The angels in Moses’ tabernacle

Today’s blog deals with what I consider to be a rather fascinating subject. This relates to the angels in Moses’ tabernacle. Moses was given a pattern that was to be included in the tabernacle in the wilderness. He was asked to design an ark (in the shape of a box) which would contain the tables on which the 12 commandments were written. He was also to make a mercy seat of pure gold that would be placed above the ark as well as two golden cherubims or angels which were to be placed on either end of the mercy seat. The cherubims were to be made facing each other, with their wings stretching high over the mercy seat. God told Moses that He would meet Moses at the mercy seat and speak with him from between the cherubims (Ex 25: 10 – 22).

While the meaning of the mercy seat and ark are symbolic, the important thing that we need to pay attention to here is that the angels are associated with the presence of God. Further details in the design of the temple reinforce that since Moses was also asked to design two separate curtains with cherubims woven into them. One of these curtains was to cover the tabernacle while the other was to separate the holy place from the holiest of holies (Ex 26). The holiest of holies was a very symbolic place since only the Jewish High Priest could enter once a year in order to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. He had to wear bells on his clothing since God wanted to hear the sound of his arrival and departure so that he would not die (Ex 28: 33 – 35).

The question really relates to the significance of the presence of the angels over the mercy seat, in the curtains covering the tabernacle and in the vail between the holy place and the holiest of holies. They could mean two things:

1. Angels dwell in the presence of God as we learnt in other scriptures and particularly in the book of Revelation. Therefore, angels of the Lord will lead us to the true and living God.

2. The wings of the angels covering the mercy seat symbolize the covering or protection that God places over His people. David spoke of this in Psa 91: 4

Blessings and more next time!

Angels and sign language

I’ve been away for two days, but am back to continue speaking about the truth that angels speak with people in sign language. When they do so, we need to stop and pay attention, like Moses, who stopped to see why the bush was on fire but was not burning to cinders like trees in a forest fire. Today I would like to ask whether or not you are aware that angels guided Abraham as he journeyed through the land to which God had sent him. How do I know that? When he sent his business manager to find a wife for his son Isaac, he told him:

“The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence” (Gen 24: 8).

Abraham told the manager that the Lord would send his angel ahead to guide him. He spoke this from experience. Although scriptures do not directly record the events in which angels of the Lord guided Abraham, we learnt from Jacob’s experience how they may have done so. When Jacob ran away from home, he did so because his brother Esau plotted to kill him due to the theft of the birthright, which cost Esau his inheritance as firstborn. That night, Jacob had a dream in which he saw “a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it”. (Gen 28: 12). This dream meant that Jacob had direct access to heaven and that angels were with him continually. That must have been very comforting to Jacob under the circumstances. Furthermore, the Lord stood above the ladder and prophesied to him about his plan to give the land to him and his offspring.

Many years later, Jacob returned home at the Lord’s instructions, but did so under duress because he was afraid that Esau would try to get revenge for the theft of the birthright. Genesis 32: 1 says that the angel of God met him as he returned. Now this was even more comforting. The presence of the angels meant that he had no reason to fear Esau because he was under divine protection. As Jacob reached the end of his life, he gathered his sons in order to impart a prophetic blessing to them. As he blessed Joseph’s sons, he gave praise to God for the presence of the angels of the Lord in his life, referring to the Lord as “the Angel which redeemed me from all evil” (Gen 48:16).

I used Jacob’s example to show that Abraham must have experienced the same kind of angelic guidance during his journeys. We know that Abraham saw the Lord God live and direct in visits (Gen 18: 1,2)and that the angel of the Lord spoke to him from heaven as he was about to kill Isaac (Gen 22). Did angels meet Abraham at strategic places and times in order to show him which way to go? We know that Jesus (Melchizedek) met him and helped him to fight the war against the kings who had captured his nephew Lot. Every member of Abraham’s family benefited from this special angelic protection and guidance, including Hagar and Ishmael. Abraham’s manager inferred that angels had helped him to the right wife for Isaac when he told Laban what Abraham had said on the inception of the journey:

“… The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house” (Gen 24: 40).

Angels are always present to help the seed of Abraham. The question is whether or not we are aware of their presence or whether our eyes are blind to them like Gehazi in 2 Kings 6: 15-17. Blessings until next time!

Angels also communicate non verbally

I’ve completed the discussions on biblical examples of verbal communication by angels and have also shown the reasons why they do so. Today, I would like to show examples of nonverbal communication by angels and hope that we will understand the reasons why. Here are some examples:

1. Angels stand guard and act as deterrents to people

After Adam and Eve were turned out of the garden of Eden, God placed Cherubims at the entrance as well as a flaming sword which turned in a 360 degree circle (Gen 3: 24). This was to prevent the reentry of the couple. An angel with a sword stood blocking Balaam’s path when he went on his way to curse Israel (Num 22: 23). The angel was invisible to Balaam, but the donkey saw him. This was a sad and ironic tale of a man whose greed motivated him to the point where he was impervious to the judgement of God. It also tells us that God will not allow anyone to harm those who He has blessed.
2. Angels can attract our attention in unusual ways then give a message when we look to see.

God appeared to Moses as an angel in a flame of fire in the middle of a bush that burned but did not become ashes. In order to satisfy his curiosity on the reason that the bush did not burn, Moses turned aside to see. When God saw his response, He called out to him from the middle of the bush, then began to talk with him about freeing Israel from slavery in Egypt (Ex 3). Moses’ experience tell us that sometimes God will do something unusual to get our attention, but will not approach us unless we respond by stopping to see what the problem or strange event is.

More next time

Why do angels communicate verbally with people?

Greetings to my readers. In the previous posts, I showed the biblical evidences of angels in communication with people. Today, I would like to answer the question of why angels communicate verbally with people. The answer is that they do so in order to reveal the power of God. As I reviewed the previous content, I discovered several truths about angels that are revealed in their communication:

1. Angels provide miraculously – e.g. water for Hagar, food for Prophet Elijah

2. Angels protect – e.g Ishmael from death, infant Jesus from execution by Herod.

3. Angels deliver – e.g. the apostles from prison, Paul from death on the sea.

4. Angels guide – e.g. Peter to the desert, Cornelius to Peter’s location

5. Angels foretell the future, giving specific details that are always fulfilled – e.g. births of Samson, John the Baptist and Jesus

Angels are wonderful friends of the human race, particularly of those who love the Lord. We love you angels!