Today’s Verse and Thought
“The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.”(Genesis 16:7)
Last week we briefly looked at what it means to hold a Biblical worldview. This worldview - the filter you use to interpret the world - as a Christian, should be supernatural first. As we continue to explore the mysteries in the Bible, we will begin to see how the spiritual world and the natural world intersect.
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Angels Appear
There are over 280 mentions of angels in the Bible. Who are these supernatural beings? What do we know about them from reading the Bible?
The first time the word “angel” appears in Scripture is in Genesis. It’s the account of Hagar, (mistress of Sari, mother of Ismael) who Sarai gave to her husband, Abram, as a surrogate for Sarai. But things didn’t go well for Sarai when Hagar became Abram’s second wife.
“And he [Abram} went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.”(Genesis 16:4)
When Hagar realized she was pregnant, she treated her barren mistress,Sarai, with contempt. Hagar, as a slave, dishonored Sarai with her haughtiness. This led Sarai to treat Hagar harshly, and she ran away into the wilderness.
It’s here that “the angel of the Lord” appeared and prophesied over Hagar, telling her that she was going to have a son, and to name him Ishmael, which means “a God who hears.”
God heard the sorrow of Hagar.
This first appearance of an angel was a mission of compassion. God heard and saw Hagar, and His “angel” appeared to Her with a comforting message, as well as instructions. He assured Hagar that she would give birth to a son who would become a great nation, and to go back and submit to Sarai’s authority.
Attributes of Angels
Angels share many of the same attributes as humans. In the story of Hagar, the Angel of the Lord “appears” and shows compassion on her, and reassures her. Here we see a glimpse of angels having both emotions, as well as intelligence. The angel showed compassion, and gave instructions to Hagar.
In this passage, it also indicates that angels can look human. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar, there wasn’t any indication of alarm, surprise, or even strangeness. Whatever the angel of the Lord looked like, in this passage it makes it seem like it was something normal and believable.
In Genesis chapter 19, there’s another “appearance” of angles. This time there were two. In the story of Lot in Sodom, Lot “saw” two angels approaching the city gate. This tells us that angels, even though they are spiritual beings, can be visible, and can walk. They also had feet (v2), as Lot offered to “wash” them, which was customary as a host.
This reminds me of the appearance of the Lord God in the Garden of Eden when we read that Adam and Eve heard Him “walking” in the Garden: “Now they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8). If they could “hear” His “walking,” there must have been some kind of physicality to His presence as He interacted with Adam and Eve.
And now here in Lot’s view were two angels. From this passage, we see angels that appear as “men”. And once again we see a mission of compassion as the angels took Lot by the hand to get him out of the city after Lot’s family hesitated leaving.
“So the men [angels] grasped his [Lot’s] hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, because the compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out and put him outside the city.”(Genesis 19:16).
From the story of Lot, we also see that angels can eat. “and he prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate” (v 3).
Angels have supernatural powers:
“Then they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, from the small to the great, so that they became weary of trying to find the doorway”(v11).
And they have authority. When Lot asked to escape to a nearby town, rather than make a journey into the mountains, one of the angels granted his request. It also seems that this request changed the destruction of the town of Zoar.
“Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.”(vs 21,22).
More attributes of Angels:
They have freewill to choose good or evil (Jude 6)
They can procreate (Genesis 6:4) despite the fact that they weren’t supposed to (Matthew 22:30).
They are NOT to be worshipped (Revelation 22:9)
They are created beings (Colossians 1:16)
They praise God (Psalm 148:1-2; Isaiah 6:3).
They worship God (Hebrews 1:6; Revelation 5:8-13).
They rejoice in what God does (Job 38:6-7).
They serve God (Psalm 103:20; Revelation 22:9).
They don’t have the same level of knowledge as God(Matthew 24:36)
They are instruments of God’s judgments (Revelation 7:1; 8:2).
They bring answers to prayer (Acts 12:5-10).
They observe Christian order, work, and suffering (1 Corinthians 4:9; 11:10; Ephesians 3:10; 1 Peter 1:12).
They encourage in times of danger (Acts 27:23-24).
They care for the righteous at the time of death (Luke 16:22).
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More Than Fat Winged Babies
Angels are much more than fat baby cherubs floating on clouds. They are powerful members and divine citizens of the heavenly realm. They don’t necessarily appear as a winged creature as we have seen. In fact, when angles interact with humans, they often look like men. Even though they are spirit beings, they can take on the form of men with many of the same attributes and physicality as men. As we have seen, angels are supernatural beings that interact regularly in our natural world.
Are all angels the same? How do they interact with us on earth?
To be continued…
Today’s Question
Verses to Explore
“Man ate the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance.”(Psalm 78:25)
“He sent His burning anger upon them, Fury and indignation and trouble, A band of destroying angels.”(Psalm 78:49).
“Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His heavenly armies!”(Psalms 148:2)
“As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”(Revelation 1:20)
“Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?”(1 Corinthians 6:3)
Today’s Prayer
Father your world is such a mystery. It’s amazing that you even consider humans in the way you do. When I read about the scenes in heaven and understand the vastness of all your creation, I am in awe that you are even mindful of us. And yet, your word not only tells me that you know and see us, you are concerned for us. You provide your angels to help us. How are we that important to you? You call me daughter. How is it that you not only created me, but you adopted me as your child?! You don’t adopt angels. In fact, you tell me that as your daughter, I will be part of their judges. That is beyond my comprehension.
Father, reveal to us our place in your world. Help us to grasp our true identity and see beyond the natural world. Help us see ourselves as you do. Help us to fully experience the love that you have for us, even while we are living in our fleshly bodies. We are your little sheep. And we are also kingdom citizens. Help us to see our world in the way that you do. Give us back a supernatural and Biblical worldview. Thank you Father for calling us, adopting us, loving us, and caring for us. Flood our hearts today with this reality and assurance. May all honor and glory be yours. Amen.❤️