Who Is The Angel Of The Lord (Jacob's stories)

Yesterday, I gave you the three scripture passages that told us of Jacob's encounters with the angel of the Lord. In Genesis 31:11-13, he has a dream about goats and God told him to go back to his family. In Genesis 32:24-30, he has a physical encounter with the angel of the Lord. And then in Genesis 48:15-16, Jacob blessed Joseph and his sons and although this does not give us a clear picture of an encounter he had with the angel of the Lord, he does mention him as "the God before whom my fathers  Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my Sheppard all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil...." and so my question was what do these passages mean in reference to the angel of the Lord and Jacob.

I am afraid that I bit off more then I can chew. I honestly have to tell you, that I would have to do more of a in-depth study on this to get some answers to that question.  And honestly, I just do not have the time at this point to put into it. So I am going to have to leave us wondering for now on the stories of Jacob and the angel of the Lord and go on to the next one tomorrow which will be Moses. I hope we can learn something about his encounter with the angel of the of the Lord.

I apologize for not being able to find out more about Jacob's encounters with him and hope you will come back tomorrow. In the meantime, thanks for coming by and I pray your day is blessed!

August 31, 2019 Promise: He refreshes my soul. He leads me along the right paths for his name's sake.

Who Is The Angel Of The Lord? (Jacob's stories)

Jacob had three visits from the angel of the Lord. They can be found in:Genesis 31:11-13, Genesis 32:24-30, Genesis 48:15-16.

Genesis 31:11-13 "Then the angel of God said to me in a dream, 'Jacob' and I said, 'Here I am!'  And he said, 'Lift up and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted and molten, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise and go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.'"

Genesis 32:24:30 "So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, 'Let me go, for it is daybreak.' But Jacob replied, 'I will not let you go until you bless me.' The man asked him, 'What is your name?' 'Jacob.' He answered. Then the man said, 'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel because you have struggled with God and humans and have overcome.' Jacob said, 'Please tell me your name.' But he replied, 'Why do you ask my name?' Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, 'It is because I saw God face to face and yet my life was spared.'"

Genesis 48:15-16 "Then he blessed Joseph and said, 'The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked with the God who has been my Shepard all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on; and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. 

The question on my mind for today is, what do these passages mean in reference to the angel of the Lord and Jacob? Tomorrow, I will try to be back with some answers for you. Until then my friends, have a blessed day!

August 30, 2019 Promise: He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters. Psalm 23:2

Who Is The Angel Of The Lord? (Abraham's story)

After all that Abraham and Sarah had been through, trying to have a child and finally in their old ages did indeed have that son that God had promised, Abraham was faced with the unthinkable. Now God wanted him to offer Issac as a burnt offering to him. (God)  How could God ask that of him after all they had been through. But, God did. And Abraham did not resist but was obedient to what God was asking of him. He took Issac and two young men and the wood for the burnt offering and they went to where God told them they were to go. When they got close, Abraham told the men to stay and he and Issac would go on and worship and then come back to them. With that he took Issac and the wood and knife to where God told them to go. Issac asked his father where the lamb was for the burnt offering to which Abraham answered that God would provide the lamb for the burnt offering. When they had reached the place where the offering was to take place, Abraham built an alter and then he placed the wood on it and bound Issac and laid him on the alter as well. And then Abraham took out his knife and went to kill his son.

However, the angel of the Lord called to Abraham from out of heaven. Abraham answered, "Here I am."  And the angel of the Lord said, "Lay not your hand on the lad, neither do anything to him. I know that you fear God because you have not withheld your son." And then Abraham saw a ram that had been caught in a thicket and he took the ram and offered it to God instead of his son.

And then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time telling him that because he had been willing to sacrifice his son to him, he was going to bless him and his seed would be multiplied as many as the stars in heaven and the sand on the sea shore. And that all nations would be blessed.

All because he had been willing to do as the angel of the Lord had instructed and obeyed God.  Genesis 22:1-18

Questions arise in this story for me. Did Abraham really believe God would stop this whole thing so that he would not have to kill his own son? Did Issac struggle while he was being tied up and placed on the alter, knowing now that he was the one to be sacrificed? Did he try to get away? Did he yell at his father? Curse at him? Or did he allow himself to be a willing sacrifice to God? And what of his mother Sarah? Did she know what was about to happen to the son she had waited so long for? Did she try to stop them? Did she get angry with God? With Abraham? Or was she obedient to what God was asking of them as well?

