The Word for today:
Exodus 23:20-24:18
Exodus 23:20-24:18
mark this: Exodus 23:20-21
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. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your transgression, since my Name is in him.
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. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your transgression, since my Name is in him.
My wife Shelley loves to watch the same old movies over and over. She manages, every year, to watch the 1947 movie classic, "It's a Wonderful Life," in which a guardian angel earns his wings by showing George Bailey how he has touched the lives of others…
George Bailey (played by Jimmy Stewart) tries to commit suicide on Christmas Eve but is saved by an angel named Clarence Odbody (played by Henry Travers) who is on assignment to miraculously show George why his life matters. Clarence is a “second class” angel in training, and if he successfully completes his mission to help George, he can earn a promotion to first class and get his angel wings…
A bell rings while George and his family and friends are singing near the end of the film, and George’s daughter exclaims: “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.”
Knowing that Clarence has finally earned his wings in heaven, George smiles and says: “That’s right, that’s right. Attaboy, Clarence!”
It's a cute movie. But so many people have seen it (some, like Shelley, about thirty times) that Clarence has embedded himself in our consciousness; he's what a guardian angel would be like, sort of, I guess…
***
Now contrast Clarence with the biblical picture of a guardian angel:
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. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your transgression, since my Name is in him. (Exodus 23:20-21)
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. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your transgression, since my Name is in him. (Exodus 23:20-21)
God didn't send Israel any junior varsity wannabe; in fact, the Angel God sent was God himself! We know this because the things said about the Angel were never said about anyone other than God:
1. "If you rebel against him, he will not forgive your sins."
Scripture tells us that only God has the power to forgive sin: "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (Mark 2:7)
Scripture tells us that only God has the power to forgive sin: "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (Mark 2:7)
2. "My Name is in him."
God's name is always more than what we think a name connotes. It indicates his presence and is a revelation of his character and attributes. This angel, then, is the manifestation of all that God has made known about himself.
Jesus said, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father (2)." Jesus is "the express image of God's person (3)."
God's name is always more than what we think a name connotes. It indicates his presence and is a revelation of his character and attributes. This angel, then, is the manifestation of all that God has made known about himself.
Jesus said, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father (2)." Jesus is "the express image of God's person (3)."
3. "Pay attention to him."
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" (4)
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" (4)
4. "He will guard you along the way."
Jesus said, "I am the way…" (5)
Jesus said, "I am the way…" (5)
5. Finally, the Hebrew word for "angel" means "messenger."
Jesus, the Word made flesh, is himself God's ultimate messenger and message:
God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son...(Hebrews 1:1-2)
Jesus, the Word made flesh, is himself God's ultimate messenger and message:
God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son...(Hebrews 1:1-2)
***
I don't know about you, but if there is such a thing as a guardian angel (1), I'll trade you Clarence for that One!
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(1) This writer is of the opinion that angels accompanied Israel, but have been supplanted by the resident presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers today. However, I am not dogmatic on this issue, and would not be surprised to find out I'm wrong! But right or wrong, the protection and guidance of the omnipotent and omniscient Spirit cannot be enhanced by the presence of a created being, so the question (while interesting) is merely academic.
(2) John 14:9; (3) Hebrews 1:3; (4) Matthew 17:5; (5) John 14:6
(1) This writer is of the opinion that angels accompanied Israel, but have been supplanted by the resident presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers today. However, I am not dogmatic on this issue, and would not be surprised to find out I'm wrong! But right or wrong, the protection and guidance of the omnipotent and omniscient Spirit cannot be enhanced by the presence of a created being, so the question (while interesting) is merely academic.
(2) John 14:9; (3) Hebrews 1:3; (4) Matthew 17:5; (5) John 14:6
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