Who Was The Angel of the Lord in The Bible?

Did you know The Angel of the Lord was God’s Advocate?

The Angel of the Lord is a very special angel. He acts as God’s advocate. He conveys God’s message to the people and goes only on very special occasions while other angels go and deliver the message of God on common occasions and in different situations.

Introduction

The Angel of the Lord goes to very special places and delivers the message of God and creates events that make the prophets feel that God is here, present and speaking. Angel of the Lord is different from other angels. The rest of the angels do little casual and ordinary work, but the Angel of the Lord is appointed by God for very important tasks, like when Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac, the Angel of the Lord came and stopped him from doing the sacrifice. And instead of Isaac, he put a lamb. Also spoke to Moses when he saw the burning bush. In addition, Hagar was also shown a well of water by the Angel of the Lord. This suggests that his character appeared in very specific places.

Verse

The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going? “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered. Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.” 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. 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.”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.” (Genesis 16:7-13)

The Angel of the Lord And Abraham

The Angel of the Lord plays a very important role in the story of Abraham. When God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac to test his faith, Abraham accepted God’s decision and took Isaac to sacrifice. When he was about to sacrifice Isaac, the angel of The Lord stopped him and gave him a message that God knew that Abraham was true in his faith and had complete faith in God and was going to sacrifice his dearest thing for God’s sake. Due to which he was given good news and stopped from sacrificing Isaac. A lamb was substituted for Isaac and then a lamb was sacrificed. This was a very important event and the Angel of the Lord is mentioned in this important event which shows that this angel is very special.

Verse

But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” (Genesis 22:11-12)

The Angel of the Lord and Moses

Pharaoh used to oppress the Israelites a lot and the message from God came to Moses on the mountains of Sinai regarding salvation. As he was going with his flock over the mountains, he saw a bush that was burning, but it was not burning with fire itself. Moses thought to see it closely. When he went there, he looked carefully at the bush. Then he heard something. This voice was of the Angel of the Lord. He was calling Moses. He conveyed the message from God to Moses and explained to Moses that God has chosen him for the freedom of the Israelites. This event is also very important in the history of Israelites and the mention of the Angel of the Lord in this important event shows its uniqueness.

Verse

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. (Exodus 3:2)

The Angel of the Lord And Balaam

Balaam was a prophet and was called by the king of Moab. This king’s name was Balak. The Israelites were very numerous and they feared that the Israelites would dominate them. Therefore, they called Balaam to persuade him and curse the Israelites. Being a prophet, he consulted God. God clearly told him that you cannot do this, you cannot curse the Israelites at all they are my favorites. But Balaam followed what his heart told him to do. He took his mare and walked towards Moab. As he was on his way, the Angel of the Lord stood before him with a sword. Angel of the Lord was not seen by Balaam but his mare could see him. When his mare saw the Angel of the Lord with the sword, she was afraid and refused to go forward. Balaam beat her to go forward, but the mare did not go forward. Balaam struck him three times and three times his mare stopped and did not go forward. The Angel of the Lord then gave tongue to the mare so that she could tell Balaam what was really going on. When the Angel of the Lord gave tongue to the mare, she said; I have never done to you the way you are doing to me. Balaam was very worried about this, how can a mare speak? Then he realized that something was going wrong around him. Then the Angel of the Lord spoke to him and said that you can do what God wants. You cannot do of your own agreement what you are going to do. The mention of the Angel of the Lord in this important event also testifies that he was a very special angel.

Verse

But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road. Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again. Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff.  Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.” The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” “No,” he said. Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.  The donkey saw me and turned away from me three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.” Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back. The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials. (Numbers 22:22-35)

Angel as a Israelites’ Protector

The Pharaoh was oppressing the Israelites a lot and God saved them from Pharaoh’s oppression through Moses and they went to migrate from Egypt. While they were on their way, they faced many difficulties and in these difficulties the Angel of the Lord protected them. Because when they were going, the Red Sea came in front and behind them were the armies of Pharaoh. At that time, the Angel of the Lord showed them the way, how they can pass through the sea. They were guided by the Angel of the Lord. This incident highlights the importance of the Angel of the Lord.

Verse

Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. (Exodus 14:19-20)

The Angel of the Lord And Joshua

There is an episode in Joshua in which Joshua sees an angel and asks if he is his helper or his enemy. Then the angel says that he has come from God and has been sent to help him. The angel referred to in this story was the Angel of the Lord and he supported Joshua in his battle with him.

Verse

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?” “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?” 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 5:13-15)

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The Angel of the Lord is the angel who brings the message from God to the Prophets and explains them in the best way. This is a very special angel. The Angel of the Lord acts as God’s advocate and is mentioned on very special occasions. This shows how God conveys His messages to His special servants through His special angels.