Messianic Thread - Angel of the Lord

A Divine Personage in the O.T.

Bible Passages: Gen Ge 16:7–14, Jdg 6:11–32, Ex 3:1–6, Jdg 13:1–7, Nu 22:22–35, Ge 22:11–19, Zec 3:1–10, Zec 3:1–5, Ge 31:11–13, Ex 14:19–20, Ge 32:24–32, Isa 63:9

1. In the Cool of the Day

Genesis 3:8 “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”

Premise that Jesus the preincarnate Christ was manifested many times in the O.T..

Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelation 22:13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.””

Isaiah 44:6 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.”

Jesus was incarnated at the first advent, but He was from the beginning. He also has had an active role in the dealings with creation of everything. Psalm 90:2 “Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.”

Since no man has seen God and lived (Ex 33:20), Jesus came in the form of a man and declared the Father John 1:18 “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” Jesus as the preincarnate member of the Trinity had a very important role in relation to the people of the Old Testament.

Jesus has had many appearances in the O.T., today we would like to introduce the subject of Jesus as the Angel of the Lord.

We use the term Theophany for an appearance of God in the Bible, this can take many forms. The term Christophany describes an appearance of Jesus in bodily form before His incarnation.

For an example look at the scene in Gen 3:8 when the Lord God walked in the garden, as was His custom (it was not unexpected He did it often), He looked for Adam and Eve, He talked with them as Lord, and presented the plan for redemption and the beginning of the Messianic Thread (Gen 3:15).

‘Angel’ in Hebrew is the word מַלְאָךְ malʾāḵ - it means messenger. The Angel of the Lord is then a messenger. Let’s observe what is the message He delivers in His various appearances.

1. Hope in Hagar's Helplessness - The Encourager

Genesis 16:7–14 “7 Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” 9 The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” 10 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” 11 And the Angel of the Lord said to her: “Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the Lord has heard your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” 13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.”

Hagar had ‘seen the God Who sees her’. She directly refers to the Angel of the Lord as God or YHWH. This is the first mention of “the Angel of the Lord”. It is interesting that God is very active here (Jesus handles it personally) because of the covenant that He had made with Abraham. This episode speaks of the fact that God is working among all people. Hagar had been treated despicably and God wanted her to know that He hears not just His chosen ones, but everyone.

Abraham and Sarah had presumed to conceive and have God’s promised child before God’s perfect time. God still honored the life that was created, Ishmael, and Hagar, who had been vilified. Moral - wait on God.

Ge 48:15-16 Abraham calls the Angel - God (The Redeemer). “:15 b The God who has fed me all my life long to this day, 16a The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil”

2. The Angel, The Sacrifice, The Ram - The Substitute

Genesis 22:11–19 “11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” 12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns.”

The Angel of the Lord intervened in Abraham's test (sacrificing the son of promise), revealing a God who provides and ultimately points to Christ's provision for our salvation. The Angel showed the substitutionary aspect of the ram as a type of Christ's sacrifice.

3. Moses' Sacred Encounter - The Commissioner

Exodus 3:1–6 “1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” 4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” 6 Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.”

Moses was being called to be a deliverer for Israel. He gets his commission here on holy ground in the presence of the Angel of the Lord.

4. Gideon's Divine Empowerment - The Empowerer

Judges 6:11–12 “11 Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!””

At a time when Israel needed a leader, God again personally oversees the calling of His judge. Gideon was encouraged and strengthened by the Angel of the Lord. He is the example of the believer who is found, encouraged, empowered and directed by the Lord.

5. Joshua's New Robes - The Savior / Sanctifier

Zechariah 3:1–5 “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. 4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” 5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.”

In conclusion we look at the Angel of the Lord’s interaction with Joshua the high priest. It pictures the work of Christ as the Atoner for sin. A defender of the saved sinner. As the Redeemer and Sanctifier. The assurance we have as Christians in our Redeemer is all through the O.T. if we look.

Other Verses:

YHWH and two angels

Genesis 18:20–23 “20 And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” 22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” from 50 to 10 righteous people (not found)

Genesis 11:5 “5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.” Inspected the tower of Babel before confusing their languages

Angel of the Lord and Balaam

Numbers 22:22 “22 Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.”

compare :35 and :38 Words of Angel of Lord are words of God

Numbers 22:35 “35 Then the Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.”

Numbers 22:38 “38 And Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak.””