Particulars
of Christianity:
302
The Trinity
The Trinity:
A Consistent Expectation
about Seeing God's Face
Introductions
The
Angel of YHWH as YHWH God
The
Angel of YHWH as Distinct from YHWH God
Immediate
Interactive Dialogue
A
Consistent Expectation about Seeing God's Face
Survey
Examining Eternal Past Existence
Establishing
Eternal Past Existence
Distinction
of the Spirit of YHWH
Ancient
Jewish Recognition of Trinitarian Facts
The
Trinity in the New Testament
Addendum
1 & 2
Addendum
3
During
our examination of passages with elements in categories
A and B, we analyzed several accounts in which
the main figure expressed a particular fear of death upon
seeing God face to face. This expectation is consistent throughout
the Old Testament from the earliest chapters and some of the
earliest experiences of the patriarchs. In addition, there
are other passages recording such events, which we did not
examine directly during our coverage of categories A
and B. Although we have commented on this issue as
needed earlier in order to fully address the passages included
in those categories, this current section will allow us to
focus specifically on this expectation of death and what it
means for Trinitarian concepts in the Old Testament. Specifically,
this thematic doctrine in the Old Testament will further corroborate
two facts. First, it will corroborate that the Jewish figures,
authors, and audiences of the Old Testament well-understood
the angel of YHWH to be a figure of YHWH God, not an angel
(or other created being). And consequently, it will also corroborate
that there were at least 2 figures of YHWH God, one of which
was the angel of YHWH who visited earth and another who interacted
with the angel of YHWH but remained in heaven.
The
earliest Old Testament passage in which death was expected
for anyone who saw God face to face can be found in chapter
16 of Genesis, just 16 chapters into the entire Old Testament.
The encounter involves Hagar, the servant of Abraham’s wife
Sarah. We examined this passage earlier under our survey of
category B.
Genesis
16:5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon
thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw
that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD
judge between me and thee. 6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold,
thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee.
And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
7 And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of
water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to
Shur. 8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest
thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from
the face of my mistress Sarai. 9 And the angel of the
LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit
thyself under her hands. 10 And the angel of the LORD said
unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it
shall not be numbered for multitude. 11 And the angel of
the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child,
and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because
the LORD hath heard thy affliction. 12 And he will
be a wild man; his hand will be against every man,
and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the
presence of all his brethren. 13 And she called the name
of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she
said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
14 Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold,
it is between Kadesh and Bered.
There
are several elements to this story that are part of a pattern,
which we will see emerge in all of the passages on this topic.
First, as we noted already during our previous examination,
in verse 13, Hagar reflects on her experience with the statement,
“Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?” The Hebrew
word for “after” is “achar” (Strong’s No. 0310), which can
refer to “after” in the sense of either location or time.
In other words, Hagar could be expressing how she has seen
God from behind or seen his “hinder parts,” which in turn
would exhibit an element similar to Moses’ encounter with
God in Exodus 33-34. In Exodus 33:17-23 and 34:5-7, Moses
is only allowed to see God’s back since seeing God’s face
would kill him.
However,
it is perhaps more probable that Hagar is expressing how she
herself continues to be alive to see the world after this
point in time when God has seen her. When Hagar says that
she has “looked,” the Hebrew verb for “looked” is rendered
in the Perfect Mood, which indicates a completed action. In
other words, Hagar’s amazement seems to involve two things:
first, amazement that she has just seen something and second,
amazement about the God that sees her. Here a question arises
concerning exactly what Hagar just saw that she considers
so amazing. Another closely related question involves exactly
how what Hagar has just seen involves the God who sees her
(as her statement plainly expresses). The answer can be seen
by the fact that Hagar’s words reflect a pun, or play on words,
specifically the irony that she has herself seen the God who
sees her. In short, Hagar is amazed that she has seen God
and lived afterward.
Furthermore,
the extremely early occurrence of this passage testifies to
its relative importance as a precedent that would inform the
understanding and experiences of Jewish people after it concerning
the nature of God as well as their relationship and encounters
with him.
If
we go on further to ask where Hagar received the understanding
she expresses in this passage, the most likely answer is from
Abraham himself. For in Genesis 18:19, God testifies that
Abraham was a man who taught the ways of God to all his household.
