WEEKEND RECHARGE!

FEBRUARY 7, 2026

Monday, February 2—Genesis 1-11 Who is God?
Tuesday, February 3—Genesis 12 Abraham and Redemption
Wednesday, February 4—Genesis 15 Abraham’s Faith
Thursday, February 5—Genesis 16 Abraham Takes a Shortcut
Friday, February 6—Genesis 17-18 Abraham has Visitors

IS “THE ANGEL OF THE LORD” THE PREINCARNATE CHRIST? SEE THE DISCUSSION FOLLOWING THE “DAILY DEVO OVERVIEW.” SEND YOUR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS TO OUR TEAM.

OVERVIEW
There are four threads of truth that run through the Bible: Who God is. Who man is. How to know God. How to walk with God. Wherever you are in Scripture, one or more of these threads are being addressed. This is called the meta-narrative or the overarching theme. Often, the meta-narrative of the Bible is expressed this way: Creation—Fall—Redemption. While I certainly agree with the Creation—Fall—Redemption framework, I feel the four threads of truth offer a more specific and practical approach to the Bible’s overall theme.

This week, we started with the first thread and considered what we learned about God in Genesis 1-11. There we found that God is:

• Yahweh Elohim, the powerful personal God
• The One who always pursues us 
• The Sovereign Judge
• The great Communicator
• The Redeemer 

In Genesis 12, we began our study of God’s story in Abraham. God promised to send a Savior (Gen. 3:15), and now he chooses Abraham to be the father of the nation through which he would send Jesus. 

Abraham shows us what saving faith looks like (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:19-21), that is, believing that God's promises are true, specifically trusting the promise that Jesus died on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sin, resulting in the debt of our sin being paid in full and righteousness (a right standing before God) being credited to our account.  

Saving faith, however, does not eradicate our sinful nature. The promise that God would give Abraham and Sarah a son made them laugh at God because they were well past childbearing age. But God assured them that nothing is impossible with him (Gen. 18:14). 

THIS WEEK’S DAILY DEVO OVERVIEW
GENESIS 1-11: WHO IS GOD?

Yahweh Elohim – The Creator and Personal God (Gen. 1:1; 2:7)

• Elohim—the all-powerful Creator.
• Yahweh—the intimately personal God.

The Pursuer

• God seeks Adam and Eve after their disobedience (Gen. 3:9).
• God warns Cain that sin is crouching at his door (Gen. 4:6-7).
• God calls Noah to build an ark (Gen. 6:9-14).
• God went “down” to confront the people of Babel (Gen. 11:7).

The Sovereign Judge

• God judges sin justly, and in his timing (Gen. 6-9). 

The Great Communicator

• The Person of God is indescribable (Job 11:7-9; Isa. 40:28; Rom. 11:33; et. al.).
• God describes himself in human language so we can understand who he is (Gen. 6:6).

The Redeemer

• God’s plan of redemption begins after the Fall (Gen. 3:15).
• God provides the first sacrifice for sin (Gen. 3:21).
• The story of redemption begins with Abraham (Gen. 12). 

GENESIS 12: THE STORY OF REDEMPTION

God’s Call (Gen. 12:1, 7; Heb. 11:8-10)

• God initiates the call (Gen. 12:1).
• The call is costly (Gen. 12:1).
• Abram obeys without full information (Gen. 12:4).

God’s Promise (Gen. 12:2-3)

• Abram will be a great nation. 
• Abram will have identity in God.
• Abram will live with purpose.
• Abram will be a global blessing. 

The Problem with the Promise (Gen. 11:30; Heb. 6:13-15)

• Sarai is barren.
• Abram and Sarai are well past childbearing years. 
• The promise seems impossible. 
• Abram’s story included fear, failure, and bad decisions (Gen. 16).

GENESIS 15: ABRAHAM’S STORY: SAVING FAITH

God Provides Assurance (Gen. 15:1)

• God will be Abram’s “shield” and “reward.” 
• Abram’s future is anchored in God’s character.

Faith is Trusting the Promises of God (Gen. 15:2-7)

• Abram believed God (Gen. 15:2-6).
• Abram’s faith resulted in righteousness (Gen. 15:6).
• Faith is being “fully convinced that God [is] able to do what he [has] promised” (Rom. 4:20-21). 

