The term “the angel of the Lord” used in the Old Testament often refers to a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. This term is to be distinguished from “an angel of the Lord.” Angels, as mentioned, often appear in the form of men. Examples of the Angel of the Lord are in the following passages.
The Angel of the Lord in the Burning Bush
Moses stumbled upon an amazing sight when he was attending to a flock of animals on Mr. Horeb. He saw a bush on fire but not being consumed. He saw the Angel of the Lord in the fire and spoke to Him. It was God calling to Moses from the burning bush.
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”
4 So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” (Ex.3:1-5)
Here the “Angel of the Lord” in verse 2 is both Lord and God in verse 4. He refers to Himself as “I am” in verse 4.
14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Ex. 3:14)
58 Jesus said to the Jews, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58)
Jesus is the great “I AM” of the Bible.
Three Men Visit Abraham
It appears from this passage that the three men who stood before Abraham may consist of two angels with one of the men being a pre-incarnate appearance of The Lord Jesus Christ.
Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre,1 as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, 3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. (Gen. 18:1-3)
22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. (Gen. 18:22) Some have felt these three men represent God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Commander of the Lord’s Army
Who is the Commander of the army of the Lord?
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?”
14 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.”
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”
15 Then the Commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:13-15)
We know that the Commander in this passage is the Lord Himself, the Angel of the Lord, because an angel would never have permitted Joshua to worship him. The Lord told Joshua to remove his sandals because where he was standing was holy ground. The ground was holy because of the presence of the Lord. This was the same situation when Moses was told to remove his sandals on ground made holy because of the presence of the Lord.
Gideon / Samson
Two other notable appearances of the Angel of the Lord were before Gideon (Judges 6:11-24) and to the parents of Samson. (Judges 13:3-23)