By: Jennifer Slattery
6. In the cloud that led the Hebrews through the desert.
Through Moses, God freed His people from centuries of slavery and led them, with a pillar of fire at night and a cloud by day, toward the Promised Land. (Exodus 13:21) This redemption and inheritance carried a dual meaning. Yes, God rescued them from physical bondage. But His desires for them, and for us, are much farther reaching. In Israel’s Exodus, we catch a glimpse of God’s redemptive plan in Jesus, the One who died to free us from our slavery to sin.
This connection is made clear in 1 Corinthians 10. Verses one through four point back to that ancient story, where God rescued His people then guided them, with a cloud by day and a pillar fire by night, toward a land long promised. This passage reveals our unshakable foundation in Christ. “All of them,” he said, “ate the same spiritual food” and “drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ.”
Jesus provided for their every need, as they made their way through the desert, and in so doing, taught them to rely completely on Him. He wants the same for us. Our jobs or health may fail, but Jesus never will. Those who trust in Him find a sure rock upon which to stand.
Here, ‘the Angel of the Lord’ appears as a ‘cloud by day and fire by night’.
7. To Gideon before commanding him to defeat the Midians.
After rescuing His people from slavery, God gave them a promise and a warning. If they loved and obeyed Him, all would go well, but rebellion would lead to consequences. (Deuteronomy 11:8-32) Unfortunately, due to partial obedience that led to rebellion, the people forfeited their protection. Unguarded and defenseless, they eventually fell prey to the Midianites who brought them to the brink of starvation. (Judges 6)
Desperate, they cried out to God for help, and He responded by commissioning a frightened, seemingly insignificant man named Gideon to lead the nation into battle.
At first, Gideon had no idea He was talking to Christ. But when flames spontaneously erupted and devoured his offering, he realized he’d encountered God. Terrified He exclaimed, “I’m doomed!” He thought for sure he’d die, but God responded, as He does to us when we’re consumed with fear, “Do not be afraid.”
Jesus’ awesomeness initially terrified Gideon, but later brought Him peace—when God fought on his behalf. Jesus fights on our behalf as well, and He alone commands our victory.
8. Manoah and his wife, Sampson’s mother.
After six cycles of rebellion, oppression, followed by divine liberation, a powerful nation once again besieged God’s people. But as usual, God had a plan. One day, the Angel of the Lord, later revealed as God (Judges 13:22) appeared to a barren Israelite woman. “You will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son,” He said. “He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.”
Shaken, the husband and wife asked God for more instructions regarding how to raise this special child. In answer to their prayer, God appeared twice more, during the last of which he told Samson’s father to prepare an offering. When they complied, Jesus revealed His glory by ascending to heaven in the fire. Upon seeing this, the husband and wife fell with their faces to the ground. “We will certainly die,” the man said, “for we have seen God.”
But God didn’t come to condemn or kill them. Rather, He came to save them. Jesus didn’t come to condemn us either. He came to give us life. (John 3:17)
9. The prophet Isaiah saw God sitting on a heavenly throne.
When God commissioned Isaiah to speak for Him, He did so through a vision. (Isaiah 6:1-10) In it, the ancient Hebrew saw Christ, sitting on a lofty throne and surrounded by worshipping angels. Scripture tells us the temple shook and was filled with smoke.
Standing before a holy God, referred to here as the Lord of Heaven’s Armies Isaiah became acutely aware of his sin. He felt certain he was doomed, but one of the angels touches his lips with a burning coal and declared him guilt free. Once cleansed of his sin, God sent him to share truth with His people—a message of hope, life, and salvation.
In John 12:41, we learn this powerful Being was Christ Himself speaking of the day He’d take on flesh, come to earth, and die for our sins. Jesus’ message hasn’t changed, and He’s still looking for servants, like you and I, to point others to His mercy.
10. The man standing in the fire with Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego.
Some believe, The Plain Word is among them, that Jesus showed up in a burning furnace. Nebuchadnezzar is puzzled to perceive the presence of a fourth person inside the furnace. The best of his knowledge, the king identifies the fourth figure as “the Son of God” (Dan. 3:25).
You may be familiar with this story. Around 600 BC, Babylon conquered Judah and took a group of Jews hostage. Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego were among them and quickly rose to positions of authority—in a pagan nation while staying loyal to God.
Their faithfulness caused problems, however, when the king erected a golden statue and demanded everyone bow down and worship it. When Shadrach and his friends refused, King Nebuchadnezzar had them thrown into a fiery furnace, certain the flames would kill them. When he looked up, however, he saw a fourth man who looked “like a God” (Daniel 3:25) standing among them.
Immediately, the king summoned the men, and the original three stepped out, unharmed.
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2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” AND 1 Thessalonians 5:21, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”
In addition, we should consider:
Baalam and his donkey.
In the experience of Balaam with the princes of Moab, who bribed him to curse Israel, God clearly told His wayward prophet, “only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do” (Numbers 22:20). When Balaam, contrary to God’s instruction, had mounted his donkey and was on his way to curse Israel (as the princes of Moab had hoped), the Angel of the Lord confronted him along the way (see vs. 22, 24, 27, 31, 32, 34) and, in reiterating the instruction Balaam had already received, said, “only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak” (v. 35). This verse is thus linked with verse 20, clearly showing that the Angel of the Lord is a member of the Godhead.