Judges 6:22-23: Who Is the Angel of
the Lord?
If Gideon only saw an angel, why did he fear that
he might die? Many interpreters believe that an angel takes God's place
and acts as his representative. However, others do not feel this explanation
fits all the data. Who, then, is this "angel of the LORD"?
The angel of the Lord first appears in Genesis 16:7 and then intermittently
throughout the early Old Testament books. In other passages an individual
manifesting himself in human form is frequently called "the LORD"
(Gen 12:7; 17:1; 18:1). If this angel actually were God, why is he called
an angel? Since the root meaning of angel is "messenger" or
"one who is sent," we must determine from context whether the
word refers to the office of the sent one or to the nature of created
angels as finite beings.
Initially, some contexts of the term "angel of the LORD" appear
to refer to nothing more than any other angel (as in Judg 6:11). But as
the narrative progresses, that angel soon transcends the angelic category
and is described in terms suited only to a member of the Trinity. Thus
in the Judges 6 episode, we are startled when verse 14 has the Lord speaking
to Gideon, when previously only the angel of the Lord had been talking.
Many Old Testament passages state that this angel is God. Thus, after
being told that Hagar had been speaking with the angel of the Lord (four
times in Gen 16:7, 9-11), Genesis 16:13 informs us that Hagar "gave
this name to the LORD who spoke to her: `You are the God who sees me.'
" Jacob's testimony in Genesis 48:15-16 is even more striking. He
identifies the God in whose presence his fathers Abraham and Isaac had
lived as "the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,
the Angel who has delivered me from all harm."
This angel spoke to Jacob earlier in a dream and identified himself by
saying, "I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and
where you made a vow to me" (Gen 31:11, 13).
Likewise in Exodus 3:2-6 the phrase "the angel of the LORD"
is used interchangeably with "the LORD." In fact the angel claims,
"I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac
and the God of Jacob" (Ex 3:6).
The passage, however, that really clinches this remarkable identification
is Exodus 23:20-23. There God promises to send his angel ahead of the
children of Israel as they go through the desert. The Israelites were
warned that they must obey and not rebel against this angel. The reason
was a stunning one: "Since my Name is in him." God would never
share his memorial name with anyone else, for Isaiah 42:8 advised that
he would never share his glory with another. Thus the name of God stands
for himself. And when a person is said to have the name of God in him,
that person is God!
This angel has divine qualities, prerogatives and authority. He has the
power to give life (Gen 16:10) and to see and know all (Gen 16:13; Ex
3:7). Only God can forgive sin, yet this angel did the same in Exodus
23:21. The angel performed miracles such as keeping a burning bush from
being consumed (Ex 3:2), smiting Egypt with plagues (Ex 3:20), calling
forth fire on the rock to consume the meal set for him (Judg 6:21) and
ascending the flame of the altar (Judg 13:20).
Finally, this angel commanded and received worship from Moses (Ex 3:5)
and Joshua (Josh 5:14). Angels were not to receive worship. When John
attempted to worship an angel in Revelation 19:10; 22:8-9, he was corrected
quickly and told not to do it.
It is clear from this abundance of evidence that the angel of the Lord
in the Old Testament was a preincarnate form of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who would later permanently take on flesh when he came as a babe in Bethlehem.
But mark it well: the one who came after John had already been before--he
was that angel of the Lord. His full deity was always observed and yet
he presented the same mystery of the Trinity that would later be observed
in "I and the Father are one" (Jn 10:30) and "my other
witness is the Father, who sent me" (Jn 8:18). It is that word sent
that ties together the angel, messenger or sent one into an Old Testament
theology of christophanies, appearances of God in human form.
|