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Richard ‘Aharon’ Chaimberlin |
The Rabbis say that God never gives a man
an exalted office unless he is first tested in small things (Rabbi J. H.
Hertz). According to Midrash, Moses saw a lamb escape from the flock, and followed
it to a brook, where the lamb quenched its thirst. Moses said to the lamb, “Had
I known that you were thirsty, I would have taken you in my arms, and carried
you here.” The Heavenly Voice resounded, “As thou livest, thou art fit to shepherd
Israel.”
Some may debate the historical accuracy of the above story. However, it is only one verse after Exodus 3:1 where we read the following: “And the angel of YHWH appeared to him in a blazing flame out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.” [2]
In Exodus 3:15, God
reveals to Moses His name (יְהֹוָה -
YHWH). He said, “This is My name forever, and is My memorial name
to all generations.” Some Sacred Name people proclaim that they know the
exact pronunciation, and have come up with some strange pronunciations.
However, nobody today can be sure of the exact pronunciation. According to most Hebrew
scholars, “Yah-way” is a close approximation of the correct pronunciation. (The ancientוָ [vav] normally
had a "W" pronunciation [waw] when used as a consonant.)
This was God's perfect timing. The Israelites had been enslaved for 400 years in Egypt. No doubt they would have preferred to have been slaves a considerably shorter period of time. Yet they went into Egypt as a "nation" of one large family. Our Heavenly Father was building them into a mighty nation of close to 3 million during those years of slavery. I doubt that Jacob’s sons, daughters (Gen. 37:25; 46:7,15, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren would have had a great deal of success in conquering the land of Canaan. More likely, they would have assimilated into the idolatrous nations that inhabited the land. In YHWH's perfect timing, he brought them out of Egypt, using Moshe (Moses), a Hebrew who had been schooled by the teachers of Egypt. When we want God to do something for us “now,” perhaps we could learn a little lesson in patience from these Hebrews who waited 400 years!
The burning bush is often taken as a symbol of Israel, small and lowly among the nations, often “burned,” yet indestructible. Why? Because the Divine Spirit dwells within Israel. As HaShem promised, as long as the sun shines by day, and the moon and stars shine by night, then Israel shall continue to be a nation forever.[3] Israel shall continue for as long as heaven and earth continue. Am Yisrael Chai (The People of Israel Live)!
WHO IS THE ANGEL?
There are many Scripture references to “the angel of the LORD,” more properly translated, “the angel of YHWH.” Just who, or what, is this “angel of YHWH”? In this passage from Exodus, we read that “the angel of the LORD (YHWH) appeared to him (Moses) in a blazing flame...” [4] Then a couple verses later, we read that it was “God who called to him from the midst of the bush." This is one special angel indeed!
In Genesis, we read that Hagar fled into the wilderness, pregnant with Abram's child, escaping the wrath of Sarai. The angel of YHWH appeared to her, and told her, “Behold, you are with child, and you will bear a son, and you will call his name Ishmael (‘God hears’), because YHWH has given heed to your affliction. And he shall be a wild ass of a man. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone's hand will be against him.”[5] This prophetically foretells with incredible accuracy the fate of the Arabs, who are descended from Ishmael. As this prophecy indicates, there is not much likelihood for much “peace” in the Middle East, at least not until Messiah returns.
“Then she (Hagar) called the name of YHWH who spoke to her, ‘Thou art a God who sees,’ for she said, ‘Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?'”[6] So what's going on here? First we are introduced to “the angel of YHWH,” then Hagar recognizes the angel as being YHWH, or “the God who sees.” Did this poor Egyptian girl misunderstand? Was she completely befuddled? No, I believe she understood perfectly.
We read in Genesis 19 the account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, for their wickedness. (Are we far behind?) The text tells us that “the LORD (YHWH) rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD (YHWH) out of heaven.”[7] It seems apparent that there is a reference to two YHWH's here, one on earth and one in heaven. It is interesting to note that the Jewish translators of the Tenakh (O.T.) recognized the "problem" of two YHWH's. They translated the Tenakh into Greek, a translation called the “Septuagint,” from the Greek for “70” in reference to the approximately 70 translators. They made the following changes in the Greek translation from the literal interpretation (included are the rabbinic reasons for the changes):
"I will make Man" instead of "We will make Man" lest it be said that God is dual in nature.
"With an image and a likeness" instead of "In our image and likeness"...lest the creature be compared to the Creator.
"Male and female He created him," instead of "Male and female He created them"...lest it be said they were originally created with two bodies.
"Come, I shall go down and confuse their languages," instead of "Let us go down and confuse..." lest it be said that God is dual in nature.” [8]
By the way, the Talmud accuses the early Messianic Jews of believing in two Gods, not three. The doctrine of Trinity was promulgated and made official by the Council of Nicea (a Gentile church council) in 325 CE (“A.D.”).
Even in the Akeidah ("Binding of Isaac"), we see further evidence that the "angel of YHWH" is also identified as being YHWH.[9] I believe that the angel of YHWH is none other than the pre-incarnate Yeshua. (See John 17:11-12.) Yeshua and his Father are both YHWH. They are echad (one).[10] And they share the same family name—YHWH.[11]
If we travel a bit further on in Scripture, we find that “the angel of YHWH” visits with Gideon,[12] who eventually led the armies of Israel against the Midianites. The “angel of YHWH” is identified as being “YHWH” in Judges 6:14.
