Series: Call Me
Psalm 34:7 ESV
Psalm 34:7 AMP
Isaiah 6:1 ESV
Revelation 10:1-3 AMP
Genesis 18:2 GNV
Genesis 16:7-10 NCV
Judges 16:11-16 ESV
Luke 1:11-16 ESV
Luke 2:8:14 ESV
Matthew 28:1-6 ESV
I’ve come to learn one thing in my life that totally surprised me…when we put our life (and our hand) in God’s hand, Angels do protect us.
All day, every day they are nearby.
Psalm 34:7 tells us, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.”
I find great comfort in knowing that an Angel of the Lord encamps around me and delivers me. I don’t know about you but I need all the help I can get.
The use of the word fear in this verse in Hebrew is לִֽירֵאָ֗יו. The pronunciation for the Hebrew is li-re-aw. In the Amplified Bible we get a broader picture of the meaning: Psalm 34:7, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him [with awe-inspired reverence and worship Him with obedience], and He rescues [each of] them.”
When we revere and worship the Lord, God rescues us.
For our purposes it might be helpful to explain what Angels do. They have two main purposes:
First, they protect. When we are in danger an Angel can come to our side. More than likely we may never know they are present. We may have a sense that something holy just happened.
We may also know that God is protecting us. We may not identify that as an Angel, but we do not need to identify it.
Understand that Angels are not tiny creatures. Angels described in scripture are not what we might expect.
In Isaiah 6:1-3 we are told, “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;the whole earth is full of his glory!”
Note that a Seraphim is identified as a high ranking Angel or heavenly being.
Then in Revelation 10:1-3 we read, “Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed in a cloud, with a rainbow (halo) over his head; and his face was like the sun, and his feet (legs) were like columns of fire; and he had a little book (scroll) open in his hand. He set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land; and he shouted with a loud voice, like the roaring of a lion [compelling attention and inspiring awe]; and when he had shouted out, the seven peals of thunder spoke with their own voices [uttering their message in distinct words].”
When I was younger (before I read Billy Graham’s book Angels: God’s Secret Agents) I was certain I had sensed Angels nearby but I didn’t speak of it publicly. I did talk with my dad about it and he told me Angels were present and do protect.
The other purpose that Angels have is to bring messages.
We remember in Genesis 18:2 says, “Abraham receiveth three Angels into his house.”
Also in Genesis 16:7-10 we are told, “The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the desert, by the road to Shur. The angel said, “Hagar, Sarai’s slave girl, where have you come from? Where are you going?”Hagar answered, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.”,The angel of the Lord said to her, “Go home to your mistress and obey her.” The angel also said, “I will give you so many descendants they cannot be counted.”
When Gideon was called in Judges 6:11-16, “Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” An
Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” And the Lord[a] turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”
And of course in Luke 1:11-13, “And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.”
And in Luke 2:8-14,“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.mAnd an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
In Matthew 28:1-6 we read, “Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”
Notice the Angels always reported what the Lord sent them. They did not and do not appear for their own benefit. They appear at God’s Command.
They protect at God’s command.
They deliver a message at God’s command.
Spiritual Practice: Be Thankful
Thank God for Angels.
In God, Deborah
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