In fact, just one chapter earlier, in Genesis 17:9-14, 23-27,
God would have watched as Abraham passed on the teaching of
circumcision to every male in his household, including all
his male servants. Consequently, as a female servant of Abraham,
we must conclude that Hagar would have learned about God from
Abraham. Furthermore, the likelihood that Abraham passed on
these things to Hagar is further substantiated by the fact
that she was the mother of his unborn son. Certainly, in alignment
with the goal of properly instructing his son, Abraham would
have shared the truths of God intimately with the boy’s mother,
so that in her time with the child, she would also instruct
him correctly. Consequently, it should be concluded that Hagar’s
perception of God as the Living One who Sees (Genesis 16:13-14)
and her perception that seeing God face to face would result
in death came from Abraham himself. And therefore, these teachings
are seen to be at the very root of Jewish theology at the
very beginning of the Old Testament.
After
Hagar’s experience in Genesis 16, the earliest Old Testament
passage in which death was expected for anyone who saw God
face to face involves the central patriarch Jacob, from whom
the entire nation of Israel gets its name. This account is
recorded in Genesis 32. Moreover, the fact that Abraham’s
grandson possesses the same understanding as Hagar, Abraham’s
female servant, further demonstrates a common origin to this
understanding, namely from the patriarch Abraham himself of
whom God testifies that he trained his whole household, including
his servants, in the ways of God. While some later Jewish
and non-Jewish persons may forget or fail to understand these
facts, the earliest generations, including Abraham and Jacob
clearly placed great emphasis and importance on passing them
on and understanding their significance. As we will ultimately
see from Exodus 33-34, this effort to understand the implications
of these details comes to a climax in Moses, who indeed sought
to figure out the ramifications of this axiom about seeing
the face of God. And once again, the prominence and earliness
of this episode with Jacob demonstrates the significance of
its influence on shaping Jewish theology ever afterward, especially
in the Old Testament.
The
first important item of note from Genesis 32 can be found
in verses 1-2.
Genesis
31:55 And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed
his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed,
and returned unto his place. 32:1 And Jacob went
on his way, and the angels (04397) of God (0430) met
him. 2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is
God’s (0430) host (04264): and he called the name of that
place Mahanaim.
Verse
1 records that, as Jacob began his journey from the land of
his father-in-law Laban, he came to a location where he encountered
beings that both Jacob himself and the author of this account
recognize as angels, not God. The identification of these
visitors in verses 1-2 of chapter 32 is related to Jacob’s
earlier experience in chapter 28, when he first began his
journey to acquire a wife.
Genesis
28:10 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward
Haran. 11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried
there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the
stones of that place, and put them for his pillows,
and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed,
and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it
reached to heaven: and behold the angels (04397) of God (0430)
ascending and descending on it. 13 And, behold, the
LORD (03068) stood above it, and said, I am the LORD
(03068) God (0430) of Abraham thy father, and the God
of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give
it, and to thy seed; 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust
of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and
to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee
and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee
in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee
again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have
done that which I have spoken to thee of. 16 And Jacob
awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD (03068)
is in this place; and I knew it not. 17 And he was
afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this
is none other but the house of God (0430), and
this is the gate of heaven.
Here
in Genesis 28, just four chapters before chapter 32, Jacob
comes to a place where he sees a “ladder” extending from earth
to heaven. The author denotes that Jacob saw angels on the
ladder but YHWH God (Strong’s No. 03068) standing at the top
of the ladder. The Hebrew word for “angels” is “mal’ak” (Strong’s
No. 04397) Thus, God is distinguished from the angels here.
Likewise
in chapter 32, when Jacob encountered merely angels, “mal’ak”
is used. Jacob does not state that he saw God or YHWH in verses
1-2 of chapter 32. And neither does the author make such a
comment. As such, we ought to interpret chapter 32 in light
of chapter 28 and conclude that both Jacob and the author
fully recognize the difference between encountering angels
and encountering God himself. These encounters (Genesis 18,
Genesis 32, Judges 6) do describe God as having the appearance
of a man (or an angel – Judges 13). And in some of the encounters,
such as Genesis 32, the person within the story may at first
think this is just a man (or even an angel). But we must not
think from these early statements in the narratives that this
was their ultimate conclusion about their visitor’s identity.
Instead, this perception clearly results from two factors.
First, God is initially referred to as a man (or angel) because
the hints that this is really God only come later in the narrative.
And second, God is initially referred to as a man because
the figures in the stories are themselves reluctant to proclaim
anyone to be “YHWH” or “God” without being absolutely certain.
As such, once they do pronounce an individual to be YHWH or
God, we must understand that they were certain this was indeed
God, not a mere angel or man. Their slowness to identify a
visitor as God itself demonstrates their certainty when they
finally do apply that title. And inevitably, as more information
comes to light over the course of the narrative, they do indeed
conclude with certainty that this visitor, though he appears
to be a man, is really YHWH God. Consequently, in this light,
we understand that in Genesis 28, Jacob saw both angels and
YHWH God (just as the passage designates) and in verses 1-2
of Genesis 32, Jacob encountered merely angels, not God, which
the terms in those verses likewise reflect.
