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... (Hag. 1: 13); Malachi says that people should seek the law from the mouth of a priest, who is a "messenger (mal " ak) of the LORD" (Mal. 2: 7). Let's look at a couple of key verses in the story of the Israelites' escape from Egypt: EXODUS 13: 21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. (NKJV) EXODUS 14: 19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. (NKJV) In these verses we see the one who shepherded the Israelites out of Egypt identified. In Exodus 13: 21 he is called YHVH. However, in Exodus 14: 19, the being in the cloud going before the Israelites is called the "Angel of God" (Heb.
mal " ak ha " elohim). How do we explain this apparent discrepancy? Are these two separate entities, or are they one and the same? Evidence from several sources indicates that the being called YHVH in Exodus 13: 21 is the same entity referred to as the "Angel of God" in Exodus 14: 19. The burning bush encounter wasn't the only occasion on which the Angel of the LORD talked to Moses on behalf of the Most High, God the Father. In Acts 7: 38, Stephen states that it was this Angel who spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai after the Israelites initial arrival there, and later on Sivan 6 when the Ten Commandments were delivered to all the people.
The Jerusalem Targum plainly identifies who this Angel was: EXODUS 19: 3 And Moses went up to God [ha " elohim], and the LORD [YHVH] called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: (NKJV) EXODUS 19: 3 And Mosheh went up to seek instruction from before the Lord; and the Word of the Lord anticipated him from the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou speak to the men of the house of Jakob, and teach the congregation of the sons of Israel. (Jerusalem Targum, translated by J. W. Etheridge) EXODUS 19: 7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD [YHVH] commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD [YHVH] has spoken we will do. " So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD [YHVH]. 9 And the LORD [YHVH] said to Moses, "Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever. " So Moses told the words of the people to the LORD [YHVH]. (NKJV) EXODUS 19: 7 And Mosheh came and called the sages of Israel and set in order before them all these words which the Word of the Lord had commanded him. 8 And all the people answered together in the fulness of their heart, and said, All that the Word of the Lord hath spoken, we will do. And Mosheh returned the words of the people in prayer before the Lord. 9 And the Word of the Lord said to Mosheh, Behold, My Word will be revealed to thee in the thickness of the cloud, that the people may hear while I speak with thee, and may also believe for ever in the words of the prophecy of thee, My servant Mosheh. And Mosheh delivered the words of the people in prayer before the Lord. (Jerusalem Targum, translated by J. W.
Etheridge) EXODUS 19: 20 Then the LORD [YHVH] came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD [YHVH] called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 21 And the LORD [YHVH] said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the LORD, and many of them perish. " (NKJV) EXODUS 20: 1 And God ['elohim] spoke all these words, saying: (NKJV) We see here that the entity referred to as "the Angel" by Stephen is the same one called YHVH and 'elohim in these verses from Exodus. This proves that the terms "LORD" and "Angel of the LORD" were used interchangeably for the same being in the Bible. The Jerusalem Targum rendering of Exodus 20: 1 confirms that the 'elohim who spoke to Israel from Mount Sinai was the Word of the Lord, not God the Father: EXODUS 20: 1 And the Word of the Lord spake all the excellency of these words saying: (Jerusalem Targum, translated by J.
W. Etheridge) Exodus 23: 20 - 23 confirms that the Angel who spoke to the Israelites from Mount Sinai was in the wilderness with Moses and the congregation of Israel during their wandering. This passage shows that the Angel's duties included keeping the Israelites in God's ways and bringing them into the Promised Land. EXODUS 23: 20 " Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. 22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. (NKJV) This Angel was a messenger delivering God the Father's words to Moses and the children of Israel, and God's name ("YHVH") was upon him. Because of this role, at times he referred to himself in the third person when relaying God's words.
