Who Is Michael The Archangel? Part 2 Hagar After Hagar the handmaid of Abraham bore Ishmael, she and the barren Sarah could no longer coexist peacefully. Sarah dealt severely with her now haughty hand- maid until Hagar fled into the desert. And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness (Genesis 16:7). The angel told Hagar to go back and submit to Sarah and promised that her son, Ishmael, would be the father of a great nation. When the angel disappeared, Hagar called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me (verse 13). It appears Hagar recognized that the angel of the Lord who had spoken to her was really God. But keep reading; it gets clearer! Abraham God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac on mount Moriah. Just as he was about to plunge the dagger into his son of promise, the angel of the Lord stopped him. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me (Genesis 22:11, 12). It is clear that Abraham was offering his son to God and not to a mere angel. And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, … because thou hast obeyed my voice (Genesis 22:15-18). In recounting this experience of Abraham in Acts 3:25, Peter also identifies this angel of the Lord who made a covenant with the Patriarch as God. Jacob While fleeing from his angry brother Esau, Jacob had a dream in which God confirmed the covenant of Abraham to him. After receiving assurance that God would be with him and bring him back safely to his home in Canaan, Jacob vowed to return to God a tithe of all his increase. He set up the stone he had been using for a pil- low and anointed it with oil to solemnize his vow. Then he named the place Beth-el, or house of God, since God had appeared to him there. Twenty years later, Jacob was on his way back home, not a penniless fugitive, but a wealthy man. God decided to remind Jacob who had really brought him success. Heres how Jacob recounted the story: And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I (Genesis 31:11). In verse 13, this angel of God identifies Himself: I am the God of Beth-el, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me. Then, when Jacob wrestled with a heavenly being (Genesis 32:22-32), he was given a new name and blessed him. Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved (verse 30). In the New Testament, Jesus is the one who blesses His people and gives them a new name (Matthew 5:3-12; Revelation 2:17). As you can see, it is becoming increas- ingly clear that the angel of the Lord is Jesus Himself. When Jacob was on his deathbed blessing Josephs two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, he used the terms angel and God interchangeably. God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads (Genesis 48:15, 16). The Scriptures are very clear there is neither a redeemer nor savior but God. I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior; Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer (Isaiah 43:11, 14). Once again we see that the angel who redeemed Jacob is another name for our Redeemer, Jesus! Moses Moses saw a burning bush that was not consumed. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush (Exodus 3:2). Verse 4 identifies this angel: God called unto him out of the midst of the bush. And in verse 6 He identifies Himself again. I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. The angel of the Lord identifies Himself as God! In his last sermon before he was stoned to death, Stephen agrees with the Exodus account. And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sinai an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Acts 7:30-32).
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 19:44:15 +0000
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