The Angel of the Lord

Understanding the Messiah From Images in the Hebrew Scriptures

by Howard Morgan, D. Min.

There is a very mysterious and unique person who frequently appears in the Hebrew Scriptures. This person is called "the Angel of the Lord," or more literally translated "the Angel of Jehovah." The Hebrew word for angel is "mal’ak" which means a messenger or one who is dispatched as a deputy. As we study this unique person in the Scriptures we see that although he is the messenger of Jehovah, he acts, speaks and is often referred to as Jehovah Himself. The revelation the Hebrew Scriptures declare about the Angel of the Lord gives us insight into the true nature of God. Jehovah acts and speaks as God, and the Angel of the Lord acts and speaks as God.

The first mention of the Angel of the Lord is in Genesis 16:7-13. In this passage we find Hagar, Sarai’s handmaiden, wandering exhausted in the wilderness having been cast out of the home she shared with Sarai and Abram. This rejected woman meets the Angel of the Lord by a spring of water, where he makes her a promise and gives her a prophecy. The Angel promises to multiply her descendants. Who has power and authority to make such a promise? Then the Angel prophesies to her. He proclaims that she will have a son and that she should call him "Ishmael" (God will hear). Hagar speaks to the Angel and addresses him as Jehovah. Verse 13 says that Hagar "called the name of Jehovah who spoke to her." She said to the Angel, "You are a God who sees." In Hebrew she calls the angel El Roi. El is God, and Roi is "the seeing one." In other words, she said to the Angel of the Lord, you are "Jehovah, the God who sees."

In this first manifestation of the Angel of the Lord we see that He is recognized as Jehovah, He is called God, He declares the future, and He makes promises that only God Himself can fulfill. The Angel of the Lord is none other than the Lord God Jehovah Himself.

With each successive appearance of the Angel of the Lord we gain more insight into exactly who He is. His next appearance is in Genesis 22. In verse 2, Abraham is told by the Lord to take his son up to Mount Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice. In obedience to the word of the Lord, Abraham ascends the mountain, builds an altar, binds Isaac upon it, lifts his knife and is about to slay his son, when the Angel of the Lord calls out to him, "Abraham, Abraham, do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him, for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." We must understand that it was Jehovah who gave Abraham the command to sacrifice his son. Genesis 22:1 says that God was testing Abraham. Now it is the Angel of the Lord who says, "Now I know you fear God, for you have not withheld your son from ME."

Now look at verses 15 thru 18. Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, "By Myself I have sworn, declares Jehovah, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." Pay close attention to how the Angel of the Lord speaks about himself. He declares Himself to be Jehovah. It is the Angel of the Lord who said "By Myself I have sworn, declares Jehovah . . . I will greatly bless you and I will greatly multiply your seed, because you have obeyed My voice." Whose voice? The voice of the Angel of the Lord. The Angel of the Lord is Jehovah.

As we continue in our study we find that Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, had his own encounter with the Angel of the Lord. In order to understand this encounter, we have to compare Genesis 28:13 with Genesis 31:11-13. In Genesis 28:13 Jacob had a dream while sleeping upon a rock. In the dream he saw, "A ladder set on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God ascending and descending on it. Jehovah stood above it and said, "I am Jehovah, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. And the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants." Then Jehovah said the same thing the Angel of the Lord said to Abraham about their descendants. When Jacob awoke, he said, "Surely Jehovah is in this place, and I did not know it." He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God (Beth El), and this is the gate of heaven."

Keep in mind that in verse 13 it is Jehovah who stood above the ladder and identified Himself as Jehovah. Turn now to Genesis 31:11-13. Jacob is testifying to his wives about a different dream that he had. In this dream the Angel of the Lord speaks to him and says in verse 13, ". . . I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. . ." In Genesis 28:13, the God of Bethel identifies Himself as "Jehovah," and now in this dream the Angel of the Lord says, "I am the God of Bethel . . ." Again we see the Angel of the Lord identifying himself as Jehovah.

In Genesis 32:24-31, we read the famous story of Jacob wrestling with a "man" all night long. This man changes Jacob’s name to Israel, and Jacob seeks His blessing. Jacob calls the place where they wrestled "Peniel" (the face of God), because he said, "I have seen God face to face yet my life was preserved." Jacob understood that the "man" he wrestled with was "God." God was manifesting Himself in such a way that Jacob could both wrestle with Him and also understand that the one whom he wrestled was in fact God manifesting Himself as a man. This was why Jacob wanted to learn his name. "Who are you really?" was what Jacob wanted to know. The man did not tell Jacob his name, but he blessed him. That encounter convinced Jacob that he had in fact seen God face to face and had survived.

