Yahweh and the Angel of Yahweh

The Name of Yahweh

What does your name mean to you? I have to say that I don’t think about the meaning of my name much at all.  The name William has several possible meanings, “determined protector,” “resolute protector,” or “strong-willed warrior.” Randall may mean “wolf shield” or “strong defender,” and Johnson is self-descriptive. I would like to think those meanings have become reality for my character, but that might just be wishful thinking.

I don’t recall the meaning of my name ever being particularly motivating of my actions or decisions, but I am rather fond of my name.  I’m more particularly fond of my middle name, the name my parents and siblings always called me. When I was in ninth grade and a new kid on the first day of school, each of my teachers called roll from a roster they had been given and my name was listed as William Johnson. I just said “here” when they called William Johnson, not wanting to correct them and say I went by Randall.  But by the end of the day I was miserable, even crying at home that I didn’t like being called William at school. So the next day I went to each of my teachers and asked them to change my name on their list to Randall. My science teacher, however, had somehow already memorized my name from the first day and called me Will the rest of the year. For some reason I was okay with that.

Our names are valuable to most of us. Others of us don’t like our names. But either way they form our identity and fix us as someone unique in the world. Does the God of the universe have a name? Does the Namer of all things name Himself? He tells us that He does:

God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation. (Exodus 3:15)

I am Yahweh; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. (Isaiah 42:8)

And of course, the One who created language didn’t need to look at a names-for-babies book to understand the meaning of His name.

¹³ Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”  ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:13,14)

The name God gives Moses, Yahweh, is made up of four Hebrew consonants, yohd (י), heh (ה), waw (ו), and heh (ה), and because Hebrew reads from right to left, it looks like this, יהוה. We write this YHWH, and supplying vowels read it as Yahweh. Yahweh tells Moses that the meaning of His name is like the Hebrew word HYH, which can be translated either “I am” or “I will be.” Jesus, alluding to this name, tells his detractors in John 8:58, “before Abraham was, I am!” signifying his understanding or interpretation of HYH. Yahweh is related to the present tense “I am,” and Yahweh Himself gives Moses no further explanation than that.

So why do we so infrequently use Yahweh in our translations, and instead often translate it Lord, that is, capital L and small capitals ord? Some translations use Yahweh (see the Jerusalem Bible, The Sacred Scriptures Bethel Edition, New Jerusalem Bible, and occasionally the Holman Christian Standard Bible), but the use of Lord is an unfortunate translation convention or policy. Are we showing dishonor to God by not using His name? God is not so petty as I was and needing to correct my teachers. He understands our confusion and conventions. But I would suppose that if we know His name, since He revealed it, we should use it. It is used 6,823 times in the Old Testament. We also see it in the names people were given, Isaiah (Yeshayahu, Yahweh is salvation), Jehoshaphat (Yehoshaphat, Yahweh has judged), Joshua (Yehoshua, Yahweh is salvation), and many others, as well as in the encouragement “hallelujah” (Let us praise Yah).

Yahweh says He does not give His glory, and so we might say, His name, to another (Isaiah 42:8), so what does this mean for the identity of the Angel of Yahweh? What does it mean for Jesus’ assertion that he is the I Am (John 8:58)?

 

The Name of Yahweh, Part Two

When my parents named me they gave me the first name of my father (and it was the second or middle name of his father) and, from who knows where, they gave me the second or middle name of Randall. That’s what they always called me. When I got in school there were those who knew my name was Randall but would want to call me Randy instead. I suppose a diminutive of our name, as we call it, is intended as an affectionate address, I didn’t like it, and my mom really didn’t like it. Were they taking my name in vain? Not really.

Yahweh commands His people, “Thou shalt not take the name of Yahweh thy God in vain; for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7, King James Version). Other versions translate this, “Do not misuse.” The Message suggests, “No using the name of God, your God, in curses or silly banter; God won’t put up with the irreverent use of his name.” And there is truth to that, but the real concern of Yahweh here is using His name as a backup to your oath that you don’t keep.

Scripture endorses making oaths or promises in Yahweh’s name (Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20; 1 Samuel 20:42; 24:21; 1 Kings 22:16; 2 Kings 2:24; 2 Chronicles 18:15; 36:13; Isaiah 48:1; Jeremiah 12:16; Zephaniah 5:4) and, in Jeremiah 44:26, Yahweh even swears by His own name.

But hear the word of Yahweh, all you Jews living in Egypt: ‘I swear by my great name,’ says Yahweh, ‘that no one from Judah living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name or swear, “As surely as the Sovereign Yahweh lives.”

Yahweh’s name is great.

It is the name we are to call on in prayer (Genesis 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 21:33; 26:25; 1 Kings 18:24; 2 Kings 5:11; Psalm 99:6; 116:4,13,17; Lamentations 3:55; Joel 2:32; Zephaniah 3:9; Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13; 1 Corinthians 1:2).

It is the name we are to honor and love (Exodus 33:19; Deuteronomy 28:58; 32:3; 2 Samuel 22:50; 2 Chronicles 16:8,10,29; Nehemiah 1:11; 9:5; Job 1:21; Psalm 7:17; 8:1,9; 18:49; 20:5; 29:2; 30:4; 34:3; 54:6: 68:4; 86:9,12; 91:14; 92:1; 96:2; 96:8; 97:12; 102:21; 103:1; 105:1,3; 106:47; 113:1,2,3; 115:1; 119:55; 122:4; 129:8; 135:1,3,13; 145:21; 148:5,13; Isa 12:4; 24:15; 25:1; 26:8,13; 55:6; 63:14,16; Jeremiah 3:17).

But we can misuse Yahweh’s name (Exodus 20:7; Leviticus 18:21; 19:12; 21:6; 22:2,32; 24:16; Deuteronomy 5:11; Psalm 74:18; Proverbs 30:9; Isaiah 52:5; 65:15; Jeremiah 29:23; Ezekiel 20:39; 36:22,23; Zechariah 13:3; Malachi 1:6; 2:2).