Now
that we understand that both Jacob and the author of the account
could and did distinguish between encountering angels and
encountering God, we can move to another event at the end
of Jacob’s journey, which is recording at the close of chapter
32. Specifically, having experienced mere angels in verses
1-2 of this chapter and expressing no fear of death, in verse
30 Jacob identifies his visitor as no mere angel but as God
himself. And he expresses his amazement that, having seen
not merely angels but God himself, his life is preserved rather
than lost.
Genesis
32:24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled
a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 And when
he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow
of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint,
as he wrestled with him. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the
day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except
thou bless me. 27 And he said unto him, What is
thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Thy name
shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince
hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me,
I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it
that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed
him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel
(06439): for I have seen God (0430) face to face, and my life
is preserved. 31 And as he passed over Penuel (06439)
the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
Now,
let’s examine this passage in terms of the elements we suggested
above. Do the author and Jacob himself initially present this
visitor (with whom Jacob wrestles) as a man? Yes. This is
made clear in verse 24, which states plainly that Jacob wrestled
with “a man.” However, by verse 26 it is clear that Jacob
may have begun to suspect this was no ordinary man, but a
superior of some kind, for he asks the visitor for a blessing.
But, neither Jacob nor the author pronounces this visitor
to be God just yet.
An
additional reason for suspecting Jacob’s opponent is God comes
in verses 27-28. In verse 27-28, the opponent tells Jacob
that Jacob’s name shall be changed to Israel since Jacob contends
with both God and men and has prevailed. The Hebrew word for
“contends” here in the context appears to be a direct comment
from his opponent concerning Jacob’s success in wrestling
with him and holding him there. Consequently, this statement
from Jacob’s opponent also gives strong indication to Jacob
that this man is identifying himself as God (Strong’s No.
0430, elohiym). In fact, suspicions are running so high as
a result of the opponent’s statement in verses 27-28, that
in verse 29 Jacob further attempts to directly confirm or
deny any suspicions he might have about who this is by bluntly
asking for his opponent’s name. The man does not give Jacob
his name as verse 29 records. And yet, by verse 30, Jacob
is convinced that this visitor was God, and the author of
the account is likewise convinced since he records this conclusion
without explanation or contradiction of any kind. (Incidentally,
Hosea 12:3-4 also connects Jacob’s wrestling with the angel
of YHWH to actually wrestling with YHWH God himself.)
Furthermore,
once we factor Exodus 3 and 6 into our understanding of these
passages, it becomes unavoidable that this visitor in Genesis
32 is indeed YHWH God in the form known as the angel of YHWH.
In Genesis 32, Jacob identifies his opponent as God and asks
for his name but the name is not revealed to him. In Exodus
3, the figure known as the angel of YHWH appears to Moses.
In direct contrast to Jacob, Moses asks for the visitor what
his name is and the name is revealed to him as “I AM” and
“I AM THAT I AM.” In fact, the figure known as the angel of
YHWH appears to Moses and during the passage, is identified
as both the angel of YHWH himself and as having the name YHWH.
When the same visitor appears to Moses again just 3 chapters
later in Exodus 6, he informs Moses that he did not reveal
his name to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. There
can be no doubt that this statement to Moses in Exodus 6 is
a reference back to the refusal to reveal the name to Jacob
in Genesis 32. As a result, it is clear that the same opponent
who refused to give his name to Jacob was indeed YHWH God
and was the very same visitor who appeared to Moses in the
burning bush in Exodus 3 and reveals himself to Moses by the
name YHWH God. And since, as we have already seen, Exodus
3 is explicit that this is the angel of YHWH who is deemed
as YHWH God and bears the name “I AM,” it is clear that Jacob’s
visitor is also YHWH God in the visiting form of the angel
of YHWH appearing to Jacob in the guise of a man. Thus, when
Jacob’s opponent tells Jacob that he has contended with God
and prevailed, he was indeed hinting that it was YHWH God
whom Jacob was encountering.
Furthermore,
we can ask a similar question in order to highlight another
pattern of precedent within the passage. Specifically, does
this passage exhibit a pattern of hesitation or reluctance
on the part of Jacob or the author about declaring someone
to be God? Yes, it does. This is demonstrated in two ways.
