The Angel of the LORD – Lech Le’cha – Nov. 12

The beauty of life is in the great unknown. Not everything in life is black and white, but rather, there is much mystery along the journey. As we pursue the answers to the mysteries of life we often find wonderful surprises along the way. This is one reason why I thoroughly enjoy studying the Bible. Although the Bible is a source of truth and history, it is also a book of mysteries and surprises.

Theologians often attempt to put God in a box, or maybe they call it a “theological work.” All too often, however, most theological works are an attempt of man to limit God to what they want to make of Him. I believe that this was revealed to Job and his friends as they discussed their theology with one another and tried to provide answers to Job’s situation. God and life are filled with mystery and amazement! The sooner that we are able to understand and accept this, the sooner we will have peace in the mysteries that we face along the journey of life.

Watch this video for a brief overview of this week’s commentary!

The Life of Abraham

This week’s Torah Portion focuses on the life of Abraham from the time that he was 75 years old until he was 99. These 25 years of Abraham’s life, who was first called Abram, were an intense time of training in every way: physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Abram moved from one country to another at the command of the LORD and was then faced with a famine in the new land a short time after his arrival. This famine led Abram to go down to Egypt where he nearly lost his wife to Pharaoh. Thankfully God stepped into the situation and prevented Sarai from becoming a permanent part of Pharaoh’s harem (Gen. 12).

After Abram and his entourage returned from Egypt, Abram had to deal with a growing business back in the land of Canaan that caused he and his nephew to go their separate ways so as to not fight over territory (Gen. 13). Abram was later forced to go to war on behalf of his nephew Lot in order to save him and his family from being captured from foreign kings (Gen. 14). Abram had endured much hardship during these years but he had also learned to listen to the voice of the LORD.

All of the above events occurred in Abram’s life over the period of about ten years, from 75 – 85 years of age. After these events, the LORD again spoke to Abram: “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great.” (Gen. 15:1) The LORD told Abram not to fear, that He would be his defense, and that Abram would be richly rewarded. Who would not want to hear these words spoken to them from the LORD? That said, Abram struggled to rejoice when he heard these words.

God’s Promise to Abram 

Abram knew that God was with him and was defending him at every turn, however, at the same time Abram had one very real concern:

Abram said, “O LORD God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” – Gen. 15:2-3

Abram struggled to understand why God would seek to bless him with riches since he had no children with whom to share those riches. Abram had considered that upon his death, his wealth would go to Eliezer, his chief servant.

Abram had brought up a legitimate concern and the LORD specifically addressed Abram’s disappointment with words of comfort and hope:

Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. – Gen. 15:4-6

God told Abram that He would not leave him childless but that he would have an heir who would come from his own body. Eliezer would not be the heir to the wealth that God had promised to Abram, but rather his own son.

An Attempt to Help God

Abram must have been living in constant expectation that his wife Sarai would soon become pregnant with their child, however, it didn’t quite happen according to their expectations:

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. – Gen. 16:1-2

An in attempt to build a family, Sarai, with the consent of her husband Abram, decided to use their maid, Hagar, as a sort of surrogate mother for a child. It worked but it didn’t quite have the desired outcome that Sarai had hoped.

After Hagar became pregnant, Sarai became despised in her sight and Sarai wished that she had never suggested this “Plan B” for building a family. Sarai and Abram discussed the matter and Abram left Sarai to decide how to handle it:

But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence. – Gen. 16:6

Sarai only wanted a child and not competition from another wife. Sarai treated Hagar harshly and Hagar responded by fleeing from her.

The Angel of the LORD

Hagar was an unknown character to us before she became pregnant with Abram’s child. As a result of her relationship with Abram, however, Hagar would become a key figure in this early biblical narrative. The LORD took notice of Hagar as we read in the second half of Genesis 16:

Now the angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” Then the angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority.” – Gen. 16:7-9

The first thing that we read about Hagar after she had fled from Sarai is that the angel of the LORD found her along the way. God was concerned for Hagar and reached out to her.

In this initial conversation between the angel of the LORD and Hagar, the angel of the LORD helped to put Hagar’s situation into focus for her. He instructed her to return to Sarai and submit to her. He then continued to prophesy to Hagar about the future of the child whom she would bear: his name would be Ishmael and he would be a wild donkey of a man. The angel of the LORD also told Hagar that He would greatly multiply her descendants through this child (Gen. 16:10-12). God had a plan to use the child in her womb and He gave her hope.