Yahweh Himself proclaims His own name (Exodus 34:5; Ezekiel 39:7,25; Daniel 9:15; Joel 2:26; Malachi 3:16; Acts 9:15; 19:17; 2 Thessalonians 1:2; 2 Timothy 2:19; Revelation 15:4). In fact, He is jealous for it (Exodus 34:14; Daniel 9:15). He does good things despite us for the sake of His name (1 Samuel 12:22; Psalm 25:11; 109:21; 143:11; Jeremiah 14:7; Ezekiel 20:44)

We are to do things in His name, right and good things commensurate with His character:

• bless people Deuteronomy (10:8; 21:5; 2 Samuel 6:18; 1 Chronicles 23:13)
• prophesy and preach (Deuteronomy 18:22; 26:2; 1 Chronicles 21:19; 2Chronicles 33:18; Jeremiah 11:21; 14:14,15; 26:16,20; 27:15; 29:9,21; 44:16; Matthew 7:22; Acts 9:27,28; 1 Corinthians 1:10; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; James 5:10)
• fight unrighteous enemies (1 Samuel 17:45; 20:42; 2 Chronicles 14:11; Psalm 118:10,11,12)
• honor friendship (1 Samuel 40:22)
• build altars (1 Kings 18:32)
• call down curses (2 Kings 2:24)
• come in blessing (Psalm 118:26; Micah 4:5; Matthew 21:9; 23:39; Mark 11:9; Luke 13:35; 19:38; John 12:13)
• shepherd Messiah’s flock (Micah 5:4)
• cast out demons (Luke 10:17; Acts 19:13)
• baptize (Acts 8:16; 19:5)
• risk our lives (Acts 15:26; 21:13)
• discipline (1 Corinthians 5:3)
• find salvation (1 Corinthians 6:11)
• give thanks (Ephesians 5:20)
• do whatever we do (Colossians 3:17)
• anoint for healing (James 5:14)

He has chosen to let His name dwell in the temple in Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 12:11;21; 14:23,24; 16:2,11; 1 Kings 3:2; 5:3,5; 8:17,20,44; 9:3; 2 Kings 21:4,7; 23:27; 1 Chronicles 22:7,8,19; 29:16; 2 Chronicles 2:1,4; 6:7,8,10; 12:13; 33:4; Isaiah 18:7; Jeremiah 17:11,30; 25:29).

He has called Israel and saved Gentiles by His name (Deuteronomy 28:10; Jeremiah 14:9; 15:16; Daniel 9:19; Amos 9:12; Acts 15:17), and the ark of the covenant (2 Samuel 6:2; 1 Chronicles 13:6).

His name will be great (2 Chronicles 17:24; Zechariah 14:9) and we may trust in it (Psalm 9:10; 20:7; 86:11; 102:15; Isaiah 50:10; 59:19; Zephaniah 3:12; Malachi 1:14) and find protection in it (Psalm 20:1; 124:8; Proverbs 18:10; Zechariah 10:12), even though we may be persecuted for it (Isaiah 66:5; Acts 9:16).

¹⁶ Cover their faces with shame, Yahweh, so that they will seek your name. ¹⁷ May they ever be ashamed and dismayed; may they perish in disgrace. ¹⁸ Let them know that you, whose name is Yahweh—that you alone are the Most High over all the earth. (Psalm 83:16-18)

 

Yahweh Among Us

When Adam and Eve were first created, and for however long they were in the garden before they disobeyed Yahweh’s command not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, God came into the garden and spent time with them:

In the cool of the evening, the man and his wife heard Yahweh Elohim walking around in the garden. (Genesis 3:8, Names of God Bible)

If He was “walking” around and if they were able to see and talk with him, it appears He had taken on the form of a human to fellowship with them.  It is just as likely that he was in human form when Cain and Abel came to present to Him their offerings, and He spoke with Cain. There was immediate and intimate interaction with Yahweh in those days. But as the human population increases and with it their rebelliousness, we have a singular statement: At that time people began to call on the name of Yahweh. (Genesis 4:26)

Now, instead of intimately walking around and talking with Him, one had to call upon Him, in prayer, presumably. This is a major shift in the way humans related to God. He would appear to people on occasion, but not like He did at the beginning.

I was recently reading the testimony of a man who, as he wept and cried out in his bedroom for his son whose bout of bacterial meningitis left him comatose and with no expectation of recovery, saw Jesus come into his room. I had a pastor who gave testimony to seeing Jesus in person in his home. And the Bible has multiple accounts of God or Christ appearing to people in person. This is the kind of relationship with God that we long for, but that happens too infrequently.

In the Old Testament account, these experiences of God’s personal appearance are often tied to the appearance of the Angel or Messenger of Yahweh. The word “angel” (melek in the Hebrew) means messenger. We use the term “angel” because it comes from the Greek word for messenger, angelos. The Greek word for a good message is euangelion, gospel. When we use the word “angel” it typically makes of think of the superior beings who serve God, and that is appropriate since they are often used as messengers.  But a melek or angelos can be anyone who brings a message.

You can be an angel or messenger of God, a speaker of the good message, the euangelion. But often in the Old Testament there is a particular being who is described as the Messenger of Yahweh, and who is obviously supernatural, even though garbed in natural appearance (as a man, usually, but on one occasion, as flame in a bush).

Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Then the Messenger of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. (Exodus 3:1,2).

Is this a “regular” angel, one of God’s created beings whom He often uses to communicate to people, or is this “angel” or messenger unique? Are there still ways in which Yahweh will come to us today? Do we look forward to heaven and the kingdom when we will have that original, intimate face-to-face interaction with God that Adam and Eve had?

 

Hagar Meets the Messenger of Yahweh 

I had an experience of God’s presence that I did not deserve, nor did I expect it. I was teaching in a church in India, and at the end of the teaching time the pastor came and told me there were several people in his congregation that wanted me to pray for them. I didn’t feel panic but I didn’t really relish the opportunity because I knew these folks were probably going to ask for healings and I didn’t have much confidence that my prayers would garner those healings for them. Perhaps just to show me not to sell God short, as my translator talked with the first person in line to tell me what she wanted prayer for, before she told me I knew what her issue was. I knew she was being bothered by a demon. Sure enough, it was an older woman who was being wakened each morning at 1 a.m. by a demon. I was astonished that God had revealed this to me and took it as a sign that I needed to pay attention to what He brought to my mind as I prayed for these folks. I prayed for the woman and instructed her how make the demon flee and a word the next day with the pastor told me she had received God’s help.

Hagar, the servant of Sarah, also had an unexpected experience of God’s presence. We first meet the Messenger of Yahweh in Genesis 16, when Sarah harshly mistreats Hagar, her servant, who has become pregnant with a child on her behalf as a concubine of Abraham.  The pregnant Hagar flees into the wilderness in despair.  The Messenger of Yahweh finds Hagar seeking shelter at a spring and initially asks her questions about what is going on.  We may assume from what Hagar says later, that the Messenger of Yahweh appears to her in human form, because it is not until He begins prophesying to her about her child and commanding her to return to Sarah that she realizes it is Yahweh who is speaking to her.

