armand Boehme - their beginning, who and what they are, their ranks and number and what they do.
• All About Angels by Jill Hartman - an informative look at the biblical teachings about these servants and messengers of God, with an emphasis on how His grace and providence are demonstrated through these beings.
• This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness by Frank Peretti - two novels about angels and demons at work in a small town, based in part upon Ephesians 6:10-20.
• The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis - letters between a senior demon and his junior 

apprentice, dealing with moral questions about evil, temptation, repentance and grace.