First, by the initial description of the visitor as a man,
which itself mirrors and expresses the unfolding of Jacob’s
realization that this visitor is actually God. And second,
by the manner in which Jacob begins to suspect and then eventually
ascertains that this is indeed God by asking for a blessing
and then asking for the visitor’s name. Clearly, Jacob first
perceives this visitor as a man, then becomes suspicious that
he may be more than a man, then proceeds with caution not
wanting to make a reckless proclamation, and finally declares
with certainty that this was indeed God. Since Jacob and the
author can and do distinguish in two earlier encounters the
difference between angels and God and since Jacob’s proclamation
that this was God (and the author’s implicit agreement with
that fact) is proceeded by cautious attempts to verify that
possibility, we must regard Jacob’s conclusion here as certain.
He did indeed see God.
Jacob’s
certainty about this conclusion is demonstrated by the language
of the passage as well in two ways. First, is the Hebrew word
“Penuw’el” (Strong’s No. 06439), which is translated initially
as “Peniel” in verse 30 and then as “Penuel” in verse 31.
It is the same Hebrew word in both cases, and it simply means
“facing God.” Second, there is Jacob’s own statement in verse
30 in which he declares “I have seen God face to face,” thus
providing the explanation for naming this location with a
name like “Peniel” or “facing God.” In this statement about
seeing God face to face, Jacob (as well as the author who
recorded Jacob’s words) chose to use “elohiym” (Strong’s No.
0430), which is the standard Hebrew word for “God” used throughout
the Old Testament. In fact, it is the same word used 31 times
in Genesis 1 (just 30 chapters earlier) to refer to the Creator
of the universe. Furthermore, Jacob’s use of “elohiym” in
reference to God is also necessitated by the fact that God’s
proper name YHWH was not revealed until the time of Moses.
Consequently, it is very clear from the Hebrew vocabulary
that both Jacob and the author of the account understood that
Jacob had encountered God himself, not a mere angel. And that
is the important point. Given the details of this passage
and comparative passages (such as Exodus 3 and 6), it is simply
impossible to deny that Jacob’s visitor was YHWH God.
Lastly,
we should also take note of the other important elements in
this account because they will build precedent that will reoccur
over and over, not only in later passages, but in the minds
of the Jewish men as they contemplated their own experiences
and encounters. In particular we notice the expression of
the central connection between seeing God face to face and
the expectation of death as a result of such an experience.
We saw this already with Hagar in Genesis 16. Not only with
Hagar and Jacob, but as we move forward we will continue to
see these two elements presented in interrelated fashion.
The
next passage describing such an event is yet another early,
theology-shaping account involving a major patriarchal figure
of Judaism. This time the figure is Moses. The account itself
is found in Exodus 3, which records the very first time that
Moses encounters God and his commissioning by God at that
time. This account is actually the first of multiple accounts
in the life of Moses that relate directly to this topic. Like
the account of Hagar in Genesis 16, this is a passage that
we’ve already covered in some detail during our survey of
categories A and B as well as elsewhere in our
study.
Exodus
3:1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law,
the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside
of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even
to Horeb. 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him
in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he
looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush
was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, I will now turn
aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God
called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses,
Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5 And he said, Draw
not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for
the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 6 Moreover
he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid
his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. 7 And the
LORD said, I have surely seen (07200) the affliction (06040)
of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard
(08085) their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for
I know their sorrows…16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel
together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto
me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen
that which is done to you in Egypt:
To
understand how much God intended Moses and all those who would
later hear or read this account to understand it in light
of earlier precedent, all we need to do is compare God’s statements
here to the statements made in Genesis 16. In verse 7 of Exodus
3, God says that he has “surely seen the affliction” of his
people and has “heard” their cry. The Hebrew word for “seen”
is “ra’ah” (Strong’s No. 07200). The Hebrew word for “affliction”
is “oniy” (Strong’s No. 06040). And the Hebrew word for “heard”
is “shama” (Strong’s No. 08085). In verse 11 of Genesis 16,
we see YHWH tell Hagar that he has “heard” her “affliction,”
using the exact same two words for “heard” and “affliction”
found in Exodus 3:7. And in verse 13, Hagar reflects that
God has “seen” her in her trouble, using the Hebrew word “ro’iy”
(Strong’s No. 07200), which is, in fact, derived from “ra’ah,”
the word used by God in Exodus 3 to describe how he had seen
the suffering of the Israelites in Egypt.
Genesis
16:11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold,
thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt
call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard (08085)
thy affliction (06040). 12 And he will be a wild man;
his hand will be against every man, and every man’s
hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all
his brethren. 13 And she called the name of the LORD that
spake unto her, Thou God seest me (07210): for she
said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me (07210)?
In
short, God is harkening back to the experience of Hagar, recounting
his sympathetic knowledge of the Jews’ plight in Egypt in
terms identical to his sympathetic knowledge of Hagar’s plight.