⁷ The Messenger of Yahweh found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. ⁸ He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?”  She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.”  ⁹ Then the Messenger of Yahweh said to her, “You must go back to your mistress and submit to her mistreatment.” ¹⁰ The Messenger of Yahweh also said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count.” ¹¹ Then the Messenger of Yahweh said to her: You have conceived and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael, for Yahweh has heard your cry of affliction. ¹² This man will be like a wild donkey. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; he will live at odds with all his brothers. (Genesis 16:7-12)

In fact, though throughout it keeps describing this man who is speaking to her as the Messenger of Yahweh, in verse 13 a shift occurs:

So she called Yahweh who spoke to her: The God Who Sees, for she said, “In this place, I have actually seen the One who sees me” (Genesis 16:13)

Some translations make this a question, “Have I actually seen the One who sees me?” suggesting that Hagar is unsure if she has seen Yahweh or not, though she suspects she has. But regardless, Moses says she “called Yahweh who spoke to her: The God Who Sees.” Moses identifies the Messenger of Yahweh as Yahweh who spoke to her.

This makes it clear that the Angel or Messenger of Yahweh who appears to Hagar is not a created angel, but is Yahweh Himself.  How can that be? Rashi, a famous medieval French Jewish rabbi (1040-1105), and the author of comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible, says of this verse that Hagar was speaking in wonderment, “Would I have thought that even here in the desert I would see the emissary of the Omnipresent after I had seen them in the house of Abraham, where I was accustomed to seeing angels?” Rashi completely ignores Moses’ comment that Hagar was speaking to Yahweh and calls the Messenger of Yahweh merely an “emissary of the Omnipresent.” We would suspect that he envisions Yahweh speaking through the emissary or messenger, and therefore that Yahweh is speaking to her. But we will see that this cannot be what Moses means.

 

Abraham and the Angel of Yahweh

Would you really do anything God told you to do? Abraham had finally had a son Isaac by Sarah, at the age of 100 no less, and had sent Ishmael away with his mother Hagar, when Yahweh spoke to him (out loud or just in his mind) and told him to sacrifice Isaac. This was his only chance, unless God performed another miracle, of having an heir who would carry on the promise God made Abraham that he would become a great nation and possess Canaan. That seemed crazy. But Abraham faithfully journeyed to the mountain God told him to take Isaac to as a place of sacrifice.

Would you do anything your father told you to do? Isaac knows they are going to sacrifice on Mount Moriah, but also knows they have taken no animal with them. His father tells Him God will provide the animal. Of course, when they get there, it is Isaac who is bound and put on the altar. Couldn’t he have resisted, run away, or persuaded his father not to do this? But he submitted to it.

When Abraham takes the knife in his hand to slay his own son, we are told:

But the Messenger of Yahweh called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” (Genesis 22:11–12)

Initially, at the beginning of this journey, God speaks to Abraham telling him to go, but here, the Messenger of Yahweh speaks out of heaven, out loud we may presume, to stop Abraham. Why? The Messenger speaks of God in the third person (“I know that you fear God”) but says Abraham has not withheld Isaac from Him (first person, “from me”).

And the Messenger of Yahweh called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares Yahweh, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:15–18)

Now speaking in the first person, the Messenger of Yahweh says Yahweh has sworn that because Abraham has done this Yahweh will fulfill His promise to Abraham. If God spoke to Abraham before, why now have the Messenger of Yahweh speak to Abraham and speak God’s words to Abraham? And the Messenger does not take on a human form to speak to Abraham but speaks out of heaven. Did Isaac hear this and understand? There are so many unanswered questions, but here are the facts as we know them:

1. The Messenger of Yahweh is a separate personality from Yahweh who can speak about Yahweh and for Yahweh.
2. The Messenger of Yahweh can take on a human form to interact with humans.
3. The Messenger of Yahweh can speak from heaven without manifesting in any physical form.
4. The Messenger of Yahweh can speak as if he is Yahweh.

The next appearance of this Messenger will be to Moses, some 400 years after this.

 

Moses Meets the Angel of Yahweh

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the Messenger of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked and saw that the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush has not burned.” When Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3:1–6)

Years back in 1994, there was a revival taking place in Toronto, Canada, that was like this burning bush Moses saw. It was creating a lot of stir and people were drawn to come see it. My pastor offered his staff a chance to go see it, so I went. We were seeing spirited worship, individual prayer resulting in people being “slain” in the Spirit, people roaring like lions, and uncontrollable laughter in the Spirit. I submitted to prayer but didn’t get slain. The person standing behind me to catch me nudged me as I was praying, trying to initiate the fall, so I told God I was only going down if He made me go down. He didn’t. Some fascinating things happened to me as a result of the prayer there, but not the advertised slaying.

Moses, on the other hand, experienced something totally supernatural, a meeting with God. We’re told that the Messenger of Yahweh appeared in the flame of fire in the bush that attracted Moses’ attention. But when Moses comes to the bush it says God called to him from the bush. Is it Yahweh or the Messenger of Yahweh who is in the bush? That it is God who is in the bush is undeniable because His presence makes the ground there holy. Moses clearly understands this is God and he is afraid to look at Him because of the belief that he would die if he did so. But that it is the Messenger of Yahweh who is in the bush is also undeniable. Can they be equated?

We’ve already seen that the Messenger of Yahweh and Yahweh are separate personalities, and that the Messenger of Yahweh can speak for Yahweh, even quote Him, yet can also speak as if He is Yahweh. And here, at the bush, it appears that the Messenger of Yahweh is, in some sense, Yahweh, whose presence makes the ground holy. He is not in human form but is physically manifesting as flaming fire that does not consume the bush. And he is called Yahweh and God by the text.

So to our list of facts about the Messenger of Yahweh we can add another:

1. The Messenger of Yahweh is a separate personality from Yahweh who can speak about Yahweh and for Yahweh.
2. The Messenger of Yahweh can take on a human form to interact with humans.
3. The Messenger of Yahweh can speak from heaven without manifesting in any physical form.
4. The Messenger of Yahweh can speak as if he is Yahweh.
5. The Messenger of Yahweh is equal to Yahweh.

It is time to make a digression to figure this mystery out.

 

Two Yahwehs 

In 1988, when I was on staff at Central Church in Memphis TN, the Ted Koppel Report came to our church to hold a television panel discussion with seven famous televangelists, John Wimber, Jerry Falwell, Jack Hayford, E. V. Hill, James Kennedy, James Robison, Robert Schuler (by satellite). Koppel called the broadcast “The Billion Dollar Pie,” and discussed the greed and failure of some other televangelists as an indictment against televangelism in general. The day of the broadcast Ted Koppel got several of us staff members to sit on the stage as if we were the evangelists he was going to be interviewing in order to prepare. It was an amazing and unexpected visit.

