Who Is The Angel Of The Lord?

Would you rather listen than read? Listen here.

Have You Ever Encountered An Angel?

In downtown Houston, traffic lights sit at every intersection. However, some lights hang above the lane and some are on the sides of the road. Twenty-ish years ago, as I drove through this area, I did not see the red light on the side. As I entered the intersection, I immediately realized I had made a mistake.

The oncoming car hit the driver’s side back tire area and sent me spinning. Sitting alone facing oncoming traffic, I hit panic. All common sense left me. I noticed the driver of the other car get out of his car angrily and start heading my way. Fear took over, and I felt paralyzed.

Then I saw a woman whom I had not noticed before. She got in between us and walked the driver back to his car. She then came over to me and brought me instant peace. When the police came, I saw her speak with them and then she disappeared. I looked for her to thank her, but she was nowhere to be found.

If I had never come in contact with an angel before, I felt that day I had encountered one. Have you ever encountered an angel? I would love for you to share your story in the comments below.

If I had never come in contact with an angel before, I felt that day I had encountered one. Have you ever encountered an angel? Click To Tweet

The Angel Of The Lord

In the old testament, we see multiple references to the angel of the Lord. Who is this? Over the years, I have heard many responses. I have had Bible study leaders say this is God taking on multiple forms. Once I heard someone say these were appearances of Jesus in the old testament. I have even heard friends say they believe this is an actual angel. As I researched, I found similar responses. Don Stewart from the website Blue Letter Bible says this:

“Three major views have been put forth as to the exact identity of the Angel of the Lord.”

1. A mighty angel who acted as the special representative of the LORD.

2. God the Father assuming a human body.

3. God the Son, taking a body for a short period of time.

Who Met The Angel Of The Lord?

The first mention of the angel of the Lord is in Genesis 16.

“The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur. The angel said to her, ‘Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?’”

Genesis 16:7-8 NLT

The angel of the Lord comes to Hagar in her distress. He prophecies over her and offers her direction. She gives a beautiful response in verse thirteen.

“Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, ‘You are the God who sees me.’ She also said, ‘Have I truly seen the One who sees me?’”

Genesis 16:13 NLT

As we have read through the Bible this year, we have seen the angel of the Lord visit Abraham, Moses, Balaam and the Israelites.

In the book of Judges, several of the judges encounter the angel of the Lord. Here is Gideon’s response:

“When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he cried out, ‘Oh, Sovereign Lord, I’m doomed! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!’”

Judges 6:22 NLT

The Angel Of The Lord Visits Samson’s Parents

We will look closer at the encounter with Samson’s parents. Like Sarah, Rachel, Hannah and other woman of the Bible, Manoah’s wife, Samson’s mother, could not get pregnant. The angel of the Lord appeared to her and told her she would become pregnant and he was to live as a Nazarite for his entire life. God would use him to begin to rescue the Israelites from the Philistines.

A Nazarite, as described in Numbers 6, is a time when a person would set themself apart to be with God. During this time, they would not drink or cut their hair. At the end of the vow, they would cut their hair and keep it to symbolize their time with God. The closest we would have to this today would be a silent retreat. There were only three life long Nazarites mentioned in the Bible; Samson (Judges 13:5), Samuel (1 Samuel 1:11), and we assume John The Baptist (Luke 1:15). Interestingly, they all were born from mothers who could not get pregnant until God opened their womb later in life.

Manoah’s wife shared what happened with her husband and then prayed for the angel of the Lord to return. He did and told Manoah everything He had told his wife. Later, Manoah asks a question and gets an interesting answer.

“Then Manoah asked the angel of the Lord, ‘What is your name? For when all this comes true, we want to honor you.’ ‘Why do you ask my name?’ the angel of the Lord replied. ‘It is too wonderful for you to understand.’”

Judges 13:17-18 NLT

Hebrew For The Angel Of The Lord

The Hebrew word for angel is מַלְאָךְ mal’āk. This word can mean messenger, angel, a supernatural representative of God, the angel of the Lord, a manifestation of God himself, or the pre-incarnate Christ.

The Hebrew word for Lord is יהוה yhwh, meaning the name of God.

Responses To Encountering The Angel Of The Lord

If we look at the responses of those who encountered the angel of the Lord, this gives us better clues.

Hagar’s Response

“Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, ‘You are the God who sees me.’ She also said, ‘Have I truly seen the One who sees me?’”

Genesis 16:13 NIV

Moses’s Response

“One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. There, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. ‘This is amazing,’ Moses said to himself. ‘Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.’”

Exodus 3:1-3 NIV

Balaam’s Response

“Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him.”

Numbers 22:31 NIV

The Israelites Response

“The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said to the Israelites, ‘I brought you out of Egypt into this land that I swore to give your ancestors, and I said I would never break my covenant with you’… When the angel of the Lord finished speaking to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly.

Judges 2:1 and 4 NIV

Manoah’s Response

We saw above Manoah responded with “Oh, Sovereign Lord, I’m doomed! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

Who Is The Angel Of The Lord?

When I look at these responses, I have to lean toward the angel of the Lord to be a physical manifestation of God. There are experts who could point us in all three directions and have valid points, but this is the direction I find peace with. This is one of those questions we will never know for sure this side of eternity and I am ok with that.

No matter what decision we derive, the most important part is that when the angel of the Lord showed up, that person was forever changed. How have you seen God show up in your life? It may not be a burning bush or a figure holding a sword, but these stories lead me to believe that God can show up in any form He chooses.

For me, God has shown up in dreams, supernatural feelings of peace, and He possibly sent me an angel in downtown Houston. In every instance, I have changed for the better and drawn closer to God. I would love to hear your stories. Please share them in the comments or email me.