“The Living One Who Sees Me”

After the angel of the LORD finished speaking all of these prophetic words, Hagar responded in amazement regarding how the LORD had just met her at her point of need:

Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees”; for she said, “Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?” Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. – Gen. 16:13-14

Hagar immediately understood that something supernatural had just transpired right before her very eyes. Hagar described her experience by literally giving a name to the LORD who spoke to her, “אתה אל ראי” – “Ata El Ro’ee” – “You are the God who sees me.”

We learn through this interaction between Hagar and the angel of the LORD that Hagar didn’t merely perceive that an angel had spoken with her, but that the LORD Himself had spoken to her. The name of the well where the angel of the LORD had spoken to Hagar was called “באר לחי ראי” – “Be’er La’Chai Ro’ee” – “The well of the Living One Who sees me.” The One who spoke to Hagar had confirmed that He had seen her affliction and told her of the future of her child. Hagar equated the angel of the LORD who spoke with her to the LORD Himself.

The Jewish Orthodox Perspective

In cross checking this declaration from Hagar in Targum Onkelos, an Aramaic translation of the text, I found the following change in wording from “The well of the Living One Who sees me” to “The well where the living angel appeared.” The reason given for this obvious change from the original Hebrew is found in a commentary of this translation:

Scripture’s “the well of lachai ro’i” is anthropomorphic since lachai ro’i means “the Living One who sees me.” In this phrase, Onkelos reintroduces the angel mentioned in the prior verses and calls him “living” from the word lachai. The targumist (Onkelos) also resolves the problem of portraying the angel anthropomorphically as “seeing,” by using the passive “appeared,” which denotes a vision. – Drazin & Wagner. Onkelos on the Torah – Genesis. Jerusalem. p.88 

In this explanation for the change from the original Hebrew text, we have a typical Jewish Orthodox explanation of why the text must not be taken literally.

If the text from Genesis 6:14 is taken at face value, than the phrase “באר לחי ראי” – “Be’er La’Chai Ro’ee” is most accurately translated as “The well of the Living One Who sees me.” As pointed out above, the Jewish Orthodox perspective struggles to accept this rendering because it clearly points to God as the “Living One who sees” and if this is true, than God would be considered “anthropomorphic;” i.e. something that takes on human form or attributes. In order to “protect the Holy One” from having human characteristics in anyway, a different perspective of the text is brought forth either through translation or interpretation in Orthodox Judaism.

This week’s Torah Portion forces us once again to investigate the characteristics of Almighty God and to examine whether or not the biblical text supports an anthropomorphic reality of God. In other words, can God take on human form? More pointedly, I would like to examine the identity of the “angel of the LORD” to whom we are introduced in this story with Hagar.

Who is the “Angel of the LORD?”

The phrase “מלאך יהוה” – “malach Adonai” – “angel of the LORD” is used approximately 54 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. The very first time that we see the phrase “angel of the LORD” in the Bible is here in the story of Hagar in Genesis 16. Hagar seems to equate the angel of the LORD with the LORD Himself. Is the angel of the LORD, God Himself? Does the Bible as a whole support this understanding?

Who or What is an Angel?

Before looking specifically at the phrase “angel of the LORD” we will look first at the use of the word for “angel” in the Bible. The Hebrew word for angel is “מלאך” – “malach,” which generally means “a messenger.” The Hebrew word “מלאך” – “malach,” is used in two different ways in the Bible:

1. A heavenly messenger, i.e. “an angel” 

2. A human messenger

There are numerous examples for each of these uses in the Bible.

“מלאך” – “malach,” – A Heavenly Messenger – An Angel

In the story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom, we see an example of angels who came in the form of men (Gen. 18:22). The angels came to Sodom to rescue Lot and his family from the coming destruction (Gen. 19:1). We also read about the angels of God that were ascending and descending on the ladder between heaven and earth in the dream of Jacob (Gen. 28:12). In the book of Psalms we read about angels who are instructed to watch over God’s people: “For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.” (Psalm 91:11) In all of these examples, the angels which are spoken of are heavenly messengers of God to accomplish His work on earth.

“מלאך” – “malach,” – A Human Messenger

The exact same word for angel is also used of a human messenger who is sent to accomplish a specific task. When Jacob prepared to meet his brother Esau, he sent human messengers before him to inform Esau of his coming (Gen. 32:3-6). When Naaman came to Elisha to be healed of his leprosy, Elisha sent a messenger to Naaman instructing him to wash seven times in the Jordan (2 Kings 5:10). We also read that the two spies whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho, were called “messengers:”

The city shall be under the ban, it and all that is in it belongs to the LORD; only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. – Joshua 6:17

In all of these examples, the messengers are simply human agents who are sent on a specific mission to accomplish a specific task.

