The Angel of The Lord

Q

I have a question maybe you might have some insight to. In Genesis 22 when God tested Abraham (vs 1-2) God was the one who came to Abraham and asked him to go to Moriah and sacrifice his son. However when it came time to spare his son, an Angel of the Lord (vs 11-12) came. Why do you think an Angel came rather than the Lord himself? Abraham could have not listened to the Angel because God’s authority is obviously greater.

A

Genesis 22:11 says it was “the angel of the Lord.” When this phrase occurs in the Old Testament it often means it wasn’t just any angel, but was the Lord Jesus in an Old Testament appearance. This is confirmed in verse 12 where the angel commended Abraham “because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

In the sacrifice on Mt. Moriah Abraham and Isaac were acting out a prophecy of a time when God would give His only Son as a sacrifice for sin in the same location. It’s fitting that the One who would be this sacrifice would be present there, and it’s why Jesus could say, “Abraham saw my day and was glad” (John 8:56).