Abraham had an even more unexpected and amazing visit at his tent:

And Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. (Genesis 18:1–3)

One of the three “men” is Yahweh, the other two, we learn soon, are angels.  Abraham seems to recognize that Yahweh is visiting him, and he addresses Yahweh as Lord, in the Hebrew, adonai (lord, master).  When Yahweh tells Abraham that He is going to judge Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham questions if He will destroy these communities if they have righteous people in them and Yahweh says that even if they have 10 righteous people in them He will not destroy them.  But the only righteous among them are Lot and his family, less than 10.  So Yahweh sends the two angels to evacuate Lot and his family from Sodom before the coming judgment, and Yahweh goes and stands overlooking these two cities and brings judgment.

Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. Yahweh said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of Yahweh by doing righteousness and justice, so that Yahweh may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” Then Yahweh said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.” (Genesis 18:16–21)

And Yahweh went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place. (Genesis 18:33)

Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from Yahweh out of heaven. (Genesis 19:24)

Do you see the two Yahwehs? There is the Yahweh who has visited Abraham, the Yahweh who has been accompanied by two angels, all of them appearing in human form, come to judge the twin cities of the plain.  And there is Yahweh in heaven.  Yahweh on earth rains sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from Yahweh in heaven.  His investigation complete, and Lot rescued from the city, Yahweh on earth authorizes sulfur and fire from Yahweh in heaven.

Rashi, the French rabbi and commentator, tries to explain away two Yahwehs this way,

It is customary for the Scriptural verses to speak in this manner, as in (above 4:23): “wives of Lemech,” and he did not say, “my wives.” And so did David say (I Kings 1:33): “Take with you the servants of your lord,” and he did not say, “my servants”; and so did Ahasuerus say (Esther 8:8): “in the name of the king,” and he did not say, “in my name.” Here too it states “from Yahweh,” and it does not state “from Him.”

But we do not have here the same word construction Rashi is describing in Genesis 4:23, 1 Kings 1:33, or Esther 8:8. There, in those places, you have men speaking of themselves in the third person. Here, in Genesis 19, no one is speaking, but rather the author, Moses, is describing what happens. Yahweh, he says, rains sulfur and fire from Yahweh out of heaven.

What do we do with this. Are there two individuals bearing the name Yahweh? It would appear so, in which case, though Yahweh is a name, it is not a name exclusive to the one personage. And based on what we see we may deduce that there is a Yahweh who interacts with people on earth and a Yahweh who is in heaven, the former personage usually designated the Angel or Messenger of Yahweh (or, as in Genesis 31:9-13, the Angel of God). Who the two Yahwehs are seems clear to us now, the Father and the Son. And this means that the Messenger of Yahweh who is a distinct personality from the Yahweh in heaven, yet who is equal to Yahweh in heaven, is without a doubt the Son of God, who will later take on permanent human form, adding human nature to his divine nature.

It makes eminent sense that Jesus, prior to taking on human nature, would be the one who would be the divine Messenger of Yahweh. As John tells us, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” (NIV) The Son has the responsibility of making the Father known, and that is exactly what the Messenger of Yahweh does.

 

Jacob and the Angel of God 

On my way back from the Toronto revival meetings I attended (in one I was recruited to accompany the woman praying for individuals and to stand behind and catch them if they were “slain” or fell) I had this sense that seemed to come from God that I was supposed to speak to a teacher/pastor back home about accountability. The impression was so strong that my resistance to doing this was overcome. I told Yahweh one Sunday that if I saw this man at church (which I rarely did) I would talk to him. I didn’t see him. But after church my wife and I went to eat at a nearby mall and lo and behold, as we were leaving down an otherwise deserted hallway, here comes the guy with his wife. So I told him I had a message that I thought was from God, the one word, “accountability.” He said, rather oddly, “So we’re square then?” “Yes,” I said, and we parted ways.

Jacob had a word from God, in fact, from someone designated as the angel or messenger of God:

¹⁰ “In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. ¹¹ The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’ ¹² And he said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. ¹³ I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.’” (Genesis 31:10-13, NIV)

What is remarkable about this is that the “angel of God” says, “I am the God of Bethel” where Jacob saw God in heaven and angels going up and down a staircase to heaven. The messenger, just as we have seen with the Messenger of Yahweh, speaks as God, identifies Himself as God or Yahweh.

Jacob, not long after this, leaves for Canaan, fearful of his father-in-law Laban, and spends the night alone as he prepares to meet his estranged brother, Esau.

²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ 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. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” ²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. ²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” ²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. ³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” (Genesis 32:24-30)

Here, the man who wrestles with Jacob is not identified as the angel or messenger of God (Yahweh) but is clearly in human form and acts and speaks as if He is God (Hosea says Jacob “struggled with the angel and overcame him,” Hosea 12:4). Jacob believes he has wrestled with God, and Hosea also testifies, “He met God at Bethel, and there God spoke with us —Yahweh, the God of hosts, Yahweh is his name (Hosea 12:5). This is likely the same person who spoke to Jacob earlier (Genesis 31) and who elsewhere is identified as the Messenger of Yahweh.

And we may suppose therefore that it is the Messenger of Yahweh who accompanied Israel as the nation journeyed to Canaan:

¹⁹ Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, ²⁰ coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. (Exodus 14:19,20)

²⁰ “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. ²¹ Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. ²² If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. (Exodus 23:20-22)

^{[After their sin with the golden calf] 33} Yahweh replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. ³⁴ Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.” (Exodus 32:33,34)

Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ ² I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ³ Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.” (Exodus 33:1-3)

This may be what Isaiah is referencing:

 In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. (Isaiah 63:9)

What an extraordinary ministry the Messenger of Yahweh has had.

 

The Strange Case of Balaam and the Messenger of Yahweh 

Balaam was a man who “practiced divination” (Joshua 13:22), which means he used numerous means to figure out God’s will, one of which was hearing God’s voice as a seer or prophet. He has a genuine ability to hear from God. He was hired by Balak, king of Moab, to curse Israel so that Balak’s nation could defeat them and expel them from his land, which Israel was using as a staging ground for their invasion of Canaan. Balaam initially hears from God that he cannot be employed by Balak this way, but Balaam chooses to go to Moab and Balak because he wants the money:

²¹ Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. ²² But God was very angry when he went, and the Messenger of Yahweh stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³ When the donkey saw the Messenger of Yahweh standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road. ²⁴ Then the Messenger of Yahweh stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. ²⁵ When the donkey saw the Messenger of Yahweh, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again.