The Angel of YHWH Visits the Parents of Samson
In Judges 13, we find the Philistines are oppressing Israel. The “angel of YHWH” visits with the wife of Manoah, who was barren, having no children. The “angel of YHWH” tells her that she shall give birth to a son, who shall be a Nazirite from the mother’s womb, and that her son would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines. She ran and told her husband about the encounter, identifying the man as “the angel of God.” Manoah is slightly skeptical, and prays for the “man of God” to come again to confirm the message that his wife received. After the prayer, the “angel of God” again appears to his wife. She called for Manoah, who came and spoke, saying, “Are you the man who spoke to the woman?”[13] The man said, “I am.” The “man” confirmed all that had been told to Manoah’s wife earlier. When Manoah inquired of the man’s name, the man said, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” It is interesting to note that in Isaiah 9:6, one of the names of the Messiah is “Wonderful (Peilei).”
We read, “So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto YHWH, and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of YHWH ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.[14] But the angel of YHWH did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of YHWH. And Manoah said unto his wife, ‘We shall surely die, because we have seen God.’[15] But his wife said unto him, ‘If YHWH were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have showed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.’ And the woman bore a son, and called his name Samson, and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.”[16]
THE GOD OF THE LIVING
Yeshua the Messiah also makes interesting use of the Torah portion from Exodus, as he gives his own little rabbinic commentary.
Yeshua was approached by some Sadducees, who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. (That is why they are sad, you see.) They attempted to "trick" Yeshua with the hypothetical question of a man who died, leaving no offspring. According to the Law of Moses, it would be the duty of the dead man's brother to raise up a son for the dead brother.[17] Deut. 25:5. However, in this story, each of seven brothers take this woman to wife, and each in turn dies without leaving an offspring. The Sadducees then ask the question (no doubt with a smirk): “In the resurrection, when they rise again, which one's wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.”[18]
Yeshua replied, “When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of heaven.” In other words, marriage is only temporary: It's only for a lifetime. Then He said, “But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Exodus 3:6)’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”[19] In other words, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob weren't just laying around waiting for some future day of resurrection; they were already conscious, among the “living” during Yeshua's day!
CO-EQUALITY?
If indeed Yeshua also carries the family name of “YHWH,”[20] then the Divinity of Yeshua is firmly established. However, the concept of co-equality goes beyond Scripture, and is in fact, anti-Scriptural. Yeshua clearly states in John 14:28 that “the Father is greater than I.” Earlier on, in John 5:18, Yeshua was falsely accused of “making Himself equal with God.” Just one verse later, to counter this false accusation, He replied, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son does in like manner.” In verse 30, He said, “I can do nothing on my own initiative. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which has sent Me.”
Rav Shaul (Paul) writes, “Messiah is the head of every man, and man is the head of a woman, and YHWH is the head of Messiah.”[21] In Philippians 2:5-8, we read, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Messiah Yeshua, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.” At no point does Yeshua claim equality with the Father.
It should also be noted that Yeshua often prayed to the Father, as can be seen in numerous examples in Scripture. However, there are no references of the Father “praying” to His Son. The mere concept of the Father praying to Yeshua is absurd. Meanwhile, the prayers of Yeshua recorded in Scripture again demonstrate His complete submission to the Father’s will. In Mathew 26:42, He prays, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, nevertheless Thy will be done.” In this prayer, Yeshua agreed to suffer the agony set before Him for our salvation.
“NO MAN HATH SEEN GOD…”
Yochanan wrote: “No man has seen God at any time, the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”[22] This verse tells us of a God who cannot be seen, who is the Father of us all, including Yeshua, “the only begotten Son,” who obviously could be seen, and will be seen again by many of you now reading this article. You might see him in “heaven,” or it might be during the Millennial Kingdom, when Yeshua comes as King Messiah and sets up his Kingdom, where He will rule from Jerusalem. Rav Shaul tells us, “He (Yeshua) is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all Creation.”[23]
Not only that, but Rav Shaul goes on to explain that Yeshua is Co-Creator with the Father: “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him. And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the called out ones, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross.”[24]
There is an interesting passage in Exodus in which Moses, Aaron, and seventy of the elders of Israel go up the mountain, “and they saw the God of Israel, and under his feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. Yet He did not stretch out his hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel, and they beheld God and they ate and drank.”[25] The Rabbis will agree that no one can see God, yet here we have a passage in which God is seen, by 72 people, who also ate and drank, so it is obviously not a vision. It is obvious to me, at least, that these men saw the pre-incarnate Yeshua.
The very first words in the Scriptures are: “B’reisheet bara Elohim et ha-shamayim v’et ha-aretz (In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth).” The word used for ‘God’ is Elohim, which curiously is a plural word, but used in conjunction with a singular verb (‘bara’). If God wanted to stress his “singularness,” He could have had it written “El” or “Eloah,” which are both singular words meaning God. I happen to believe that the plural form “Elohim” was used because Yeshua was “in the beginning” creating with the Father.
Yes, it is self-evident that Yeshua had a pre-existence with the Father, and was in fact the “angel of the LORD (YHWH)” that we have been describing. ת
MODERN PROVERBS
"Procrastination is both the thief of time and the grave of opportunity."
"It costs to follow Yeshua, but it costs more not to."
"Worry is wasting today's time to clutter up tomorrow's opportunities with
yesterday's troubles."