However,
our current examination concerns the expectation of death
upon seeing God. On this point, verse 3 is clear that Moses
intends to go and see the burning bush and to examine it in
order to understand why the bush was not consumed by the fire.
But, although Moses’ intention was to go close and examine
the situation, verses 4-6 state that as soon as Moses heard
the voice from the bush declare himself to be God, “Moses
hid his face for he was afraid to look upon God.” The question
is: what basis did Moses have to be afraid to look upon God
face to face? The answer is precedent. He must have been familiar
with the earlier accounts in which both Hagar and Jacob expressed
fear of death upon seeing God, even as Jacob stated, “I have
seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” It should
be noted that Jacob’s statement expressing the fear of death
for seeing God occurs only 21 chapters before this encounter
involving Moses. This close proximity of similar experiences
so early on in the Old Testament and in the lives of such
major patriarch’s as Jacob and Moses would certainly shape
any Old Testament Jew’s understanding of God.
Before
leaving this passage, we note once again that while verse
2 plainly identifies the visitor in the burning bush as the
angel of YHWH, in verse 16 YHWH God himself explicitly states
that it is YHWH God whom Moses has seen here. So, in the words
of God himself, the angel of YHWH who appears to Moses is
YHWH God appearing in a humbler, visiting guise.
Next,
we come to Exodus 33 and 34. These chapters recount the second
encounter between God and Moses, which directly relates to
this topic. For reasons that will become apparent during our
examination, it is impossible to overstate the importance
of these chapters in establishing that the angel of YHWH is
indeed YHWH God visiting in a humbler, less glorious guise
at times as a man and at other times as a fiery angel. The
first important point comes as chapter 33:17-23 records God
agreeing to let Moses see him in all his glory and chapter
34:5-8 records God actually fulfilling this agreement.
Exodus
33:17 And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing
also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my
sight, and I know thee by name. 18 And he said, I beseech
thee, shew me thy glory. 19 And he said, I will make
all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the
name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to
whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will
shew mercy. 20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face:
for there shall no man see me, and live. 21 And the LORD
said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt
stand upon a rock: 22 And it shall come to pass, while
my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the
rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my
back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
Exodus
34:5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood
with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6
And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The
LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering,
and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will
by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity
of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s
children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth,
and worshipped.
Now,
as we return our focus to previous encounters, we again see
the common elements emerging in this account. First, like
Jacob’s encounter in Genesis 32, Exodus 33-34 express the
desire to hear YHWH God pronounce his own name. For Jacob,
this is refused. But for Moses it is allowed. And second,
both encounters explicitly express the concept that to see
God “face to face” would bring death. This central element
was also present in Genesis 16 with Hagar and in Exodus 3
with Moses. As Jacob himself expresses, he had seen God face
to face in Genesis 32. However, the reason that he lived was
that, unlike Moses in Exodus 34, Jacob only saw God in the
humble form of a man, which is indeed how Genesis 32 describes
him. In contrast, Moses saw God in all of his glory in Exodus
33-34. Consequently, it is only the fully glorified form of
God that mortal men cannot see face to face and live.
These
points are fascinating and we will return to lingering aspects
of them later on. However, it is also interesting to point
out not only the involvement of major patriarchal figures
and the earliness of these accounts, but also their regular
spacing. Genesis 16 is less than 20 chapters from the beginning
of scripture. Genesis 32 is less than 20 chapters after Genesis
16. Exodus 3 is just 21 chapters after Genesis 32. And Exodus
33-34 is again only 31 chapters after Exodus 3. This frequency,
in addition to the earliness and prominent figures of these
stories further demonstrates how profoundly these encounters
would have impacted and been engrained into the Jewish understanding
of God from their earliest history.
The
next important pieces of information surround the fact that,
in addition to Moses’ own specific encounters with God in
Exodus 3-4 and 33-34, Moses and the rest of the people of
Israel also have other encounters with God in which we find
this expectation of death upon seeing God. These other experiences
of seeing God no doubt lead to Moses’ request to see God in
all his glory in Exodus 33. We will explain this more as we
continue. But what is important is that Moses regarded God’s
presence among the Israelites in the pillar of fire and cloud
and in the fire on Mount Sinai as God interacting with his
people face to face. We see this reflected by Moses’ words
in Deuteronomy 5 and Numbers 14 as he recounted to the Israelites
God’s visit on Mount Sinai in Exodus 24.
Deuteronomy
5:4 The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount
out of the midst of the fire…
Numbers
14:13 And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians
shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy
might from among them;) 14 And they will tell it to
the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that
thou LORD art among this people, that thou LORD
art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth
over them, and that thou goest before them, by day
time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.
