Angel visits

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Judges 13-15; Psalm 74

TO CHEW ON: "And the Angel of the Lord said to him, 'Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?'" Judges 13:18

An amazing thing happened to Manoah's barren wife. An angel visited her, told her she would have a son, and gave instructions for how she should live during her pregnancy as well as how to raise her soon-to-be-born little boy.

When she told Manoah, he prayed for an another angel visitation and the Angel appeared to his wife again, stuck around long enough for Manoah to meet Him, quiz Him, even offer Him food.

Did you notice my capitalizations there? That's because in this instance it seems that the Angel was none other than God Himself—a theophany—the Angel of the Lord as distinct from an angel of the Lord. Wayne Grudem, in his Systematic Theology chapter on angels says:

"Who is the Angel of the Lord? Several passages of Scripture, especially in the Old Testament, speak of the angel of the Lord in a way that suggests that he is God himself taking on a human form to appear briefly to various people in the Old Testament.

In some passages "the angel of the Lord" (not "an angel of the Lord") is spoken of as the Lord himself. [He goes on to give some examples and continues] .... These are clear instances of the angel of the Lord or the angel of God appearing as God himself, perhaps more specifically as God the Son taking on a human body for a short time in order to appear to human beings" - Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 401.

In addition, in this case the fact that the Angel says His name is "wonderful" reminds us of Isaiah 9:6 where "Wonderful" is one of the names of the coming Messiah.

Why did God choose to visit Manoah and his wife in this way? Why does God ever break through in supernatural visitations and unexplainable phenomenon? Some time ago I read a fascinating book called Angels, Miracles, and Heavenly Encounters. It is a collection of first-person and as-told-to stories of people who have experienced angelic visits.

Compiler James Stuart Bell in the Introduction gives us some reasons as to why God may choose to break through in such ways:

"The supernatural world, the world revealed to us in the Scriptures, is normally apprehended by faith and not by our senses. But at times, though they may be few and far between, for God's own mysterious reasons, we are allowed a window into that world. He may be trying to warn us about some danger, encourage our faith, or provide guidance in terms of our behaviour .... Some of these experiences may be meant to be shared to edify others ... these very personal stories ... convey how much God cares for us and how active and close He is to us—fighting our battles and revealing the eternal consequences of our choices and behaviour, even our thoughts and attitudes here on earth" - James Stuart Bell, "Introduction," Angels, Miracles, and Heavenly Encounters, Kindle Location 130 (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your involvement in human existence. Thank You for these stories of angel visits—old and new—that reinforce Your reality and how much You care for us. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 74

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Joshua meets his Commander

"Joshua Meets the Angel of the Lord" 
- Christoph Weigel, 1654-1725. 
From the Pitts Theology Library.

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Joshua 5:9-15

TO CHEW ON: "And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, 'Are you for us or for our adversaries?'
So He said, 'No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.'" Joshua 5:13,14

The Israelites were camped at Gigal near what was to be their first city of the Canaan conquest—Jericho. We can feel with Joshua as he goes out to have a look at Jericho. He is probably excited but also apprehensive, imagining strategy but also unsure, feeling brave but also realistic. He is certainly alert, for when the Lord appears as an armed man, Joshua approaches and asks His allegiance.

We can imagine the relief Joshua feels when it becomes clear that this soldier is indeed the LORD—Yahweh come down to help, no, to lead as Commander of the Lord's army.

Nowhere do we read anything like this from Joshua: "No, I'm the commander of this army." Instead, he seems more than ready to hand control to this mysterious solder. It is from His mouth that Joshua gets the bizarre order of how to take Jericho (Joshua 6:1-5).

Two things strike me from this incident:

1. The real Commander shows up just in time. Even His words to Joshua have a hint of this timeliness: "... I have now come..." Has Joshua been praying about this? His solitary stroll toward Jericho shows he may well be preoccupied with his next move. And then, at precisely the right moment, his Commander appears on the scene.

God can come to us in the nick of time like that. Now probably not as a theophany, but through what we read in the Bible, or the words of a pastor, or a book, or an article, or a song, or circumstances.

2. The Lord is the real commander of this army. Joshua doesn't dispute that for a minute.

Is God the Commander of our lives? Do we take orders from Him as readily as Joshua does from his Commander?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You that You are always on time. Please help me to trust You to be the Commander of  my life. Amen.

MORE: Joshua

Joshua is a fascinating character.

• We first meet him when Moses puts him in charge of the Israelite army assembled to fight the Amalekites in the wilderness - Exodus 17:9.

• The Bible describes him as Moses' "assistant" when he accompanies Moses up Mount Sinai - Exodus 24:13.

• He stays in the tabernacle of God's presence even after Moses leaves - Exodus 33:11. Barbara Billett in her book Praying with Fire says of him:

"Joshua had intimate fellowship with God just as Moses did. He lingered in the presence of God and got to know God and to trust God at His word" - p. 65.

• He is one of only two spies that have faith they can conquer Canaan - Numbers 14:6-9. Billett again:

"Because Joshua and Caleb had intimate fellowship with God, God's word to them was magnified over any fear, unbelief, or temptation to not follow the Lord - Op. Cit, p. 66.

• My Bible's introduction to the book of Joshua explains how he is a type of Christ:

"His name which means 'Yahweh is Salvation,' is a Hebrew equivalent to the Greek 'Jesus.' Joshua led the Israelites into the possession of their promised inheritance just as Christ leads us into possession of eternal life" - Ronald Mehl, "The Book of Joshua," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 277.