Episode 2449 - Lesson 2 - Monday July 7 - The Angel of the Lord

“The angel of the Lord” appeared to Moses in flames of fire “from within a bush” (Exod. 3:2, NIV). It was the Lord Jesus Himself speaking to Moses “from within the bush” (Exod. 3:4, NIV).Do not be confused with the title “angel of the Lord” as a depiction of Jesus Christ. The term angel itself simply means “messenger” (Hebrew mal’akh), and it always depends on the context whether this angel is to be interpreted as human or divine (see Mal. 3:1). There are many instances in the Bible where “the angel of the Lord” refers to the divine person (study, for example, Gen. 22:11, 15–18; Gen. 31:3, 11, 13; Judg. 2:1, 2; Judg. 6:11–22; Zech. 3:1, 2). This angel of the Lord not only speaks in the name of the Lord, but He is the Lord Himself. Jesus is God’s messenger to com­municate the Father’s Word to us.Read Exodus 3:7–12. How did God explain to Moses why He wanted to intervene on behalf of the Israelites enslaved in Egypt?The suffering of God’s people in Egypt is colorfully described as a groaning and a deep cry for help. God heard their cry and was concerned (Exod. 2:23–25). He called them “my people” (Exod. 3:7). That is, even before Sinai and the ratifying of the covenant, they were His people, and He would cause them to dwell and prosper (if they would obey) in the land of Canaan, as He had promised their fathers.God said to Moses that He was sending him to Pharaoh for a specific task: “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (Exod. 3:10, NIV). Again, God calls them “my people.”What a task God presented to His servant! Moses, therefore, responded with a question: “Who am I?” That is, grasping the significance of what is going to happen and what his role is going to be in all this, Moses wonders why someone like himself would be chosen. Here, early on, we have an indication of his character, his humility, and his sense that he is unworthy of what he is being called to do.Why is humility, and a sense of our own “unworthiness,” so important for anyone who seeks to follow the Lord and do anything for Him?