spiritual battle, Angel as a Guide (Gen.24:7-48)

When Abraham asked a servant to go into Canaan to find a wife for his son, Abraham was confident that God  Himself would guide the servant, or that God would send one of His angels to guide the servant to the right woman...

(Genesis 24:7)  “...The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there..."

When the servant arrived in the land of Canaan, (right or wrong) he prayed a very specific request for help...

(Genesis 24:12-15)  He said, “O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, I am standing by the spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; 14 now may it be that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’—may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master.” 15 Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder.

We have no idea if any angels were used or how they might have been used in this situation, but the servant's prayer was answered - immediately - even BEFORE "immediately"!  Rebekah showed up and did exactly what the servant requested.

Later, when the servant was speaking to Laban (Rebekah's brother), the servant recounted what Abraham had told him before leaving on this journey...

(Genesis 24:40)  He said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send His angel with you to make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my relatives and from my father’s house...'

Then the servant gave God all the glory for answering their prayers...

(Genesis 24:48)  And I bowed low and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had guided me in the right way to take the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son.

We can see that:
- angels might guide people

Personal experience:  before GPS, I got lost in Los Angeles because there was a very complicated network of ramps at one giant-overpass-thingy.  It was very obvious that I had taken the wrong ramp - but now what?  To get back on the right highway was not obvious to me... at all.  The directions I had didn't make any sense.  I could not find where I was on the map.  And there wasn't any place I could pull over and ask for directions.  All I could do was ask God to guide me.

Was there an angel involved?  I'm not sure.  I don't know how He worked this out, but He did.  I just had these strong sensations of someone telling me, "Turn around.  Turn left.  Left again.  Now right..." etc.  And when I was up to speed, I recognized the highway I was supposed to be on.  My directions once again made sense.

Today's takeaway:  sometimes God's guidance doesn't make sense in the moment. Some of the commandments He gives us may not sound fair or sound like fun at times - but He knows things we do not know.  Well, HE KNOWS EVERYTHING!!!  Why would we not trust that?  And because He is all-knowing, He knows the prayers that we will request in our future!  And like for the servant, sometimes God answers our prayers before we even pray them!...

(Jeremiah 29:11)  “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."

(Jeremiah 23:23-24)  “Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord, “And not a God far off? 24 “Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.

(Romans 11:33-36)  Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? 35 Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

(Psalm 29:10b-13)  ...“Blessed are You, O Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. 12 Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. 13 Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name."

spiritual battle: Angels to Protect & Destroy (Gen.18:1-19:26)

Abraham sees three men approaching.  Never mind not realizing that two of them were actually angels, but Abraham does not at first recognize Yahweh (God Himself - THE angel of the Lord)...

(Genesis 18:1-3)  Now the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, 3 and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by.

Abraham feeds them and they eat.  Because they eat, Abraham (and we the readers) can see that this is not just a vision...

(Genesis 18:8)  He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate.

(Genesis 18:16)  Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. 

The two men (angels) left, while Abraham spoke with the Lord, negotiating with Him that Sodom should not be destroyed because Abraham's brother and family lived there...

(Genesis 18:22)  Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the Lord.

The Lord agreed that if there were ten righteous people in the city, it would not be destroyed.  Of course, God already knew how many actual believers were in that city.  None!  But God had arranged for Lot and his family to be removed...

In the scriptures below we can now see that the two men are actual angels, sent to provide a way for Lot and his family to escape the city before it was destroyed...

(Genesis 19:1-22)  Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 And he said, “Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” They said however, “No, but we shall spend the night in the square.” 3 Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; 5 and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.” 6 But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, 7 and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. 8 Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Stand aside.” Furthermore, they said, “This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them.” So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11 They struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.

12 Then the two men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; 13 for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy the city.” But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be jesting.

15 When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city. 17 When they had brought them outside, one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.” 18 But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! 19 Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die; 20 now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) that my life may be saved.” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.

Did the Lord use the angels to destroy the cities or did He do it Himself?  Not quite sure, but the order to do so definitely came from God...

(Genesis 19:24-26)  The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven, 25 and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

From this we can see:
- angels can appear as people
- angels can eat and drink
- angels have some powers
- angels are used to protect
- angels are used to destroy

Personal experience:  while living in Puerto Rico as a missionary, my work would sometimes take me to this very small island.  It had gorgeous beaches, but in the winter months, these beaches were very isolated.  And I had been warned about thieves and such lurking in the trees and hills.

On one of my days off, I could not find anyone to go with me to the beach, so I decided to go by myself - not to swim but - just to enjoy looking at God's creation.  I thought I had found a good spot where I would go unnoticed, but eventually I had the feeling that I wasn't alone.  I hadn't heard anything, because of the ocean waves pounding on the shore.

