From Bethlehem to Eternity past - part 2

These appearances recorded in the Old Testament are called "theophanies." This word comes from two Greek words: THEOS ("God") and PHAINO ("to appear").
This is an appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ, usually in visible, bodily form.
"The Angel of the Lord appeared twice to Hagar (Genesis 16:7-14; Genesis 21:17-18),
once to Abraham (Genesis 22:11-13)
Balaam (Numbers 22:22-35),
Gideon (Judges 6:11-22),
Manoah and his wife (Judges 13:3-22).
He was present at the judgment on Israel after David's numbering of the people (2 Samuel 24:16),
and He was the agent of destruction to Sennacherib's army (2 Kings 19:35-36; Isaiah 37:36-37).
In a vision, Zechariah saw Him as judging between Joshua the high priest of Israel and Satan their accuser (Zechariah 3:1),
and as the One who intervened on behalf of Israel's restoration after their seventy years of captivity (Zechariah 1:12).
The Psalmist reerred to Him as the deliverere of His people and the antagonist of their enemies (Psalm 34:7; 35:5-6).
Other names of the Angel of the Lord are "The Angel of God (Genesis 31:11), "My Angel" (Exodus 23:23; 32:34), and "the Angel of His presence" (Isaiah 63:9), all doubtless referring to the same divine being
Let’s just look at a few of these theophanies (appearances of Christ before He came as a baby) as we travel further back through time.

And as we look at what the Lord Jesus did when He appeared bodily in the Old Testament, maybe we will gain a broader perspective of Christ’s character and who He really is.
It might change your view of who Jesus is.

710 B.C.

2 Kings 19 – The Slayer of the enemies of God’s people
34 `For I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David's sake.'"
35 ¶ And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the LORD went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses--all dead.
36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh.

1256 B.C.

Judges 6 – The encourager in times of weakness and uncertainty
11 ¶ Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites.
12 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!"
13 Gideon said to Him, "O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, `Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."
14 Then the LORD turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?"
15 So he said to Him, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house."
16 And the LORD said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man."
17 Then he said to Him, "If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me.
18 "Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You." And He said, "I will wait until you come back."
19 So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them.
20 The Angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened bread and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth." And he did so.
21 Then the Angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the Angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
22 Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the LORD. So Gideon said, "Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face."

1451 B.C.

Joshua 5 – To reassure us of victory as we fight against the enemy
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.

1872 B.C.

Genesis22 – The One who puts our faith to the test to find out if we really love Him with our whole hearts
11 ¶ But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am."
12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."
Now there are too many instances where we see or hear about the Lord Jesus in the Old Testament to mention them all this morning