However,
as we can also see from Moses’ comment in Deuteronomy 5, the
fire acted as a medium obscuring God in all his glory. The
fact that God’s glory was on the mount behind the fire is
stated plainly in Exodus 24, which itself hints at the fire
(and the cloud) being a mitigating partition preventing the
people from seeing God’s glory directly or clearly.
Exodus
24:16 And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai,
and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day
he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 And
the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring
fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children
of Israel.
As
indicated above, the function of the fire (and the cloud)
was to prevent the people from seeing God’s face and form
clearly because such a sight would have killed them. These
facts are stated plainly in Deuteronomy 4 and Exodus 19.
Deuteronomy
4:12 And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of
the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude;
only ye heard a voice.
Exodus
19:18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because
the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof
ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount
quaked greatly…21 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go
down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the
LORD to gaze, and many of them perish.
Exodus
19 is interesting because it indicates that if any of the
people attempted to break through the obscuring wall of fire
to gaze at the glory of the Lord directly, they would perish.
So, once again, here we have the idea that seeing God face
to face would bring about a man’s death. And this concept
is explicitly expressed by the people of Israel in Deuteronomy
5 where they themselves state their expectation that seeing
God face to face would bring about a man’s death. Of course,
because of the intervening and obscuring fire, it did not.
But this particular element of the obscuring fire stands in
direct contrast to Moses experience in Exodus 33-34 in which
there was no intervening fire (or cloud) between Moses and
God’s glorious form.
Deuteronomy
5:1 And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them,
Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in
your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and
do them…4 The LORD talked with you face to face in the
mount out of the midst of the fire…24 And ye said,
Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his
greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst
of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk
with man, and he liveth. 25 Now therefore why should we
die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the
voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die.
26 For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard
the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the
fire, as we have, and lived?
As
we move forward, we find two additional passages involving
this expectation of death upon seeing God face to face. Both
of these passages occur in Judges and we have seen them already
during our discussion of categories A and B.
The first of these accounts occurs in Judges 6 and it contains
both of the central elements under examination. First, in
verse 22 Gideon expresses great concern about having seeing
the angel of YHWH “face to face.” Second, in verse 23, YHWH
responds to this outburst from Gideon and assures him that
he will not die, thereby confirming the existence of this
expectation of death.
Judges
6:21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the
staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the
unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock,
and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the
angel of the LORD departed out of his sight. 22 And when
Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon
said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen
an angel of the LORD face to face. 23 And the LORD
said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not
die. 24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD,
and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah
of the Abiezrites.
Similarly,
the very nearby story involving Samson’s parents in Judges
13 also contains this expectation. And while Gideon applies
this expectation of death to the figure known as “the angel
of YHWH,” just 6 chapters later, Samson’s parents apply this
expectation to YHWH God himself, as was the usual expectation,
just as we have already seen.
Judges
13:20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward
heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended
in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked
on it, and fell on their faces to the ground. 21 But the angel
of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife.
Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.
22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die,
because we have seen God. 23 But his wife said unto him,
If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received
a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither
would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at
this time have told us such things as these.
What
is so interesting about Judges 13 is that, like chapter 6,
it specifies that the visitor is the figure known as the angel
of YHWH. Yet, Judges 13 also specifically denotes that Samson’s
parents were afraid for seeing YHWH God face to face. Thus,
it identifies the figure known as the angel of YHWH as YHWH
himself. In fact, this point is irrefutable since verse 21
specifies that Samson’s father “knew this was the angel of
YHWH,” which rules out any suggestion that Samson’s father
mistook this visitor. According to the text, Samson’s father
knew this was the figure known as the angel of YHWH and yet,
in verse 22, Samson’s father described seeing the angel of
YHWH as seeing God himself. This equation between seeing the
angel of YHWH and seeing YHWH God in turn explains Gideon’s
application of this expectation of death to seeing the angel
of YHWH just seven chapters earlier. Like Samson’s parents
7, Gideon understood that the angel of YHWH was indeed YHWH
God whose face, if seen, was thought to bring about a man’s
death. And this expectation was well-founded for it had not
only been taught by Abraham, Jacob, and Moses, but YHWH God
himself confirmed this expectation in Exodus 33-34. However,
apart from Moses, others apparently did not understand that
this expectation only applied when the angel of YHWH revealed
himself as he truly was, not as a humble man or even a fiery
angel, but as the fully glorious YHWH whose face no man can
see and live.
And
we must ask ourselves this question. What is more likely?
Is it more likely that Gideon and Samson’s father are applying
the expectation of death to two different beings (one to YHWH
God and the other to a mere created being such as an angel)?