²⁶ Then the Messenger of Yahweh moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. ²⁷ When the donkey saw the Messenger of Yahweh, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff. ²⁸ Then Yahweh opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” ²⁹ Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.” ³⁰ The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” “No,” he said. ³¹ Then Yahweh opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Messenger of Yahweh standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.

³² The Messenger of Yahweh asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. ³³ The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.” ³⁴ Balaam said to the Messenger of Yahweh, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.” ³⁵ The Messenger of Yahweh said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials. (Numbers 22:21-35)

Here again we see the juxtaposition of God (Yahweh) and the Messenger of Yahweh, the One, Yahweh, being who Balaam speaks with, and the other, the Messenger of Yahweh, being the One who physically shows Himself to Balaam and his donkey as an agent of judgment. In a fascinating partnership, the Messenger of Yahweh opposes Balaam, though initially invisible to Balaam and visible only to Balaam’s donkey, then Yahweh open’s Balaam’s eyes to see the Messenger of Yahweh. Balaam bows to the Messenger of Yahweh and confesses his sin to Him, and the Messenger of Yahweh tells him to go to Balak but to speak only what the Messenger of Yahweh will tell him to speak.

Then, when Balaam reaches Balak:

⁴ God met with him, and Balaam said, “I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.” ⁵ Yahweh put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.” (Numbers 23:4,5)

The God who meets with Balaam is Yahweh-on-earth, the Messenger of Yahweh, who interacts with humans in physical form at the behest of Yahweh-in-heaven. This Yahweh-on-earth stood in Balaam’s way as he moved in disobedience. Is God standing in the way of your route to sin?

 

Joshua’s Moses-Like Experience of the Messenger of Yahweh 

A friend of mine from seminary who was pastoring a church in the St. Louis area was ready to retire. He groomed a man on his staff to take over for him. When he was ready my friend resigned as pastor and this younger man became the church pastor. I’ve never been a part of a succession plan, never been groomed to take over from someone else, but Joshua, son of Nun, was. He served as Moses’ right-hand man until Moses’ death, then God installed him as the leader of Israel, who would take the nation into Canaan and dispossess the Canaanites.

When Joshua is preparing to make Israel’s first incursion into Canaan, he has a strange experience:

¹³ Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a sword drawn in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” ¹⁴ “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of Yahweh I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” ¹⁵ The commander of Yahweh’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:13-15)

Who is this commander of Yahweh’s army? He appears to Joshua as a man ready for battle. When asked whose side he is on he says he is not on anyone’s side. He isn’t an ally for the Canaanites nor an ally for Israel. He is the leader of Israel’s army, the commander-in-chief, Joshua’s commanding officer. And the ground where he is standing is holy.

This must be the Messenger of Yahweh, who appeared to Moses in the burning bush and made the ground there holy because He is Yahweh, He is God, He is the Holy One. He gives Joshua his marching orders:

² Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. ³ March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. ⁴ Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. ⁵ When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.” (Joshua 5:2-5)

The Messenger of Yahweh, Yahweh-on-earth, does not seem to stay around. We don’t see Him again. Joshua hears from Yahweh again (Joshua 7:10-15) concerning Achan’s sin of taking spoils from Jericho, and this may be the Messenger of Yahweh appearing to him and speaking to him, because He speaks of Yahweh in the third person (“this is what Yahweh, the God of Israel says”), or it may be Yahweh-in-heaven speaking of Himself in the third person. In that case, both Yahwehs are making themselves known to Joshua. The same kind of interaction with Yahweh occurs in chapters 8, 11, 13, 20, and 24. Joshua dies and no successor follows him. Israel will now be led by Judges in various parts of Israel. Will the Messenger of Yahweh still come around?

 

The Messenger of Yahweh in the Period of the Judges 

I needed correction. I was angry with my pastor and telling the elders so. My youth pastor (I was a teenager) called me on the phone and lovingly yet firmly told me I was wrong and that I needed to shape up and acknowledge him with respect. I didn’t like hearing it but I so respected my youth pastor that I received it and repented.

Israel was in need of correction. Joshua had died and the Israelites were supposed to be dispossessing the Canaanites in the territory assigned to them by Yahweh. Judah was successful, and so the tribe of Joseph was initially, but the other tribes failed over and over to send the Canaanites packing (Judges 1). They weren’t supposed to make slaves of the Canaanites or co-exist with them. They were supposed to destroy them with their shrines and altars to false gods.

The Messenger of Yahweh went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, ² and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.’ Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? ³ And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; they will become traps for you, and their gods will become snares to you.’” ⁴ When the Messenger of Yahweh had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud, ⁵ and they called that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to Yahweh. (Judges 2:1-4)

Gilgal was the place where the Commander of Yahweh’s army met Joshua and gave him the plans for defeating Jericho. We have already determined that this Commander was the Messenger of Yahweh who met with Moses in the burning bush. Now He travels from Gilgal to Bokim, suggesting strongly that He has assumed human form as with Joshua.

It is fascinating that Jewish scholars have sought to identify this messenger as “a prophet with a message from Jehovah” (Ellicott). But it is clear here that Gilgal is an allusion to the Commander of Yahweh’s army whom we met in Joshua 5, who makes the ground holy, and in this passage He speaks as Yahweh: “I brought you up out of Egypt”…You have disobeyed me.” His message leads Israel to repentance and weeping and offering of sacrifices to Yahweh (distinct from the Messenger of Yahweh) for their sin.

What a gracious God we serve, who is ready to confront us with what we are doing that is damaging our lives. He may use individuals like my youth pastor to carry out His rebuke, as He used the Messenger of Yahweh to rebuke Israel. This is a sign of His love for us. He will not leave us in our sin without a confrontation.

 

Deborah and the Messenger of Yahweh 

I have always considered this kind of language used of God in Deborah the judge’s song of victory as figurative:

Yahweh, when you came from Seir, when you marched from the fields of Edom, the earth trembled, the skies poured rain, and the clouds poured water. The mountains melted before Yahweh, even Sinai, before Yahweh, the God of Israel. (Judges 5:4,5)

And it may be figurative, but it might be literal. The troops are marching, but Yahweh is marching with them. We have already seen how the Messenger of Yahweh traveled from Gilgal to Bokim (Judges 2). Perhaps Deborah is describing the physical manifestation of Yahweh whom Scripture calls the Messenger of Yahweh. He is equal to Yahweh, yet distinct from Yahweh.