More ever, could I ever have willingly been as obedient to God if he ever asked something like this of me? I can assure you that I probably would not have been able to. I have trouble even obeying God in things that are not near as big as this was. Thankfully, God has never required this of me. Nor anything like it. But we do know that, when God does ask something of us, no matter what it is, or how small or big it is-he provides us with the ability to do it. And sometimes he may provide us with a way out, just like he did Abraham to sacrifice a ram instead of his son. All because of his willingness to do what he asked.

We don't know the answers to any of the questions I wonder about. Maybe someday, when I get to heaven, I will be allowed to know the answers.The thing was God  had required it of these two parents that undoubtedly loved their son. And yet, they or at least Abraham had been willing to do the unthinkable and trust God with the son that they had finally had after years of not having him.

What love God had for him that he spared his son from the death that had been coming.

And yet, God did not spare his own Son, Jesus Christ from the death that would come many years later. Jesus had to die as a sacrifice for the sins of all man kind. Yours and mine. How much more love did he have then that?

He doesn't require anything for his sacrifice. There is nothing we can give or do for it. We have just to acknowledge our sin, repent and accept his gift of eternal life. It is all he requires. It is all we can do.

August 28, 2019 Promise: The Lord is my Shepard. I shall not want. Psalms 23:1

Hello Friends. Thanks for your visit today. Up tomorrow on 'Who is the Angel of the Lord? (Jacob's story.) I hope you will be back to see what we can learn by his account.

Who Is The Angel of The Lord (Abraham and Sarah's story

The angel of the Lord appeared to both Abraham and Sari in Genesis 18:1-3. Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent one day when he looked up and saw three men standing nearby. He ran to meet them and bowed low to the ground  He said to them, "If I have found favor in your eyes, do not pass your servant by." He brought them water and had Sarah bake them bread and prepared a calf for them to eat. In verse 10, one of the men gave Abraham the promise that he would return in a year and he and his wife Sarah would have a son. Sarah laughed when she heard this because she was past the age of child bearing.

Then the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' Is there anything too hard for the Lord? I will return at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son." vs 13-14

According to Who Is the Angel of the LORD & What Does the Bible Say about Him? - Bible Study
"Abraham recognized these visitors as being extremely important, hence the out of character behavior (for someone of his age and wealth) running to greet them, but he noticed something different about one of them. The term “O Lord” here, as the ESV Study Bible explains, “(Hb. Adonay) is a distinctive one for God in the OT (e.g., 20:4)...If the spelling in the Hebrew text is correct—and there is no reason to doubt it—then Abraham recognizes that one of his visitors is a divine manifestation.”

This passage reveals to us that even though Abraham and Sarah were old, that was not a hindrance to the fact that God was going to bless them with the child that Sarah so desperately wanted. Who else could do that but God? 

This may be a short account of what the angel of the Lord revealed to them. But he was not quite done visiting Abraham. Come back tomorrow for Abraham's next visit. 

August 27, 2019 Promise: Every good and perfect gift coming down from the Father of heavenly lights who does not change like the shift shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all that he has created.  James 1:17-18


Thanks for coming by Friends. May God bless your day and may you pass your blessings to someone that needs one as well!

Who is the Angel of the Lord in the Bible? (Hagar's story)

"The Hebrew word for angel may be translated 'messenger'....when the angel of the Lord speaks, his words are perceived as being God's words. Therefore the impression is given that the angel is identical with God."  ESV Study Bible


The first recorded angel of the Lord is recorded in Genesis 16:10 when he appeared to Hagar the mistress of Abraham who was also the mother of Ishmael.
 The angel of the Lord also said to her, "I will so greatly multiply your offspring so that they cannot be counted for multitude."

Sarai had not been able to conceive a child with her husband Abraham, so she allowed Hagar to be with him so that she  (Sari) could then have a child. However, when Hagar had conceived, Sari wasn't so happy with her at all and she treated her very badly. And so Hagar ran from Sari into the desert. And that is where the angel of the Lord appeared to her.

He told her that she would bare a son and would name him Ishmael. He was to be a "wild man" and would make enemies of many men.

In this case, only God can make such grand promises as here that he was going to multiply her offspring.

Hagar did believe this angel was God because she called him "the God that seeth me." 

She went on and had the son that he had told her was coming. And  as it turned out, indeed she named him Ishmael who had many enemies during his life. .

By this account, we know that that angels do foretell the future. Of course, the angel of the Lord would especially be able to do that because he is recognized to be identified as God due to the fact that only God can do the things that he did.

Many people do believe in angels.because many times they are spoken of in the Bible. God did create them for specific purposes that he gives them.

