Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life
Bible Reading Plans
- Plan One: New Testament Only
- Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
- Plan Three: New Testament + History
- Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3
Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.
Extras
Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute
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Christ Is God
[Special Note to Readers: I apologize for yesterday’s chapter. There’s nothing wrong with its content per se. It’s just that I’ve come to realize that I presented some of its material out of the order I’ve been trying to follow in the book – which is the order in which the Bible reveals things. Specifically, I got into what I’ll call the “God>Man>God and angels” issue prematurely. I should do that only once we’ve gotten to the Second Coming revelations. That will be in about a week. In the meantime, I should just stay focused on the angel of the Lord in the Old Testament issue. Try to block out any confusion I may have created yesterday. When I do get to that issue, the particulars should be clearer. Thanks.]
Chapter 23 – The Angel of the Lord Was Unique
Here are some characteristics that made the angel of the Lord different from all other angels:
The angel of the Lord appears, but then speaks as the Lord Himself.
Consider what happened with Moses at the burning bush.
Exodus 3:2 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.
Exodus 3:3 So Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.”
Exodus 3:4 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.”
The angel of the Lord bears God’s Name.
Exodus 23:20 “Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
Exodus 23:21 “Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in him.
The angel of the Lord can forgive, or refuse to forgive, sins.
Notice in the Exodus 23 passage above that the angel of the Lord had the authority to forgive or not forgive.
The angel of the Lord makes places holy by his presence.
From the burning bush, the angel of the Lord told Moses to remove his sandals…and why.
Exodus 3:5 Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
The angel of the Lord does not refuse worship.
In contrast to the Exodus 3:5 instruction above, angels are expected to decline worship since they are creatures like us. See the passage below. Even when the apostle John feels compelled to worship, the angel won’t let him.
Revelation 22:8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
Revelation 22:9 But he said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.”
Seeing the angel of the Lord was seeing the Lord.
Judges 13:21 Now the angel of the LORD did not appear to Manoah or his wife again. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD.
Judges 13:22 So Manoah said to his wife, “We will surely die, for we have seen God.”
And these are only some of the ways in which the angel of the Lord could be distinguished from all other angels. The angel of the Lord was utterly unique – positioned between God and all other beings, both angelic and human. Could there have been a more fitting Old Testament position for Jesus? Could any other heavenly figure have handled this role? The answer is a hearty “No!” to both questions.
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