ANGEL OF THE LORD PART 1

ANGEL OF THE LORD PART 1

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Gen.16
[1] Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
[2] And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
[3] And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt tenyears in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife
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I wonder just how hard Sarai had to coax Abram to do her bidding in this case. He hearkened to his wife and did what she said, poor hen-pecked fellow, wonder if he was as enthusiastic with her other wishes as he was with this one. One’s wife needs a handmaid or two around just for such emergencies. Must have a talk with the wife.
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[4] And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
[5] And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.
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Wives are the same regardless of the age of mankind, always wanting the husband to handle the dirty work, make the decisions.
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[6] But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
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Of course Abram reacted to this just as the rest of us helpless husbands do, the problem is yours, you settle it. And true to nature the decision she makes is usually wrong.
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[7] And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
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Sarai did not like the arrangement after all, and run the poor handmaid off out into the desert, a poor pregnant woman. Women can sure be cruel one to the other. It is out in this wilderness where the (angel of the Lord) found her. I am sort of curious about this (angel of the Lord) he found her by the water source. In order to find somebody, or something, one must hunt for it. Therefore, the angel had to seek out this person whom he found at the fountain. Why did he have to search for her? Did he not know instinctively where she was with his powers?

I visualize this fellow, the (angel of the Lord) as a person who is dressed in clothing which is not of that age at all, which identifies him as one from another time. It is clothing of this age we live in, or possibly of a future age.

I reason things out so that they are simple to me. To me an angel is one, a human who has lived and died on this earth, and has been spiritualized. He is then sent back in time to administer to those of his linage, to set them on the right track. To guide this or that one so that the linage will go as it should. An angel is one from my linage either from the distant past, or the distant future.

I would speculate that they are from the future, because they know what the future holds for the ones they are watching over, so they would have had to been witness to it.
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[8] And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
[9] And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
[10] And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
[11] And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
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Of course the (angel of the Lord) encouraged her to return to her mistress, and she would then live a somewhat normal life, and have a long line of children and grand children, on down the line.
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[12] And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
[13] And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
[14] Wherefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
[15] And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
[16] And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

Gen 22:
[1] And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
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God is again in contact with man, Abram (Abraham) there is no indication how God did this, whether by an angel, or just speaking to him from a simple public address system in the vehicle stationed above Abram’s head. However, since it comes to Abram from the outside source, he assumes that it is from God.
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[2] And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
[3] And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
[4] Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
[5] And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you,
[6] And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
[7] And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
[8] And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
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Something amiss here in my reasoning. God has instructed Abram to take his son and offer him as a burnt offering to the Lord (Verse 2). He knew this yet, Isaac his son did not. Now when they arrive at the location for the offering, Isaac is curious as he see no lamb for the offering. What does Abram give as an answer, “ God will provided himself a lamb.” Therefore, I feel that Abram knew exactly what would take place, yet he was willing to go through all the motions.
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[9] And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
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Abraham had faith that God would provide a lamb for the offering, however, just in case his faith had failed in that line of thinking, he was still willing to offer up Isaac his son. That would take some strong faith, to know that God would take care of the situation.
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The angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
[12] And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
[13] And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
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His faith in God was rewarded, of course God was not going to let him go through with the act, therefore, (the angel of the Lord) called out to him just as he was going to let fall the fatal blow. His faith at first that God would provide a lamb, just as he had told Isaac, a lamb was provided. (Verse eight) was fulfilled.

Takes a strong faith to prove God in this manner. It has paid off in that same way for me. I have depended on God for an answer, and at the appropriate time, it is provided. His promises are gold in the bank.
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[14] And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
[15] And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
[16] And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
[17] That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
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As a reward for such faith, not only has Isaac been saved, but the seed of Isaac shall be as the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea. Not quite clear about the ‘gate of his enemies’ thing. I think it means that the enemies of Isaac’s (Israel) seed shall have power over their enemies.
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