In Genesis 48, Jacob blesses his children just before his death. In verse 15 he says, ". . . the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, and may my name live on in them." In this one sentence, Jacob clearly shows his understanding that the Angel of the Lord and God are one. In this prayer he asks that the God who

has been his shepherd and the Angel who has redeemed him from evil bless his children. He understood the divine nature and power of the Angel that had so dramatically impacted his life. Because of that understanding he wanted to make sure that this Angel was called upon to bless his children.

Perhaps the most profound revelation we have about the nature and person of the Angel of the Lord is found in the famous story of Moses and the burning bush recorded in Exodus 3:2-6. Pay close attention to who is speaking. In verse 2 we read, "Now Moses was pasturing a flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush. And he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, ‘I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.’ And when Jehovah saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, ‘Moses! Moses!’ "

Verse 2 says the Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a blazing fire from the midst of the bush, yet verse 4 says that God called to Moses from the midst of the bush. Here again we see that the Angel of the Lord is none other than God Himself. As we continue to read in verse 7, Jehovah says, "I have surely seen your affliction." In verse 11, "Moses said to God . . ." In verse 12, "God said to Moses . . ." In verse 14, God identifies Himself and tells Moses to tell the people that "I AM has sent me to you." In verse 16, God tells Moses to tell the elders that Jehovah has appeared to him. All of this reflects back to verse 3, where we are told that it was the Angel of the Lord who appeared to Moses in the burning bush. The Angel who speaks out of the burning bush speaks as Jehovah Himself. The Scripture clearly teaches us that this Angel is God. We read about Jehovah and we read about the Angel of Jehovah, yet the clear revelation of the Hebrew Scriptures is that this Angel is in fact Jehovah God Himself. Whenever this Angel speaks or acts, He does so as Jehovah, as God.

Read Exodus 13:21: "And Jehovah was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. Jehovah was before them in a pillar of cloud by day, and He was in a pillar of fire by night." Who was in the pillar? Jehovah. Look now at Exodus 14:19-20. "And the Angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. And it came about at the morning watch that the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion." Who was inside the pillar? The Angel of the Lord and Jehovah. We clearly see the plurality of God. One God in two manifestations. Jehovah speaks and acts as God; the Angel of the Lord speaks and acts as God. Both of them speak as God, both of them speak with the authority of God, both of them demonstrate the fact that they are God.

In Numbers 22, we read of the pagan prophet Balaam and his donkey. He was bribed by the Moabite king Balak to curse Israel. It was the Angel of the Lord who prevented him from doing so. In verse 35, we read that the Angel of the Lord said to him, "Go with the men, but you shall speak only the word which I shall tell you." Balaam, understanding who spoke to him, said in verse 38, ". . . am I able to speak anything at all? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I will speak." He knew that the Angel speaking to him was God Himself.

In Judges 2:1-5, the Angel of the Lord speaks of himself in very profound terms. Again, pay special attention to who is speaking. "Now the Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, ‘I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, and as for you, you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars. But you have not obeyed Me; what is this you have done?’ Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall become as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’ And it came about when the Angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept. So they named that place Bochim; and there they sacrificed to the Lord."

Who brought the children of Israel out of Egypt? Who led them into the land? Who swore to their fathers? Who promised to never break His covenant with them? Who did they disobey? Certainly the answer to all of these questions is the Lord God Almighty, Jehovah Himself. Yet here the Angel of the Lord is declaring that He did all of these things! Here again, in a very profound way, we see that the Angel of the Lord is none other than Jehovah Himself. He is God!

In Gideon’s encounter with the Angel of the Lord (Judges 6:11-21), the Angel again speaks as God Himself. The Scripture, in referring to the Angel of the Lord as he speaks to Gideon, says that it is Jehovah who is speaking. (The Angel is sitting under a tree talking to Gideon, an interesting way for him to speak to fearful Gideon. Was he trying to make Gideon more comfortable because he was such a timid person?) Verse 14 says, "Jehovah looked at him and said . . ." Verse 16 says, "Jehovah said to him . . ." The Angel of the Lord looks and speaks, but the Bible says that it is Jehovah who is looking and speaking.