As I slowly turned to look, I saw that there was a jeep full of young men right behind me - all just sitting there - intently watching me.  There was no one else around on this mile long stretch of shoreline.  I slowly turned back around and prayed, "Lord, let them just start up their jeep and leave!"  And just like that they left.

Today's takeaway:  I've heard many people say, "Why would we bring children into this evil world?  How could we ever protect them?"  But I think about how God protected Lot's daughters in one of the most sinful cities of all times.  The people there wanted to have sex with the angles, and yet Lot's daughters were still virgins. 

And even still, Lot was ready to sacrifice his daughters to protect his guests and keep the peace.  Of course, God's protection far surpasses what we are able to do for our loved ones or even for ourselves.  And God is able to protect us in more ways than we realize!...

(1 Chronicles 29:11-13)  "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. 12 Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. 13 Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name."

spiritual battle: THE Angel of the Lord (Gen.16:7-14)

Here is the first mention in the Bible of "THE angel of the Lord."  This is NOT an angel.  Anywhere we see THE angel of the Lord, we need to realize that this is the self-manifestation of God - a kind of pre-incarnation of Jesus.  The actual incarnation of Jesus was when He came to earth in flesh - 100% man while still being 100% God.  After His ascension, He does not appear on earth... and He will not appear on earth until His second coming.  Of course, God is still every-where-present.  So we will not SEE God, but we will definitely feel His presence.

I might not share every passage regarding THE angel of the Lord, but definitely the ones I think are applicable to the topic of spiritual warfare.

Interestingly, "Jesus's" first appearance is to Hagar - a Gentile - and a  maid to Abram's wife, Sarai.  "Jesus" told Hagar to name her child "Ishmael" which means "God hears".  And the name of the well was called "Beer-lahai-roi" which means "a well of the Living One who sees me"...

(Genesis 16:7-14)  Now the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8 He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” 9 Then the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority.” 10 Moreover, the angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count.” 11 The angel of the Lord said to her further,

“Behold, you are with child, and you will bear a son; and you shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has given heed to your affliction.
12 “He will be a wild donkey of a man, his hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; and he will live to the east of all his brothers.”

13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees”; for she said, “Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

Personal experience:  there will be times when we will sense a spiritual presence, but we might not be sure if it is actually God or if God has sent an angel to help us.

While I was on a Bible camp week-long bicycle trip, our group decided to go 110 miles on the first day.  There were still a few more hours left of peddling, and I felt like I could not go on for one more mile.  It was hot, and there was a very strong headwind.  I finally pleaded with God to help me.

Immediately, it seemed like a giant hand started to push me along.  I thought, "Did the wind just change directions?"  But as I passed by one of my fellow cyclists, I noticed that they were still struggling against the wind.  So weird!  Okay!  Either an angel was pushing me, or it was God's hand!  Either way - I was most grateful!!!

Today's takeaway:  we do love to try to micro-manage God at times.  I could have prayed, "Lord, send me an angel to push me along..."  I did not do that in that moment.  I simple asked God to help me.  I know I have said something like that to God on other occasions, but it is important to realize that it is not up to me as to how God decides to answer my prayers.  I can definitely ask Him for anything, but I do not feel it is my place to tell Him HOW.  And just like the scripture event above, sometimes God intervenes even when we haven't prayed...

(John 15:1-11)  “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full..."

spiritual battle: Sons of God (Gen.6:1-7)

We have come to a very interesting circumstance in the Bible.  Before the great flood, there were a few "sons of God" who had taken earthly woman as their wives.  Their children were known as the Nephilim.

The sons of God were most likely a particular group of fallen angels.  We will see elsewhere in the Bible that the term "sons of God" are most often used to refer to angels.

Also later in scripture we will see that at some point, the angels had already made a decision to be for or against God, and THAT decision had already been established for all eternity.  So now, angels remain angels, and the angels who fell away became demons and remain demons.

So (here I'm speculating that) this particular group of spiritual beings could have maybe committed a different sort of sin, maybe not wanting to follow Satan, but something or someone else other than God?  Maybe their sin was desiring earthly women over everything else?  So perhaps this unique group of fallen angels, due to a unique sin, were confined to earth and maybe given slightly different bodies???  Again, as we will see elsewhere in the Bible, angels do not procreate, so this would have been a unique situation, and we are left to speculate who EXACTLY were these "sons of God". .

"Nephilim" means "to fall" - or - "to fall upon others".