Or, is it more likely that Gideon and Samson’s father were
applying the same expectation to the same Being, YHWH God
himself, who when visiting was known as “the angel of YHWH”?
The fact that Gideon applies this expectation of death to
the angel of YHWH while Samson’s parents apply it to YHWH
God himself while at the very same time regarding the angel
of YHWH as YHWH God, demonstrates that the angel of YHWH was
indeed understood to be YHWH God.
It
is also important to note at this point how early even these
last references to this expectation are. They occur in the
seventh book of the Bible. In fact, we have found 7 such instances
(counting Deuteronomy 4-5 as a recounting of Exodus 19 and
24). And from start to finish, these 7 encounters begin just
16 chapters in the Bible. The first 5 occur at intervals less
than 20 chapters apart and they involve major patriarchal
figures, such as Jacob and Moses, who are foundational to
the Jewish understanding of God. The passages span from the
time of God’s choosing of Abraham and Jacob to the establishing
of the Covenant of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt and they
continue in the period just after the Israelites conquered
the Promised Land under Joshua. This is long before the Jewish
kings and long before the Old Testament prophets. As such,
the frequency and earliness of these instances demonstrates
their foundational level in Jewish theology. Neither can they
in any way be considered the product of later evolution in
Jewish thinking.
Now
that we have examined all of these passages containing this
expectation of death for seeing God face to face, we can comment
more directly on the implications that result from this Old
Testament theme, particularly as this theme relates to Trinitarian
issues.
First,
this theme itself demonstrates that the Jews of the Old Testament
understood the angel of YHWH to be YHWH God in visiting form.
Some of the passages, such as Genesis 32, Exodus 24 and Deuteronomy
5, and Exodus 33-34 all identify the visitor by the title
YHWH God and associate seeing YHWH God with the expectation
of death. Other passages, however, identified that the visitor
was the angel of YHWH, yet they still associated seeing him
with the fear of death for seeing God face to face (Genesis
16, Exodus 3, Judges 6, and Judges 13). Thus, the Old Testament
clearly applied the axiom to the figure known as the angel
of YHWH, thereby recording their understanding that the angel
of YHWH was YHWH and to see the angel of YHWH was, in fact,
to see YHWH God himself. Consequently, the application of
this fearful expectation to the figure known as the angel
of YHWH constitutes yet another definitive proof that the
Jews of the Old Testament understood that the figure known
as the angel of YHWH was indeed YHWH God in visiting form,
which is why on occasion we see them worshipping and making
sacrifices to him as YHWH God.
Second,
there is something specific to be learned from the record
of these encounters, particularly the encounters of Moses.
As we have seen, when YHWH God first appeared to Moses in
Exodus 3, in verse 16 YHWH God himself explicitly states that
it is Himself, YHWH God, that has appeared to Moses even though
verse 2 is clear that it was the figure known as the angel
of YHWH who was appearing to Moses.
Exodus
3:2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in
a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked,
and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was
not consumed… 16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together,
and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God
of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me,
saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which
is done to you in Egypt.
Consequently,
we might consider whether or not all of Moses meetings with
YHWH were meetings with the figure known as the angel of YHWH.
Since the very first encounter between Moses and YHWH is between
Moses and the figure known as the angel of YHWH and in that
encounter the angel of YHWH is identified as YHWH God, whenever
we see later encounters which describe Moses’ visitor as “YHWH,”
we have no reason or basis for thinking it is anyone other
than this figure known as the angel of YHWH. In addition,
we must also note that in this very first encounter, which
sets the precedent for all later encounters, it is the angel
of YHWH from whom Moses hides his face so that he will not
die. This is seen clearly in verse 6 of chapter 3.
Exodus
3:2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in
a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked,
and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was
not consumed. 3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and
see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4 And when
the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto
him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses.
And he said, Here am I. 5 And he said, Draw not nigh
hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place
whereon thou standest is holy ground. 6 Moreover he
said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his
face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
So,
Moses understands from the very first encounter that the angel
of YHWH is YHWH God in visiting form and that to see his face
means death. Yet Moses does not die in this encounter. However,
Moses met with YHWH face to face on many occasions and yet
he did not die. In fact, the Old Testament is very explicit
that Moses was unique because frequently met with him face
to face.
Exodus
33:11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as
a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into
the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young
man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
Deuteronomy
34:10 And there arose not a prophet since in Israel
like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.
The
questions facing Moses as a result of these frequent face-to-face
encounters are readily apparent. Since Moses saw God face
to face on many occasions, why didn’t Moses die? This was
the very question that we saw repeatedly plagued all those
who encountered God face to face including Hagar, Jacob, Moses,
the Israelites, Gideon, and Samson’s parents every time someone
saw YHWH God face to face. There are only a few possible answers.