The Angel of the Lord appeared many times in ancient Israel. In 1 Kings, chapter 19, we see the Angel of the Lord giving direction to the prophet. In 1 Chronicles 21:18, He commands David to build an altar. In 2 Samuel 24, a plague is brought upon the nation of Israel because of David’s sin of taking a census. The Angel of the Lord is about to destroy Jerusalem when Jehovah calls to Him to stop. God gives David a chance to repent and offer a sacrifice. When he does, the plague ends. In 2 Kings 19:35, the Angel destroys 185,000 Assyrians in one night. In Zechariah 1:12, we see the Angel of the Lord interceding in prayer for Jerusalem. In Judges 13, the Angel appeared as a man and prophesied to Samson’s parents about his birth and life.

In commenting about "Lo, in the volume of the Book it is written of Me" (Psalm 40:7), the book of Hebrews (10:7) tells us that that verse is speaking about Jesus. As we study the New Testament revelation about the Person of the Lord Jesus, I believe we can clearly draw the conclusion that the various manifestations of the Angel of the Lord were theophanies or Christophanies–that is, pre-incarnational manifestations of the Lord Jesus.

We can see the parallels between Jesus and the Angel of the Lord. For example in John 8:58, when speaking about Himself to the Jewish leaders Jesus said, "Before Abraham was I AM." By using that exact expression Jesus made reference to the revelation God gave about Himself to Moses in the burning bush. As we saw earlier, the one who appeared to Moses and called Himself the "I AM" was the Angel of the Lord. By making this statement, Jesus was clearly declaring that he was the "I AM." The Jewish leaders understood that this is what Jesus meant, and they wanted to stone him.

Jesus was identifying Himself as the Angel of the Lord. The Angel was the one sent by God yet was God Himself. He was the one sent by God, yet with the power and the authority to act and speak as God. The Angel of the Lord expressed and demonstrated His deity, so did the Lord Jesus during his earthly ministry. When Jesus said, "The Father and I are one" (John 10:30), He was not creating a new theological doctrine about His own divine nature or the nature of God. He was speaking about concepts the Jewish Bible scholars of His day had read and studied in their own Holy Scriptures. Even though they had not interpreted their Scriptures to teach the concept of a divine Messiah appearing in human form, they had in fact read about it in their Bible. They just never understood it in the way Jesus, and then the Apostles, acknowledged it. This was why Jesus told them in John 5:39, "You study the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, but it is they that testify of me!" What an awesome statement for Jesus to make about himself. He declared that the Holy Torah, Prophets, and Psalms all give evidence about, and bear witness to Him.

In Luke 24:13 we read about Jesus testifying to two forlorn disciples on the road to Emmaus. In verse 26 Jesus said to them, "Ought not the Messiah to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." This is why the writer of the Book of Hebrews quotes Psalm 40:7, in declaring that all of the Hebrew Scriptures are written about Jesus.

As we study the unique person of the Angel of the Lord, we gain insight into God who reveals Himself to us in the pages of the Hebrew Bible. The Angel of the Lord shows us aspects of the true nature of the God of Israel. As we study the New Testament teachings about Messiah Jesus, we can understand that He really is Emmanuel, God With Us (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23). Our faith is greatly strengthened when we come to the realization that the continual unfolding of revelation in the pages of the Bible brings us an exalted vision of Jesus. We can see why the New Testament refers to Him as the Lord Jesus. As we see Him described in the pages of the Old Testament, our faith in the writings of the New Testament increases. We realize that what Jesus said about Himself–and, indeed, what the Apostles wrote about Him–is squarely founded on the revelation that God gave centuries earlier. Truly we can see that, "in the volume of the Hebrew Scriptures" it is written of Jesus, because they testify of Him. Who is this mysterious person, the Angel of the Lord? None other than the Messiah of Israel, the Lord Jesus Himself!

Dr Howard Morgan is an internationlly recognized Bible teacher whose inspiring, equipping, and prophetic ministry has impacted the lives of believers around the world, empowering their spiritual lives. His popular seminars on the Jewish roots of Christain faith have helped believers understand their own Hebrew heritage and their biblical responsibility in relationship to the Jewish people. Howard, his wife Janet and their daughers Briana, Melanie, and Tiffany, live in Atlanta, Georgia. His website is http://www.HowardMorganMinistries.org

For a free catalogue of booklets and audio and video teaching tapes write: Howard Morgan Ministries, P. O. Box 956486, Duluth, GA 30095 or phone 770-734-0044. Dr. Morgan is available for lectures, seminars, and other teaching series.

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