This term is also used in Numbers 13:33, when the insecure spies who went to scope out the land of Canaan returned to Moses and described the people as being "Nephilim" - but they only would have been very large people.  The great flood that followed the scripture account below - destroyed all of mankind - except for Noah and his family (and within Noah's lineage there are no Nephilim named)...

(Genesis 6:1-8)  Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

From this we see that:
- demons are mighty (NOT almighty)
- demons are wicked
- they influenced mankind to be wicked
- they are able to touch us to some degree (they were, or one kind of demon was able to, but NOW they are not able to impregnate anyone)

Personal experience:  demons can mess with a personal sexually.  The first exposure to this was when a girl friend of one of my brother's came for a visit.  We had a chance to chat privately later that night.  I shared with her that I was a Christian.  She shared with me that she was not, and that she was into having sexual experiences with demons.  I could tell that she was very serious about this.  Fortunately my brother stopped hanging out her.

Today's takeaway:  God created us and knows us best.  He wants us to have the most amazing experiences as He has designed it,  So why would we not want to focus on God's guidance around marriage and sex?...

(Genesis 2:24-25)  For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

(Hebrews 13:4)  Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

(Proverbs 5:18-19)  Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth. 19 As a loving hind and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; be exhilarated always with her love.

spiritual battle: Angels Help Protect (Gen.3:22-24)

Here is the first "angel-sighting" in the Bible.

Because Adam and Eve were now in a sinful state, God did not want them to eat from the Tree of Life, which would have put them in an eternal state of spiritual death;  so God removed Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, and placed an angel there to protect Adam and Eve - by keeping them away from the tree...

(Genesis 3:22-24)  Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.

We can see that:
- angels are used to protect us
- angels can be used to block our paths

Personal experience:  as I have mentioned already, I was a missionary in Puerto Rico, along with my parents, back in the early 80s.  Three workers for the price of one.  My two brothers were still in school.

In our first few weeks there, my dad decided to take the family for a drive - to see Old San Juan.  Noticing a very cool looking (one-way-only) tunnel, and loving to explore, we were all on board for driving down that road and through the gate-of-sorts.  This took us below the city fort-walls - and into a very dilapidated make-shift barrio.

Very suddenly, people knew we were there.  We were getting looks!  And it was clear to us that we were being considered intruders!  We did not belong!  There was a very strong sense that we needed to get out while we could!

There wasn't any GPS then, and even though we had a map - this particular area was not on it!  As we drove along looking for a road that would take us out, we were praying for protection and guidance!!!  Almost immediately, a man jumped out into the middle of the road.  While everyone else's expressions were angry and suspicious, this man's face showed concern and sincerity.  He urgently motioned for us to turn at a certain "street" and then to keep left - and there it was - the only gate out.

When we saw the mission director's family later that day, we recounted our adventures.  Their mouths dropped.  "You NEVER go below the wall.  Police never go there.  People who enter rarely ever make it out.  And if they do, they are rarely alive."

We had all felt that this man who helped us could have been an angel;  but after hearing the stern and urgent warning, we were most certain of it!

Today's takeaway:  we do not have to fear anything!  We need to trust God to sort things out for us.  He will protect us in the way that He sees fit...

(Matthew 10:28-32)  Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

32 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.

spiritual battle: Satan Wants to Kill God (Gen.3:14-15)

After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and brought sin and death into this world, God informed them of the consequences.  Even the serpent had a consequence...

(Genesis 3:14)  The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field;  on your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life

Within the consequences, God prophesied how Satan would pursue the Israelites (because they would become God's chosen ones), but more so about how Satan's pursuit would be to kill and destroy Jesus..  Eve's seed is a reference to Jesus.  Satan bruised Jesus on the heel by influencing how Jesus suffered on the cross.  But Satan is bruised on the head when Christ's death and resurrection paid the price for all sin...

(Genesis 3:15)  And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed;  He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.”

So we can see:
- Satan was cursed because of his rebellion against God
- Satan desires to kill and destroy Jesus
- there is a spiritual battle: Satan and the demons against God and His children...

Personal experience:  Satan's battle is against God;  so wherever the evangelistic outreach is strong, Satan will try to tear that down.  Therefore, it should come as no surprise that I saw a lot of spiritual activity while I was a missionary in Puerto Rico.  I've also seen a lot of spiritual warfare in churches where many people were becoming Christians.  And because the Jews are God's "chosen ones" - it is certainly no wonder why the nation of Israel rarely experiences any prolonged time of peace.

Today's takeaway:  we do not have to and we should not focus on the battle, but we can and we should focus on God's peace...

(John 16:33)  “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”