The Angel of the Lord II

Author: Pastor Thomas G. Wilson
May 27, 2020

Judges 13:1-5 KJV [1] And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. [2] And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. [3] And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. [4] Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: [5] For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
 
The angel of the LORD appears first to the mother of Samson and later to the father (Manoah) of Samson as well.  The angel of the LORD spoke to Samson’s mother to announce that though she was barren now, she shall conceive and bear a son who would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines.  This miraculous son would be a special class of priest from the womb which required a strict regimen of no razor coming on his head, neither shall he drink wine, nor strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing and his mother was commanded by the angel to follow a similar dietary restriction herself.  After her encounter with the Angel of the LORD, she described him to her husband as looking like a man, but having the appearance of an (awesome) angel of God (Judges 13:6).  So despite the fact that this messenger doesn’t have wings, there is something in the angel’s appearance and authority that indicates to her that he’s more than human.  Following a second appearance of the angel of the LORD to his wife, the angel appeared to Manoah.  After an intense experience Manoah tells his wife, “We will surely die, for we have seen God” (verse 22).
At one point during their exchange, Manoah asked the angel for his name. The angel replied, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is secret?”  The Hebrew word the angel used for “secret” in the KJV can also be translated “wonderful, distinguished, too high and to do or show miracles” and is from the same root word Isaiah uses to describe the coming Messiah:
 
Isaiah 9:6 KJV ^[6] For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
 
In Judges 13 the angel of the Lord speaks as God, identifies Himself with God, and exercises the responsibilities of God, operating in His authority and power.  While the angel himself spoke for God he conspicuously deflected the adulation due God. The message the angel delivered was distinct from the angel himself in the following ways: 
 

• Sovereignty: The message informs Manoah and his wife how God plans to use Samson.
• Identified with God: Monoah thought that they had seen God (verse 22) therefore the appearance of the angel was with great glory, splendor and majesty.  Just as when Moses spent 40 days in the presence of God, and the glory of God shined in the face of Moses, so also the angel which is constantly in God’s presence shines with that glory.
• Worship: When Manoah offers to sacrifice a goat to the angel, the angel tells him “if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord.”  The author of Judges tells us that the angel said that because Manoah didn’t understand he was an angel (verses 15–16).
• Correlation with Christ: The angel of the Lord refuses to give Manoah his name because it is wonderful (or incomprehensible).  This is one of the points which causes some theologians to conclude that the angel’s identity actually was the preexistent Wonderful, Counselor, and Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6).  However as we study His earthly ministry, Jesus never directed worship away from Himself.  If this appearance were actually the preexistent Christ, He would have appeared in all His glory (Jn.17:24) which therefore would have been worthy and acceptable of worship.

 
The appearance of the angel of the LORD as well as the message he delivered came with glory, great power, might and ability which would come on Sampson at special times to fulfill all the LORD said about him.  Therefore, again, I conclude that the angel of the LORD’s appearance signals a special message from God, accompanied by God’s divine presence, power, wisdom, beauty and brilliance.  Shalom.
 
 
For further reading: Genesis 16:7-12; 21:17-18; 22:11-18; Exodus 3:2; Judges 5:23; 13:3-22; 2 Samuel 24:16; Zechariah 1:12; 3:1; 12:8

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