Deborah says this later in her song:

“Curse Meroz,” says the Messenger of Yahweh, “Bitterly curse her inhabitants, for they did not come to help Yahweh, to help Yahweh with the warriors.” (Judges 5:23)

The Messenger of Yahweh was intimately involved in this battle, and here He is cursing one of the Israelite or Canaanite town that should have provided soldiers to fight Sisera. Deborah was a prophetess (Judges 4:4) and perhaps the Messenger of Yahweh appeared to her or spoke to her some other way, but she says He cursed Meroz.

Deborah admits in verse 8 that “Israel chose new gods.” They had sunk once more into idolatry, and that is when “there was war in the city gates.” Yahweh has been putting up with this constant decline into rejection of Yahweh worship to worship of Canaanite gods, one of the reasons He had required of Israel that they destroy the Canaanites, not allow them to continue influencing the people of Israel. But Yahweh rescues them when they repent and acknowledge their failure to be loyal to Yahweh. He raised up Deborah and other judges to lead His people in victory over their enemies.

Yahweh’s patience is extraordinary. He will put up with this pattern of misbehavior for 700 more years before He finally expels Israel from the land. How patient He has been with us, also.

 

Gideon and the Messenger of Yahweh 

The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. So Yahweh handed them over to Midian seven years (Judges 6:1)

This is the setting for one of the most extraordinary encounters with Yahweh recorded in Scripture. Gideon is from a family who worships Yahweh but they also worship Baal (Judges 6:25). This is not uncommon in Israel, this divided loyalty. Yahweh has delivered Israel from Egypt and defeated the Canaanites for them in Canaan or Israel, yet they find themselves hedging their bets and giving offerings to Canaanite gods in addition to Yahweh. They are rebellious.

Gideon is trying to secretly thresh wheat in the winepress so the Midianites wouldn’t see and come and take his grain. As he works, we’re told:

¹ The Messenger of Yahweh came, and he sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress in order to hide it from the Midianites. ¹² Then the Messenger of Yahweh appeared to him and said, “Yahweh is with you, valiant warrior.” ¹³ Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if Yahweh is with us, why has all this happened? And where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about? They said, ‘Hasn’t Yahweh brought us out of Egypt?’ But now Yahweh has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.” ¹⁴ Yahweh turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian. I am sending you!” ¹⁵ He said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my family is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s family.” ¹⁶ “But I will be with you,” Yahweh said to him. “You will strike Midian down as if it were one man.” ¹⁷ Then he said to him, “If I have found favor with you, give me a sign that you are speaking with me. ¹⁸ Please do not leave this place until I return to you. Let me bring my gift and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay until you return.”

Do you notice the change from “Messenger of Yahweh” to “Yahweh”? Rashi makes the comment, “(Not the angel, but) the Holy One, Blessed be He, Himself.” It is possible, I suppose, for the Messenger of Yahweh to stop talking and for Yahweh to step in, speaking from heaven. But that would not be the natural way to understand this, especially when in verse 22 it says Gideon realized he was the Messenger of Yahweh and bemoaned, “Oh no, Lord Yahweh! I have seen the Messenger of Yahweh face to face,” as if that is seeing God face to face, which meant death.

¹⁹ So Gideon went and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from a half bushel of flour. He placed the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought them out and offered them to him under the oak. ²⁰ The Messenger of God said to him, “Take the meat with the unleavened bread, put it on this stone, and pour the broth on it.” So he did that. ²¹ The Messenger of Yahweh extended the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire came up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the Messenger of Yahweh vanished from his sight. ²² When Gideon realized that he was the Messenger of Yahweh, he said, “Oh no, Lord Yahweh! I have seen the Messenger of Yahweh face to face!” ²³ But Yahweh said to him, “Peace to you. Don’t be afraid, for you will not die.” ²⁴ So Gideon built an altar to Yahweh there and called it Yahweh Is Peace. It is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites today.

Gideon has basically brought an offering to the Messenger of Yahweh, which the Messenger of Yahweh causes to be consumed like a burnt offering. It just makes sense to identify the Messenger of Yahweh with Yahweh in terms of being equal to each other. Not the same person, but the same honor. This only makes sense as we understand the nature of God as trinity. Each member is equally God, but each is an unique individual. They can interact with each other, and can perform separate functions uniquely suited to each of them. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

 

Samson’s Parents Meet the Messenger of Yahweh 

Miraculous births are notable in the Bible. In one sense, every birth is a miracle. The whole process of the sperm fertilizing the egg is miraculous, as is the gestation, and the birth itself. We know that because we have had four children born and one miscarriage. But the birth of Samson was even more miraculous since his mother was unable to conceive.

¹ The Israelites again did what was evil in Yahweh’s sight, so Yahweh handed them over to the Philistines forty years. ² There was a certain man from Zorah, from the family of Dan, whose name was Manoah; his wife was unable to conceive and had no children. ³ The Messenger of Yahweh appeared to the woman and said to her, “Although you are unable to conceive and have no children, you will conceive and give birth to a son. ⁴ Now please be careful not to drink wine or beer, or to eat anything unclean; ⁵ for indeed, you will conceive and give birth to a son. You must never cut his hair, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth, and he will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines.”

⁶ Then the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. He looked like the awe-inspiring Messenger of God. I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. ⁷ He said to me, ‘You will conceive and give birth to a son. Therefore, do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth until the day of his death.’” ⁸ Manoah prayed to Yahweh and said, “Please, Lord, let the man of God you sent come again to us and teach us what we should do for the boy who will be born.”

⁹ God listened to Manoah, and the Messenger of God came again to the woman. She was sitting in the field, and her husband, Manoah, was not with her. ¹⁰ The woman ran quickly to her husband and told him, “The man who came to me the other day has just come back!” ¹¹ So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?” “I am,” he said. ¹² Then Manoah asked, “When your words come true, what will be the boy’s responsibilities and work?”

¹³ The Messenger of Yahweh answered Manoah, “Your wife needs to do everything I told her. ¹⁴ She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine or drink wine or beer. And she must not eat anything unclean. Your wife must do everything I have commanded her.” ¹⁵ “Please stay here,” Manoah told him, “and we will prepare a young goat for you.” ¹⁶ The Messenger of Yahweh said to him, “If I stay, I won’t eat your food. But if you want to prepare a burnt offering, offer it to Yahweh.” (Manoah did not know he was the Messenger of Yahweh.)

¹⁷ Then Manoah said to him, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your words come true?” ¹⁸ “Why do you ask my name,” the angel of Yahweh asked him, “since it is beyond understanding?”

¹⁹ Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to Yahweh, who did something miraculous while Manoah and his wife were watching. ²⁰ When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the angel of Yahweh went up in its flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell facedown on the ground. ²¹ The Messenger of Yahweh did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was the Messenger of Yahweh.