Without an understanding and awareness of his role, things can get a little confusing when reading the statements and activities of this Angel. In fact, the Scriptures even show Moses himself becoming confused in one instance. EXODUS 33: 1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your descendants I will give it. ' 2 And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people. " (NKJV) God the Father, through His messenger the Angel, tells Moses that He will not accompany them into the Promised Land. The Angel so translucently communicates God's remarks to Moses that it appears as if he is talking to Moses himself, instead of God the Father speaking through him. This situation seems to confuse Moses, because he goes on to say that the Angel had not let him know whom he would send with him to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land (Exo. 33: 12).
He obviously didn't recognize that the Angel was speaking for the Most High God in verse 3 and not for himself. Moses apparently thought that the Angel of the LORD, who had accompanied them to this point, would be replaced by another angel. God, through the Angel, reassures Moses that His "Presence" would continue to accompany them. EXODUS 33: 14 And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. " 15 Then he said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. " (NKJV) The Angel of the LORD is the one referred to here as the "Presence" of YHVH. Moses proclaims this to the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 4: 37, and the Angel of the LORD is called the "Angel of His Presence" in Isaiah 63: 9. DEUTERONOMY 4: 37 [Moses said] "Because he loved your forefathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, " (NIV) ISAIAH 63: 9 In all their [the Israelites'] affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore them and carried them all the days of old. (NKJV) The Angel of the LORD was also called the Angel of God's Presence because he possessed the nature, character, and authority of God the Father.
This concept has numerous parallels to Christ in the New Testament. II CORINTHIANS 4: 4... Christ, who is the image of God... (NKJV) COLOSSIANS 1: 15 [Christ]... is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: (KJV) HEBREWS 1: 3 [Christ]... being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power... (NKJV) In I Corinthians 10: 9 Paul once more identifies YHVH who accompanied the Israelites in their desert sojourn as Christ. The incident he mentions here (recorded in Numbers 21: 5 - 6) occurred while the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.
I CORINTHIANS 10: 9 Nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted [Christ], and were destroyed by serpents; (NKJV) NUMBERS 21: 5 And the people spoke against God ['elohim] and against Moses: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread. " 6 So the LORD [YHVH] sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. (NKJV) A comparison of the two Scriptures above makes it clear that Christ, "God" ('elohim) and "the LORD" (YHVH) mentioned in Numbers 21: 5 - 6 are all the same entity. Judges 2: 1 confirms that it was the Angel of the LORD who led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land: JUDGES 2: 1 Then the Angel of the LORD [mal " ak YHVH] came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: "I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, 'I will never break My covenant with you. ' " (NKJV) Just as the Angel of the LORD was God's messenger to the people of Israel, Christ was also a "messenger" of God the Father in the New Testament. Regarding his role, Yeshua said "I have not spoken on my own authority; the Father who sent me has told me what to say and what to speak" (John 12: 49). Another pair of Scriptures further identifies the Angel of the LORD as the Messiah. Recorded in Judges 13 is the story of Samson's parents being notified of his impending birth by the Angel of the LORD.
Manoah, Samson's father, did not realize that the one who foretold the birth of his son was the Angel (Judges 13: 16). He asked the Angel of the LORD what his name was, so that they might honor him when his prophecy came true. The Angel's answer is very revealing, if understood correctly. JUDGES 13: 18 And the Angel of Jehovah said to him, Why do you ask this about My name?
Yea, it is Wonderful. (A Literal Translation of the Bible) The Angel of YHVH answered Manoah by saying that his name was "Wonderful. " When we compare the Angel's answer to the prophecy of the coming Messiah recorded in Isaiah 9: 6, the similarities are striking. ISAIAH 9: 6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (NKJV) The name the Angel gave Manoah is one of the names prophesied to be applied to Yeshua the Messiah. By itself, this could simply be discounted as a coincidence. However, when considered with the weight of the other evidence we " ve examined, it's clear that the Angel of the LORD is the one who became Christ. In the first century C.
E. , the Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint (LXX) was widely used by Greek-speaking Jews. In the LXX, this same verse is rendered somewhat differently. ISAIAH 9: 6 For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder: and his name is called the Messenger [angeles] of great counsel: for I will bring peace u...
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