God Seals the Covenant (Gen. 15:9-18)

• God alone seals the covenant. 
• The covenant is unilateral and unconditional. 

GENESIS 16: ABRAHAM’S STORY: SHORTCUT TO FAITH

Impatience with God Leads to Human Solutions (Gen. 16:1-3)

• Sarai offered her servant, Hagar, to Abram. 
• What was culturally acceptable was spiritually misguided.

Shortcuts lead to Relational and Spiritual Damage (Gen. 16:4-6)

• Hagar’s pregnancy altered relationships.
• Sarai blamed Abram. 
• Abram responded passively. 
• Sarai’s treatment of Hagar caused her to run away. 

God is The Pursuer (Gen. 16:7-14)

• God pursued Hagar in the wilderness. 
• God revealed himself as El Roi—“the God who sees.”
• God continued his covenant through human failure, proving it was unconditional.  

GENESIS 17-18: ABRAHAM’S STORY: NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD

God Reveals Himself as the All-Sufficient One (Gen. 17)

• After thirteen years of silence, God appears to Abraham as El Shaddai—the All-Sufficient One.
• God restates his covenant promise.
• God renames Abram (Abraham: “Father of a multitude”) and Sarai (Sarah: “Princess”).

God Appears as One of Three Visitors (Gen. 18:1-10)

• God returns to Abraham as one of three visitors.
• Abraham senses the significance of the moment.
• God confirms his promise. 

God Confirms His Sovereign Power (Gen. 18:11-14)

• Sarah quietly laughed at the thought of a ninety-year-old woman having a baby. 
• God confronted her with his character, asking, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
• This promise points to another miracle—a virgin bearing a child. 
• The angel Gabriel said to Mary, “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).

THE ANGEL OF THE LORD
Often in Scripture, we read about “angels of the Lord” or “an angel of the Lord,” but in the Old Testament, an angel is sometimes introduced with the definite article “the” (the angel of the Lord). Some believe “the angel of the Lord” refers to a theophany[1] of the preincarnate Christ. Bible scholar Allen Ross offers this commentary on Genesis 16:7. 

This is the first reference in the Old Testament to “the Angel of the Lord” (lit., “the Angel of Yahweh”). This angel is identified with Yahweh in 16:13, as well as in 22:11–12; 31:11, 13; 48:16; Judges 6:11, 16, 22; 13:22–23; Zechariah 3:1–2. And yet the Angel is distinct from Yahweh (Gen. 24:7; 2 Sam. 24:16; Zech. 1:12). Thus “the Angel of the Lord” may refer to a theophany of the preincarnate Christ (cf. Gen. 18:1–2; 19:1; Num. 22:22; Judges 2:1–4; 5:23; Zech. 12:8).[2] 

Other scholars believe this refers to an angel representing the Lord. The Bible scholars who collaborated on the NET Bible seem to take this more general approach. 

Some identify the angel of the Lord as the preincarnate Christ because in some texts the angel is identified with the Lord himself. However, it is more likely that the angel merely represents the Lord; he can speak for the Lord because he is sent with the Lord’s full authority. In some cases, the angel is clearly distinct from the Lord (see Judges 6:11–23). It is not certain if the same angel is always in view. Though the proper name following the noun “angel” makes the construction definite, this may simply indicate that a definite angel sent from the Lord is referred to in any given context. It need not be the same angel on every occasion.[3]

I am more inclined to follow Ross on this. I agree that “it need not be the same angel on every occasion.” However, when “the angel of the Lord” refers to the preincarnate Christ, I believe the passage provides additional evidence. In Genesis 16, Hagar believes she has seen God and that God has seen her. She calls “the angel of the Lord” El-Roi (“God who sees me” or “God of seeing”). She clearly states, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” 

So, was this the preincarnate Christ? 

We know that the Son is God and has existed eternally (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:15-17). When the Jewish leaders argued that Abraham was their father, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), echoing the name of God in Exodus 3:14. 

In conclusion, I believe that in most instances “the angel of the Lord” refers to the preincarnate Christ. As we encounter this name in Scripture, we will examine the context to determine its meaning.  

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