²² “We’re certainly going to die,” he said to his wife, “because we have seen God!” ²³ But his wife said to him, “If Yahweh had intended to kill us, he wouldn’t have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us, and he would not have shown us all these things or spoken to us like this.” (Judges 13:1-22)

I really like this couple. First, the husband does not doubt his wife when she tells him this fantastic tale but instead prays for God to send the man of God again. Then, when Manoah fears he will die for having seen God, his wife sensibly reasons that Yahweh didn’t want to kill them.

Here, once again, the Messenger of Yahweh appears as a man, though the woman finds something unusual about him that makes her think he is “the awe-inspiring Messenger of Yahweh.” What that is or how she has a concept of the Messenger of Yahweh, we don’t know. Also, the Messenger of Yahweh distinguishes Himself from Yahweh (I won’t eat your food but you can make an offering to Yahweh).

Then, the Messenger of Yahweh makes a cryptic remark about His name being beyond Manoah’s understanding. The name Yahweh is not beyond understanding, so it seems there is an ineffable quality to His actual name, a characteristic we would expect only of Yahweh Himself. This might help explain why in Genesis 19 the Scripture can speak of two Yahwehs. Yahweh is a name, but it can be applied to two separate individuals, Yahweh and the Messenger of Yahweh. The unique personal names of each is beyond our comprehension.

Finally, Manoah and his wife think they have seen God, and like Abraham, Hagar, Moses, Joshua, Gideon and others, they have, only they have seen the Son of God who acts as the Messenger of Yahweh. And this God is the God of the miraculous, who brings about births of children to people incapable of giving birth, and who will bring about one birth of a son who will save his people from their sin.

 

David and the Messenger of Yahweh 

David is a sinner. He’s a great king, one whom God says is “after His own heart,” but he is a sinner. He sins with Bathsheba, and in 2 Samuel 24, he sins by taking a census of Israel, something only God is permitted to request, because David is arrogantly assessing his supposed power to conduct war. The prophet Gad tells David that God is going to punish Israel in one of three ways; “three years of famine to come on your land, to flee from your foes three months while they pursue you, or to have a plague in your land three days,”or as 1 Chronicles 21:12 puts it, “three days of the sword of Yahweh, pestilence on the land, with the Messenger of Yahweh destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.” David chooses the plague/pestilence figuring that he prefers to be in the direct hands of God, who is merciful.

¹⁵ So Yahweh sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and from Dan to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men died. ¹⁶ Then the angel extended his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, but Yahweh relented concerning the destruction and said to the messenger who was destroying the people, “Enough, withdraw your hand now!” The Messenger of Yahweh was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁷ When David saw the messenger striking the people, he said to Yahweh, “Look, I am the one who has sinned; I am the one who has done wrong. But these sheep, what have they done? Please, let your hand be against me and my father’s family.” (2 Samuel 24:15-17)

¹⁵ And God sent the Messenger to Jerusalem to destroy it, but as he was about to destroy it, Yahweh saw, and he relented from the calamity. And he said to the Messenger who was working destruction, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the Messenger of Yahweh was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁶ And David lifted his eyes and saw the Messenger of Yahweh standing between earth and heaven, and in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. (1 Chronicles 21:16-16)

David purchases the land, the threshing floor, of Araunah (Ornan) and offers a sacrifice to Yahweh.

²⁶ And David built there an altar to Yahweh and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings and called on Yahweh, and Yahweh answered him with fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt offering. ²⁷ Then Yahweh commanded the Messenger, and he put his sword back into its sheath. ²⁸ At that time, when David saw that Yahweh had answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. ²⁹ For the tabernacle of Yahweh, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time in the high place at Gibeon, ³⁰ but David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the Messenger of Yahweh. (1 Chronicles 21:26-30)

David can see the Messenger of Yahweh (he is not hidden from David’s view as He was with Balaam). He has a sword and He is “standing between earth and heaven,” suspended in the sky, appearing, it seems, like a flying man. Yahweh is commanding this Messenger of Yahweh, an indication of the line of authority within the Trinity.

 

The Assyrians Get a Taste of the Messenger of Yahweh 

As the Messenger of Yahweh can inflict destruction on Israel when they sin, He can also inflict destruction on the enemies of Israel.

When Assyria came to Jerusalem on a rampage of destruction, having subdued all of Israel to the north, Jerusalem’s defeat seemed imminent. But Hezekiah, the king of Judah, prayed to Yahweh and Yahweh prevented Assyria from besieging Jerusalem.

³⁵ That night the Messenger of Yahweh went out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! ³⁶ So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh. (2 Kings 19:35,36)

²⁰ King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven, ²¹ and Yahweh sent a messenger who annihilated every valiant warrior, leader, and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned in disgrace to his land. He went to the temple of his god, and there some of his own children struck him down with the sword. (2 Chronicles 32:20,21)

³⁶ Then the Messenger of Yahweh went out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies! ³⁷ So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned home and lived in Nineveh. (Isaiah 37:36,37)

The psalmist tells us in Psalm 34:

⁴ I sought Yahweh, and he answered me and rescued me from all my fears. ⁵ Those who look to him are radiant with joy; their faces will never be ashamed. ⁶ This poor man cried, and Yahweh heard him and saved him from all his troubles. ⁷ The Messenger of Yahweh encamps around those who fear him, and rescues them.

And in Psalm 35:

⁴ Let those who intend to take my life be disgraced and humiliated; let those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed. ⁵ Let them be like chaff in the wind, with the Messenger of Yahweh driving them away. ⁶ Let their way be dark and slippery, with the Messenger of Yahweh pursuing them.

Will the Messenger of Yahweh protect us from our enemies today? Do you mean Jesus?

 

The Post-Exile Messenger of Yahweh 

After Yahweh sent Israel into exile to Assyria and Babylon, He restored them back to their land. Two of their initial leaders were the prophet Zechariah, the high priest Joshua, and the governor Zerubbabel. Zechariah’s prophecies involve the Messenger of Yahweh:

⁸ I looked out in the night and saw a man riding on a chestnut horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in the valley. Behind him were chestnut, brown, and white horses. ⁹ I asked, “What are these, my lord?” The messenger who was talking to me replied, “I will show you what they are.” ¹⁰ Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones Yahweh has sent to patrol the earth.”

¹¹ They reported to the Messenger of Yahweh standing among the myrtle trees, “We have patrolled the earth, and right now the whole earth is calm and quiet.” ¹² Then the Messenger of Yahweh responded, “How long, Yahweh of Armies, will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that you have been angry with these seventy years?” ¹³ Yahweh replied with kind and comforting words to the Messenger who was speaking with me.