As we see in the examples documented above, the Hebrew word “מלאך” – “malach” can refer to either a human messenger or a heavenly messenger and it is only the context of the Scriptures which specifies which type of messenger is being spoken of. Context is also the key in understanding the meaning of the phrase “מלאך יהוה” – “malach Adonai” – “angel of the LORD.”

The unique phrase “מלאך יהוה” – “malach Adonai” – “angel of the LORD” refers to one specific messenger who is sent by the LORD. Of the 54 times that this specific phrase appears in the Hebrew Scriptures, the majority of these references speak of the “angel of the LORD” as the LORD Himself. The context of each reference to the “angel of the LORD” is used to determine whether it is speaking of the LORD or not.

The Messenger as Haggai

We find an example of the phrase “מלאך יהוה” – “malach Adonai” – “angel of the LORD” which does not refer to the LORD in the book of the prophet Haggai:

Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke by the commission of the LORD to the people saying, “‘I am with you,’ declares the LORD.” – Haggai 1:13

The phrase “messenger of the LORD” is the exact phrase in Hebrew as quoted throughout this article, “מלאך יהוה” – “malach Adonai,” but the translators determined to use the word “messenger” instead of “angel” because it was clearly referring to a human being, Haggai, who is named in this verse. Haggai was clearly operating as a human messenger of the LORD in this context.

The Messenger as the LORD

There are several clear references of the “angel of the LORD” as the LORD Himself in the Hebrew Scriptures (Gen.16. Gen.22. Ex. 3. Num. 22. Judges 2. Judges 6. Judges 13). I will only examine the context of Exodus 3 in more detail as this reference to the angel of the LORD provides a clear picture of who is being spoken of.

In Exodus 3, we find Moses in the desert shepherding his father-in-law’s sheep when he was about 80 years old. It was at this time that the angel of the LORD appeared to Moses:

The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.” When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. – Ex. 3:2-6

The angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in the midst of a burning bush and the context specifically explains to us that it was God Himself who spoke to Moses from the midst of the burning bush. The angel of the LORD and God appear to be the same being in this context.

The scenario explained to us in Exodus 3 is not confusing or complex in anyway. We are introduced to the angel of the LORD who made an appearance to Moses and we are told that this messenger of the LORD is the LORD Himself. He even told Moses that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The reaction of Moses to hide his face out of fear of looking at God also reveals the divine encounter that Moses experienced with the angel of the LORD. The angel of the LORD is clearly the LORD Himself in this particular instance.

As we have examined the situation with Hagar in Genesis 16 and the situation of Moses in Exodus 3, it is clear from both of these Scriptures that the angel of the LORD can be identified as the LORD Himself in whatever form that He chooses to make Himself known. The other references to the angel of the LORD listed above also reveal this truth.

God revealing Himself on earth in human form is one of the mysteries in the Bible that is challenging to comprehend but a reality nonetheless. I believe we also see the revelation of the “Angel of the LORD” as the LORD Himself in the New Testament Scriptures.

The Angel of the LORD in the New Testament

When Yeshua was on this earth He continually proclaimed that He was sent by the Father in heaven to earth to accomplish the will of the Father:

So Yeshua answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.  – John 7:16-18

Yeshua was unique from all who came before Him in that He was not simply a prophet sent out to proclaim the Word of God, but rather, He is the Living Word of God who was sent from heaven to accomplish all that the Father had intended for Him on earth.

Many believe that the Angel of the LORD who appeared as God throughout the Hebrew Scriptures was Yeshua. This seems very possible and seems consistent with the rest of Scripture as well. Either way, we know for sure that Yeshua was sent from the Father in heaven to be the messenger of salvation to the world as we know it:

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. – John 3:16-17

Yeshua is the messenger of God to bring God’s message of redemption to the world by His life and His words.

Yeshua – The Messenger of God

God has appointed prophets and angels to deliver His message to men and women at different times as recorded in the Scriptures. God has also chosen to communicate directly with human kind throughout history under the title, “The Angel of the LORD.” Therefore, it should not surprise us when God chose to deliver His ultimate message of salvation and deliverance through the manifestation of His Son on this earth. Yeshua is the Messenger of the LORD for us today!

Shabbat Shalom!

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Torah Portion: Gen. 12:1 – Gen. 17:27

Haftara: Isaiah 40:27 – Isaiah 41:16 

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