How Can an Angel Say Such Things?

Judges 2:1
The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you,

The identity of the Angel of the LORD in the Old Testament has been intriguing for many Bible students. The reference that it is an Angel of the LORD causes some to quickly conclude that it is just any other angel. But a closer study of all incidences involving the Angel of the LORD starts revealing that we are not dealing with any ordinary angel.

In our text today, the Angel of the LORD claims to be the Saviour who brought Israelites from Egypt and led them to the promised land. The words used by the Angel of the LORD are the very words that God uses while addressing Israelites at Mount Sinai, Exodus 20:1-2.

The words that the Angel of the LORD uses in our text today are either blasphemy or the Angel of the LORD is God Himself. It is blasphemy to equate yourself with God if you are not God. It is blasphemy to speak and behave as if you are God when you are not. How can an angel speak like he saved Israelites yet it was God who saved Israelites? Since it is not blasphemy, the Angel of the Lord must be God!

Revelation 19:10
At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”

Revelation 22:8-9
(8) I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. (9) But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”

The incidences above from the book of Revelation show that angels don’t accept to be worshipped. Angels have great reverence for God and would not speak or act in a manner that they would be misunderstood to be God. Therefore, since the Bible does not contradict itself, the Angel of the LORD must be more than an Angel. The Angel of the LORD is God!

Exodus 3:2-4
(2) There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. (3) So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
(4) When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”

The Exodus passage reveals that The term angel of the LORD is interchangeable with God Himself. It begins by saying the burning bush was caused by the Angel of the LORD who is later referred to as God a few sentences later. the Angel of the LORD is God Himself!

The Angel of the LORD is not a fourth member of the God head. The Angel of the LORd is not in addition to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. It is generally agreed from interpretation that the Angel of the LORD is a reference to God the Son. The Angel of the LORD is a Saviour. God the Son is God our Saviour!

It is out of reverence for God that such daily powerful reminders were placed all over the life of Israelites. They revered God so much that they did not call God’s name. Out of respect the name of God was written in capital letters with incomplete spellings. When LORD is used it means orginally what was there was JEHOVAH, but out of respect they cant use it. Out of respect for God , they referred to the activities done by God as those done by the Angel of the LORD.

When the presence of God is significant then reverence for Him is a daily activity. A continous reminder of the presence of God is equivalent to living in the presence of God. May our lives glow and grow as we live in a constant environment of reverence for God, in Jesus’ name, Amen!

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