¹⁴ So the Messenger who was speaking with me said, “Proclaim: Yahweh of Armies says: I am extremely jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. ¹⁵ I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease, for I was a little angry, but they made the destruction worse. ¹⁶ Therefore, this is what Yahweh says: In mercy, I have returned to Jerusalem; my house will be rebuilt within it—this is the declaration of Yahweh of Armies—and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem. ¹⁷ “Proclaim further: This is what Yahweh of Armies says: My cities will again overflow with prosperity; Yahweh will once more comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”

¹⁸ Then I looked up and saw four horns. ¹⁹ So I asked the Messenger who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” ²⁰ Then Yahweh showed me four craftsmen. ²¹ I asked, “What are they coming to do?” He replied, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so no one could raise his head. These craftsmen have come to terrify them, to cut off the horns of the nations that raised a horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

Zechariah interacts again with the Messenger of Yahweh in 2:3 then has a vision of him in chapter 3:

Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the Messenger of Yahweh, with Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. ² Yahweh said to Satan, “Yahweh rebuke you, Satan! May Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Isn’t this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” ³ Now Joshua was dressed with filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. ⁴ So the Messenger of Yahweh spoke to those standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then he said to him, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with festive robes.” ⁵ Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So a clean turban was placed on his head, and they clothed him in garments while the Messenger of Yahweh was standing nearby. ⁶ Then the Messenger of Yahweh charged Joshua, ⁷ “This is what Yahweh of Armies says: If you walk in my ways and keep my mandates, you will both rule my house and take care of my courts; I will also grant you access among these who are standing here.

Zechariah then has a vision concerning Zerubbabel:

The Messenger who was speaking with me then returned and roused me as one awakened out of sleep. ² He asked me, “What do you see?” I replied, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top. The lampstand also has seven lamps at the top with seven spouts for each of the lamps. ³ There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” ⁴ Then I asked the Messenger who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵ “Don’t you know what they are?” replied the Messenger who was speaking with me. I said, “No, my lord.” ⁶ So he answered me, “This is the word of Yahweh to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength or by might, but by my Spirit,’ says Yahweh of Armies. ⁷ ‘What are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain. And he will bring out the capstone accompanied by shouts of: Grace, grace to it!’” (Zechariah 4:1-7)

Zechariah has further visions from the Messenger of Yahweh in chapters 5 and 6. We see the Messenger commanding angels and questioning Zechariah, as God would do.

These are the last mention of the Messenger of Yahweh in Scripture. We have learned that the Son of God is the Messenger of Yahweh, the Yahweh who appears to people on earth, is equal to yet distinct from the Yahweh in heaven, who is in submission to the Yahweh in heaven, and may be called Yahweh, and who often takes on physical form, usually that of a human male.

Why don’t we see the Messenger of Yahweh in the New Testament or in our world currently? Because the Son, after this time in Israel, took on human nature (without relinquishing His divine nature, which would be impossible), was born as a man, died on a cross, was resurrected and then ascended to heaven, where he still has a body and yet is the omnipresent God.

And, as when He was the Messenger of Yahweh, He still appears to humans:

⁵⁴ When they heard these things, they were enraged and gnashed their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ He said, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” (Acts 7:54-56)

Now Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest ² and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³ As he traveled and was nearing Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. ⁴ Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” ⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul said. “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,” he replied. ⁶ “But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9:1-6)

⁹ The Lord said to Paul in a night vision, “Don’t be afraid, but keep on speaking and don’t be silent. ¹⁰ For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to hurt you, because I have many people in this city.” ¹¹ He stayed there a year and a half, teaching the word of God among them. (Acts 18:9-11)

 

The Name of Jesus 

We started this study examining the name of God, Yahweh. We then examined the instances of the appearance of the Angel or Messenger of Yahweh, whom we saw was distinct from Yahweh and yet equal to Yahweh. There could thus be no other identification for this personage than the Son of God, helping to give evidence to God being a trinity, a triune being who is nevertheless one essence. This also strengthens our sense of Old Testament acknowledgement of plurality in the Godhead. And, of course, this also strengthens the biblical witness to the deity of Jesus Christ.

There is additional evidence for the deity of Christ to be found in the expressions around the name of God used in the Old Testament and similar usage in the New Testament in reference to Jesus the Messiah.

The Old Testament is rife with the concept of calling on the name of Yahweh in prayer (Genesis 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 21:33; 26:25; 1 Kings 18:24; 2 Kings 5:11; Psalm 99:6; 116:4,13,17; Lamentations 3:55; Joel 2:32; Zephaniah 3:9). But in the New Testament we’re told to call on the name of Jesus:

To the church of God at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord—both their Lord and ours. (1 Corinthians 1:2)

This is a blasphemous concept if Jesus is not God. And Revelation tells us of Jesus that he has an exalted title, a title it would seem only Yahweh should have:

And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (Revelation 19:16)

Yahweh’s name, we see in the Old Testament, is to be honored by all (Exodus 33:19; Deuteronomy 28:58; 32:3; 2 Samuel 22:50; 2 Chronicles 16:8,10,29; Nehemiah 1:11; 9:5, etc), whereas in the New Testament, Jesus’ name is to be honored:

But the Lord [Jesus] said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. (Acts 9:15)

When this became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, they became afraid, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high esteem. (Acts 19:17)

so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified by you, and you by him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:12)

In the Old Testament righteous things are to be done in the name of Yahweh (10:8; 21:5; 2 Samuel 6:18; 1 Chronicles 23:13; 2Chronicles 33:18; Jeremiah 11:21; 14:14,15; 26:16,20; 27:15; 29:9,21; 44:16) , but these things are now to be done, as the New Testament tells us, in the name of Jesus:

On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ (Matthew 7:22)

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” (Luke 10:17)

They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 8:16)

Barnabas, however, took him and brought him to the apostles and explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had talked to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. (Acts 9:27)

who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 15:26)

Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21:13)

Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction. (1 Corinthians 1:10)

When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus, and I am with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 5:4)

But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11)

And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)

Now we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother or sister who is idle and does not live according to the tradition received from us. (2 Thessalonians 3:6)

Any Jew worth his salt would have recognized that the honor due to Yahweh’s name is being given to the name of Jesus. This is more evidence that the followers of Jesus saw him as Yahweh in the flesh. This is who our Savior is!

[For a thorough defense of the deity of Jesus, see John 1:1 and the Jehovah’s Witnesses]