DISCOVER BIBLE | THE ANGEL OF THE LORD

1. Introduction 

a) The Bible is full of wonderful stories and special truth. What we want to do is to discover the Bible.  

b) Psalm 119:11 says, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You." 

c) Nurture and grow your understanding of the Bible as you read and discover the Bible.  

2. The Angle of the Lord

a) In Genesis 16:7, 21:17-18, etc., we are introduced to a very important phrase: "The Angel of the Lord.' A careful study of the term reveals it to be God Himself, in bodily form, relating personally to men. this is called a THEOPHANY. 

Genesis 16:7 New International Version (NIV) 

⁷ The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 

Genesis 21:17-18 New International Version (NIV) 

¹⁷ God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. ¹⁸ Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

b) Carefully study Genesis 16:9-13: 

Genesis 16:9-13 New International Version (NIV) 

⁹ Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” ¹⁰ The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”

¹¹ The angel of the Lord also said to her:

“You are now pregnant
    and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,
    for the Lord has heard of your misery.
¹² He will be a wild donkey of a man;
    his hand will be against everyone
    and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
    toward all his brothers.”

¹³ She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” 

i) Verse 10: Only God could make such a statement!

ii) Verses 11-12: Only God could make such a forecast!

iii) Verse 13: The "Angel of the Lord' was identified by Hagar as God Himself.

c) In Genesis 18, we again see God in human form, as one of "three men" (Genesis 18:2, 13, 14, 33).

d) In Genesis 22:11 and 15, the "Angel of the Lord" calls to Abraham from heaven.

e) See also 

i) Genesis 31:11, 13;  

Genesis 31:11 New International Version (NIV) 

¹¹ The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 

Genesis 31:13 New International Version (NIV) 

¹³ I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.’”

ii) Exodus 3:2, 4; 

Exodus 32:2 New International Version (NIV) 

² Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 

Exodus 32:4 New International Version (NIV) 

⁴ He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” 

iii) Joshua 5:13-15 and 6:2; 

Joshua 5:13-15 New International Version (NIV) 

¹³ Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

¹⁴ “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”

¹⁵ The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. 

Joshua 6:2 New International Version (NIV) 

² Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.

iv) Zechariah 1:10-13 and 3:1-2. 

Zechariah 1:10-13 New International Version (NIV) 

¹⁰ Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth.”

¹¹ And they reported to the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace.”

¹² Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?” ¹³ So the Lord spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me. 

Zechariah 3:1-2 New International Version (NIV) 

3 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. ² The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”

f) In Exodus 32:34 and 33:14, along with Isaiah 63:9, the presence of the Angel of the Lord is equivalent to Jehovah's presence. The Angel of the Lord thus appears as a manifestation of Jehovah Himself.

g) Perhaps this will help you understand more clearly all Jesus meant when He said, "Before Abraham was, I AM (in Hebrew, the letters for the world JHWH).

h) Some Bible scholars thus consider THE ANGEL OF JHWH to be none other than the pre-incarnate Christ, Who is the "Word" described as being "in the beginning" (John 1:1). 

John 1:1 New International Version (NIV) 

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.