The
Messengers
“And there were
shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at
night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone
around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.
I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in
the town of David a Savior has been born to you, he is the Messiah, the Lord”
(Luke 2:8-11).
In
1775, Benjamin Franklin was appointed to be the first Postmaster within what
would later be named the United States (U.S.) of America (Celebrate Boston,
2016). To this day, people all across the nation receive letters, packages, and
other items by the U.S. Postal Services as well as other carriers from around
the world. In today’s society, modern technology has even made it possible to
submit electronic mail (Email) or messages without having to leave the comfort
of one’s home. These messages can be sent in a matter of minutes whereas
traditional mail could take days to arrive.
Similarly,
Heaven has its own special mail delivery service. God is the Postmaster and the
messengers are His angels. They deliver special messages from God all around
the world. They do not have to upload to an internet service or wait for the
truck to come by to pick it up. They use their God-given swiftness to deliver
news to His children faster than the speed of light. The Bible says, “He makes winds his messengers,
flames of fire his servants” (Psalm 104:4). All throughout the Bible,
there are stories telling of messages that angels delivered to God’s people. He
could have come to them Himself if He had chosen, but the Lord used His mighty vessels
to be the deliverers of news as He deemed fit.
The
book of Genesis tells the story of an angel delivering a message after a major disagreement
had taken place between Sarah, Abraham’s wife, and Hagar, her handmaiden. For
many years, Abraham and Sarah could not have children; therefore, they took
matters into their own hands and decided to have Hagar carry a child for them to
preserve Abraham’s bloodline. Unfortunately, this did not work too well between
the two women. Hagar became arrogant once she conceived, and Sarah retaliated
by treating her harshly. Hagar eventually ran away from her mistress, but she later
returned after receiving a message delivered by an angel. The Bible says,
“Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and
submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that
they will be too numerous to count.” The angel of the Lord also said to her:
“You are now pregnant, and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him
Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery” (Genesis 16:9-11). The
angel gave a prophetic word from the Lord that told of her child’s future.
After this, she was instructed to return and humble herself to Sarah. Hagar responded
in obedience by following the angel’s instructions.
Angels
never act on their own accord, but are sent by God to do His bidding. They give
directions and even take on human form at times to give a word from the Lord. The Bible says, “Abraham
looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from
the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. He said, “If
I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by” (Genesis
18:2-3). Angels are ambassadors of God, and therefore, were recognized
by those in the Bible to speak on His behalf. They were often referred to as
“Lord” because of their direct connection to God but were never to be worshiped
as God as some religions are in error of doing. The Bible says, “Then the angel said to me,
“Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the
Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.” At this, I fell at his
feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant
with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus” (Revelation
19:9-10). God’s messengers operate in total humility and never take
credit for anything. They are fully submitted to God and as His messengers,
they are careful to give Him all the praise, honor, and glory that He deserves.
God’s
heavenly messengers are an important part of the believer’s life, for they sometimes
act as the message delivery center between God to us. The important news of both
Jesus’ birth and resurrection, for example, was delivered by angels to God’s
select few. The
Bible says, “While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in
clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright, the women
bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do
you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, he has
risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The
Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on
the third day be raised again’ ” (Luke 24:4-7). The angels delivered
the news of Jesus’ resurrection from the grave to the women who had come to put
spices on His body and His disciples. The angels’ message kept Jesus’ followers
from worry by reminding them of His words that He would die but rise again on
the third day.
Angels are a reliable source of
information from God and will never lead His people astray. They do not carry
gossip or malicious rumors, but only deliver what God gives them to say. They
are God’s unique mouthpieces, and whatever they say, we must be obedient and
do. They do not always appear in a form that is obvious, so the Bible lets us
know to be kind to everyone because you never know if you may encounter one of
His messengers. The Bible says, “Do not forget to show hospitality to
strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without
knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2).
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