But make no mistake. There are frauds out in the world, more then willing to take our money to have them tell us what our angels are saying to us. We must wholeheartedly reject even the slightest temptation to listen to these people. Even if they tell us things that are true, we must realize that even Satan knows things about us that he can feed to these people to make what they say to us seem true. He is described as an angel of light in 2 Corinthians 11:14,  That in itself should give us warning to keep clear of anything that is not biblical.

 We  do know that there is more then one kind of angel. They are either the ones that are in heaven with God who do his bidding And then....

...there is the other kind is the ones (known as demons)  that fell with Satan from heaven. And it is these, of course, that we want to avoid at all costs.

August 25, 2019 Promise" "...I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of angels over one sinner that repents." Luke 15:10

Hi Friends. Thanks for coming by today. Come back tomorrow for: Who Is The Angel of the Lord? (Abraham & Saris's story)  God bless you on today, His Lord's Day!

From Blessing the Lord to the Angel of the Lord; Psalms 34:1-9

I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear thereof and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him and were lightened; and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him from all his troubles. 

The angel of the Lord encamped round about them that feared him and delivered them. O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth  in him. O fear the Lord: ye his saints, for there is no want in him that fear him.  The young lions do lack and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord do not lack any good thing. Come ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you to fear me Psalm 34:1-9

Hello Friends. The secret of the Lord's angel being encamped around us, is really no secret at all. It is right there in Psalm 34:7. He is there around those that fear the Lord. Is he there? Around you.? If you seek him, are humble, blessing God at all times, and in all things and  then seeking him-the promise of his angel is with you. What an awesome thing to know that he is with us in all things. Good or bad, he is with us.

But who does the bible say the angel of the Lord is? And what other angels does the bible talk about? Why were they created? How many were there? Who did they appear to and for what reasons? How many did God create?

I have touched on this topic before. Is there anything else that we can learn about them?

Come back tomorrow and I will let you know what I find out, if anything about these beings that God created for his work.

Thanks for coming today May God richly bless and protect you this weekend!

Anxiety

Have you experienced any anxiety this year? This month? How about today?

I am sorry to have to admit. I have. This year. This month. And while the day is just beginning in my neck of the woods, perhaps it hasn't started yet. But will it? Or is there something I can do to have the kind of peace that Jesus wants to give me?

What is anxiety anyway?

Google's dictionary describes it this way: noun: a feeling of worry, concern, or unease typically about an intermittent event or something with an uncertain outcome. 

Does that describe you? Last month? Yesterday? Today?

If so, what can you and I do about it, when it hits us and sometimes wants to bowl us over like a ball hitting pins in a bowling alley?

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

God doesn't want us to be anxious. Not for anything. But what is this about giving thanks when we are asking his answers to our prayers? Is that absolutely necessary?

Well...absolutely...yes. 

In giving thanks to God, it acknowledges that we are thankful to him. For his love, his mercy, his provision. If he were just a god in the sense that some kings have ruled over their people  with evil intent and cruelty we sure would not be thankful for someone like that. But God-the true God of the bible is good. He wants to give us good things and be thankful for what he has done for us. Even when things may not be going the way we want them to go. 

It is kind of like when we do something nice for another person. We like to be thanked by them and if they don't thank us, we might tend to be offended. Especially if we do it out of the goodness of our heart. 

It is that way with God. He wants us to thank him for what he has done because he always does things for us, out of the goodness of his heart. /Always. 

We may not always be thankful for the situations we find ourselves in, but looking to God and being thankful for who he is and what he has done and what he is going to do, takes us away from being bitter about what we are going through and puts our minds on "...things above, not on things of the earth." as Colossians 3:2 tells us. I don't know about you, but I would rather have that kind of a mind set then one that is bitter and  not thankful. 

Oh, it is not always easy. But when we dig into what the bible says about thankfulness and also anxiety...when we spend the time in Gods word and learning what he wants for us, we can get our minds in tune with what he does want for us. 

If you are having a bad year or a bad day, look up some scripture on both anxiety and thankfulness. It will make your day go so much better then if you would rather let that ball hit your pin and knock you down. 

August 21, 2019 Promise: Cast your anxiety on him, for he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Hi Friends. Thanks for coming by today. If you are suffering with anxiety in your life, just know that God loves you. I have been there and still have to watch it in myself. If you want some bible verses  and more information on both subjects of anxiety and being thankful, please follow these links.

Bible Verses About Worry: How To Cast Your Cares On Him In The Midst Of Trouble

Why does giving thanks to God matter?

Bible Verses For Anxiety

God Bless!