HOW GOD REVEALS HIMSELF

We believe that the great God of the Universe came down to earth to reveal Himself to man. We believe that He came to walk among His people as was prophesied, and that He revealed Himself in visible form.

Throughout the five books of Moses there is a record of God's appearances, sometimes in a dream, sometimes in a vision, sometimes in Person. We will lock into the Scriptures to discover how God revealed Himself to ancient Israel. One instance is found in the book of Genesis, in the eighteenth chapter, beginning with the first verse.

"And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he (that is, Abraham) sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, Lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, my Lord,..."

The Hebrew for Lord here is "Adonai" which is a plural word. A conversation took place between Abraham and the Lord in which the Lord promised a son for Sarah, a son who would be born of a miracle, and Abram tried to persuade the Lord not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. The appearance of God was in the form of a MAN in this case.

We read of another time when God revealed Himself to ancient Israel. "Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under His feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He laid not His hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink."(Exodus 24:9-11)

On this occasion God revealed Himself in the glory of Heaven. Not only Moses, but Aaron and his two sons, as well as seventy elders or nobles of Israel, actually SAW GOD! And they were able to eat and drink after they saw Him, showing that they survived even though they had actually looked upon God's form!

When Aaron and Miriam criticized Moses for marrying a Gentile, God came down to defend him.

"And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the Tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. And he said, hear now my words: if there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth (person to person) even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude (form) of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?"(Numbers 12:5-8)

This passage teaches that God has form, and that Moses saw Him in this form! Aaron and Miriam only saw God in a pillar of the cloud, but Moses saw Him in person!

In the Tenach or Old Testament it is recorded that God appeared on earth as a Man. This Man was often called by the name, "The Angel of the Lord." He was also called "The Angel of God," "an Angel," "The Angel of God's Presence," and "The Angel of the Covenant."

He was distinct from other angelic beings for He pardoned transgressions. This Angel also accepted worship and He always spoke as God.

"Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him, and obey His voice, provoke Him not; for He will not pardon your transgressions: for MY NAME IS IN HIM." (Exodus 23:20-21)

"My name is in Him," means that God's characteristics were in this Angel. This Person, who was in other places in Scripture called "The Angel of His (God's) presence," had power to pardon or to withhold pardon. This shows that He was God, for only God can do this. This Person was more than just an angel. He was GOD Himself!

Sometimes God revealed Himself to Israel as THE WORD. We read instances such as: "The Word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah," or "The Word of the Lord which came to" some other prophet. This expression refers to a message, but sometimes The Word of the Lord refers to a Person! We read of this in the third chapter of First Samuel, and in particular, the twenty-first verse:

"And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the Word of the Lord."

We have seen in this very brief study that God revealed Himself to ancient Israel in a pillar of cloud, in visions, dreams, in person, in the form of an angel as a man, and in His Word. This last revelation, The Word, refers to the expression of God, the Mouthpiece of God. It is found in the Person of the Messiah as we read in the Gospel of John.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and The Word was God... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt (tabernacled) among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:1,14)

Dear Fellow-Jew, did you know that our Hebrew prophets predicted over and over again that there was a Person coming who would be the visible manifestation of God in flesh and blood? Did you know that the prophets foretold the Incarnation centuries before it was fulfilled?

As we have learned, the appearances of God in the Old Testament days were either in the form of a man as an Angel, or in the cloud and in the fire. But now it is as God manifested in the flesh, Immanuel, God-With-Us, in the Person of Messiah, the God-Man. God humbled Himself. He came down to where we live, took on flesh and blood, and lived among men as one of us.

He gave up His life, because as a man HE COULD DIE. He was buried and rose from the dead! And as He promised, He is coming back to earth again to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Won't you receive Him as your Saviour-Messiah today so you can be ready to meet Him when He comes? If you have already accepted Him into your heart, won't you pray for others to do the same?