In Genesis 18 the LORD God with two of his angels met with Abraham in plains of Mamre. He and the two angels with him sat and enjoyed Abraham’s hospitality (Genesis 18:1-8) and then got up to leave. But before doing so, the LORD took Abraham into his confidence and told him that he had come down out of heaven to judge Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities in the plain (Genesis 18:16-22). Knowing that his nephew Lot and his family settled there, Abraham interceded for the righteous and asked the LORD not to destroy the righteous with the wicked and even asked the LORD to spare the wicked for the sake of the righteous (Genesis 18:23-32).
Abraham addressed the LORD as the Judge of the whole earth (Genesis 18:25). This One was the Almighty (Genesis 22:14), and omniscient One (Genesis 18:17-19). After the LORD was finished speaking with Abraham, he departed for Sodom.
The two angels met with Lot in the city of Sodom (Genesis 19:1-3) and told him that the LORD would destroy this city and all those in the plain. They warned him to tell his family and leave the city (Genesis 19:12-13). Lot was not swift to obey, lingering perhaps in hope for his older married children to leave the city with him. In any case, the angels practically had to drive Lot, his wife and two daughters out of the town (Genesis 19:14-16). Later, Lot met with the LORD and negotiated with him to spare a small city for his sake. After the LORD agreed, he told Lot to hurry to the city, because he could do nothing until he and his family got there (Genesis 19:17-22). Then the Judge of the whole earth, the Almighty and omniscient God, the LORD (YHWH) called down the judgment of fire and brimstone from the LORD (YHWH) in heaven (Genesis 19:24)!
Genesis 19:24 ASV Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of heaven;
Genesis 19:24 JPS Then the LORD caused to rain upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
Jehovah – the LORD – in human form (Genesis 18:2) upon the earth judged Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain by calling down sulfur and fire out of heaven from Jehovah – the LORD – (Genesis 19:24)! In Genesis 18 Abraham met with the LORD who was the Angel or Messenger of the LORD, although the LORD is not specifically referred to as the Angel in this text. There is a LORD (YHWH) who sends and a LORD (YHWH) who is sent (cp. Isaiah 48:12-16)! Yet, this One who was sent describes himself as the Almighty (Genesis 18:14) and the omniscient God (Genesis 18:17-19).
Although it is forbidden to worship angels (Colossians 2:18; cp. Revelation 19:10; 22:9), it is obvious from the Scriptures that Abraham worshiped the Angel of the LORD. Therefore, when Abraham showed that he was willing to sacrifice Isaac, his son, to the Angel of the LORD, this Person must be more than a mere angelic being. The text says it was God who called out to Abraham and told him that he desired Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, on an altar in Mount Moriah (Genesis 22:1-2). Nevertheless, notice what happened just as Abraham was about to slay Isaac,
Genesis 22:11-12 NASB But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” (12) he said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” (emphasis mine)
Although Genesis 22:1 says it was God who was testing Abraham, the text reveals in verses-11 and 12 that the Angel of the LORD was the one speaking with Abraham from the beginning. The Angel said that Abraham had not withheld Isaac “from Me” (Genesis 22:12, i.e. from the Angel). Therefore, Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac would have been worship of this Angel. Clearly, therefore, this Angel mentioned in Genesis 22:11 is called God in Genesis 22:1.
This becomes more obvious as we look at the life of Jacob, Abraham’s grandson. After he had fled from his brother, Esau, Jacob had married his cousins Leah and Rachel, the daughters of his uncle Laban. He worked for his uncle for twenty-one years and was about to return to the house of his father Isaac when the Angel appeared to him. Jacob came to his wives and told them what God had said to him,
Genesis 31:11-13 KJ2000 And the Angel of God spoke unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. (12) And he said, Lift up now your eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are striped, speckled, and spotted: for I have seen all that Laban does unto you. (13) I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar, and where you vowed a vow unto me: now arise, get you out from this land, and return unto the land of your kindred. (emphasis mine)
These Scriptures show us two things concerning this Angel. First, the Angel of the LORD is God himself (Genesis 31:11 compare verse-13). Secondly, it was the LORD who spoke with Jacob (Genesis 31:3), yet Jacob referred to him as the Angel of the LORD. Therefore, this Angel is the LORD God (YHWH).
Twenty-one years earlier as Jacob journeyed to his uncle Laban, he camped for the night in a country called Luz (Jacob renamed it Bethel). Genesis 28:12-22 says that Jacob had a dream, and in this dream he saw angels ascending and descending between earth and heaven. The LORD (YHWH) spoke to Jacob while he slept saying that he was the God of Abraham and Isaac, his father (verse-13). The LORD said that he would be with Jacob wherever he went (verse-15). When he awoke, Jacob was afraid (verse-17) and anointed the rock that he used as a pillow and named that place Bethel, the House of God (verses 18-19). Immediately, Jacob vowed a vow to the LORD God who appeared to him in the dream and committed his life to him there at Bethel (verses 20-22). In Genesis 31:13 the Angel of the LORD said that he was the God of Bethel to whom Jacob made his vow! Therefore, the Angel of the LORD is God—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
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