Theophany
Throughout this Advent devotion we are doing to look at the ancient Near Eastern view of theophany and the role it plays in the pantheon of a nation. Theophany is a visible manifestation of a deity revealed to humanity.
Here is a quote for our recommended resources
“Since people cannot possible process God’s nature as a disembodied, formless spirit, Theophany allows God to make His presence known in a physical way that people can discern through their senses.”
Faithlife Study Bible: in the Article: Theophany in the Old Testament.
Today we will be looking at another Old Testament’s description of visible person of the invisible God, The Angel of the Lord.
The Angel of the Lord
“There the Angel of the Lord appeared to Him in flames of fire from within the bush. Mose saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.” (Exodus 3:2)
This scene of God speaking to Moses from the burning bush is an epic account in the Hebrew Scripture’s narrative. Yahweh is going to free His people from bondage and He chooses Moses to carry out this plan.
Did you notice which form the Near Eastern biblical authors discribe God as appearing to Moses as in the burning bush? The Angel of the Lord!
Who is this Angel?
Here are some more descriptions that are proclaimed throughout this chapter that give insight to who this theophany as of the Angel of the Lord which appears to Moses in the burning bush.
“God”, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob”, “The LORD”, “The God of your fathers”, “I AM WHO I AM”, “I AM”, “The LORD, the God of your fathers- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob”, “The LORD, the God of your father-the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”, “The LORD, the God of the Hebrew”, “The LORD our God”.
Exodus 3
The Angel of the Lord is Yahweh
We hope you enjoyed this Theology Lesson in 60 seconds.
If you are interested in this subject continue this study in our longer post here
Citations:
Faithlife Study Bible. J. D. Barry et al. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2012.
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