tribesofsinai2024

Who was the mysterious character who appeared to Moses and spoke to him from a burning bush? 

Throughout the 1,500 years of recorded history in the Scriptures ‘the angel of the Lord’ appears in bodily form and speaks with people, especially in times of crisis. When he revealed himself to Moses it was not his blazing presence or his call to Moses by name, but his statement that ‘’I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,’’ that made Moses cover his face in fear.  

When discussing his identity with the religious leaders of his day, Jesus associated himself with this figure who appeared to Abraham. When the people rebut Jesus saying he could not have seen Abraham for he was not even fifty years old Jesus answered, ‘’I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM! (John 8:58).

Jude the half-brother of Jesus writes that Jesus/Lord/God/Christ rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not remain faithful. (Jude 5). 

John the beloved disciple of Jesus shares this eternal view of Jesus. In Revelation, the last book of the Bible, John is given a vision of the resurrected Jesus and how he is ruling the world in his glorious state. In chapter one Jesus says that he is the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come. He is the first to rise from the dead and the ruler of all the kings of the world. John falls like a dead man at his feet when he sees Jesus’s eyes were like flames of fire, his feet like burnished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves.

The early Church Fathers such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian also wrote identifying the ‘angel of the Lord ‘with Christ the Son of God, as did reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin. 

However, some influential leaders such as Augustine and Thomas Aquinas were cautious about associating the ‘angel of the Lord’ with the Lord Jesus Christ. At one time angel simply meant messenger but by the time the New Testament was being written angels were understood to be created beings distinct from God. Augustine was careful not to create misunderstanding by associating Jesus with an angel at a time when Aerians were teaching that Jesus was a created being. 

Some modern theologians are also cautious about associating the ‘angel of the Lord’ with the Lord Jesus. They quite rightly don’t want to see Jesus where he doesn’t belong. Yet respected theologians such as John Gill, Warren Wiersbe, John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul identify the ‘angel of the Lord’ as Yahweh and the Lord Jesus Christ appearing in pre-incarnate forms. 

What is clear is characters such as Hagar, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, the parents of Samson, Gideon, Elijah, and King David believed God had appeared to them as the ‘angel of the Lord’ and had spoken the Word of God to them, blessed them, and accepted worship from them. 

As a consequence of their encounter with the ‘angel of the Lord’ each of these people’s lives were transformed to become significant history-making leaders in their respective communities. 

Reflection

Who do you think appeared and spoke with Moses as he was tending his father-in-law’s sheep around the foot of Mount Sinai? 

Do you know the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? 

When did you last consciously seek the Lord’s face?

What are you afraid of? 

What do you think he might want to say to you? 

Prayer 

For visitors to the Sinai and Bedouin

to hear,

believe,

be reconciled to,

and pass on the stories of the God of their fathers,

the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.