Either the axiom itself is not true and seeing God’s face
would not kill a man or the axiom is true and we must discover
what factor prevented Moses from dying in these instances.
Fortunately, the same passage answers both questions, telling
us that the axiom is true and identifying why Moses did not
die. In fact, the passage even indicates that Moses himself
figured out how both items could be simultaneously true.
It
is interesting to note that Exodus 33:11 itself describes
Moses’ seeing God face to face frequently right before it
records Moses’ request to see God in all his glory in verses
12-18.
Exodus
33:11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as
a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into
the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young
man, departed not out of the tabernacle…18 And he said,
I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
It
is quite clear that the text intends for us to understand
that Moses’ frequency in seeing YHWH God face to face is directly
related to his request to see God face to face in this new
way, for the first time in all God’s glory. There can be no
doubt that every time Moses saw God face to face and did not
die, he pondered the meaning of the axiom that to see God’s
face would bring death. Moses had seen God face to face in
Exodus 3-4, Exodus 13 and 14 along with Numbers 14, as well
as Exodus 19 and Deuteronomy 4-5. But all of these passages
indicate that the fire surrounding God in the bush, in the
pillar, and on Mount Sinai acted as a buffer preventing the
people from seeing God’s form and from breaking through the
fire to gaze at him for which they would die. From his frequent
encounters with YHWH God face to face up to the time of Exodus
33:11, Moses apparently figured something out. He apparently
discovered how it was possible that God could meet with him
face to face and yet he still lived. What was Moses’ conclusion?
He reckoned that the axiom was true but that neither he nor
the Israelites had been seeing God as God truly was in all
his glory, but only in a humbler, visiting form.
It
is with this contemplative process in view that, after describing
God’s frequent face-to-face visits with Moses in verse 11,
Exodus 33:18 records Moses’ peculiar request to see God in
his glory. And although God could meet with Moses face to
face when he appeared in fiery form as he did in the burning
bush, in the pillar of fire (Exodus 13:21-22, Exodus 14:19,
24, and Numbers 14:14), and on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:18-21,
Deuteronomy 4:12, and Deuteronomy 5:1, 4-6, 23-27, 30-31),
God tells Moses that in this form – in “all his goodness”
or glory – Moses cannot see his face and live.
Consequently,
this request from Moses in Exodus 33 itself demonstrates that
Moses understood the angel of YHWH to be YHWH God in a humble
– sometimes human, sometimes angelic – guise. For how could
Moses have perceived that God had a more glorious form than
the fiery form he had been encountering unless he first perceived
that the form he had been encountering was God in a humbler
form, the fiery form of an angel? And how could Moses have
realized that he had been conversing with God in a humbler,
angelic form without understanding that the angel of YHWH
was the title for this humbler, visiting form of YHWH God?
While Moses no doubt knew from the accounts of Hagar (Genesis
16), Abraham (Genesis 18-19), and Jacob (Genesis 32) that
the title “the angel of YHWH” was a term for God, by Exodus
33 he had also learned that the function of this visage of
YHWH was to be a form concealing God’s full glorious form.
Thus, Moses most certainly knew that the angel of YHWH was
YHWH God. And, as Exodus 33 records, by that time Moses also
knew that the figure known as the angel of YHWH could discard
that humbler visage and exhibit his true, fully glorious form
as God, the form which no man could see face to face and live.
These
encounters tell us two paramount facts about God that are
extremely significant to Trinitarianism. First, it tells us
that God has “humbler” forms, forms in which men can see him
face to face, forms which conceal or disguise his full glorious
form, forms like that of a man (whom Jacob wrestled) or of
a fiery angel (whom Moses saw in the bush). Second, and even
more importantly, since precedent defines for us that it is
the angel of YHWH who meets with Moses in Exodus 33-34 (as
it was in all cases going back to Exodus 3), we know that
in fact it is the angel of YHWH who has these multiple forms.
The angel of YHWH has the humble guise of a man. The angel
of YHWH has the fiery form of an angel, which was awe-inspiring
and glorious in its own right. Yet, the angel of YHWH, in
his true form, was the glorious YHWH God, a form that so much
surpassed the angels that to see it face to face would kill
a man, something that seeing an angelic form would not do.
The angel of YHWH is YHWH God in a humbler form. Moses discovered
that it was the glory that was deadly. He began with the same
perception as everyone else but, through experience and contemplation,
he discovered what God was prompting him to discover all along.
But apart from Moses’ deduction in Exodus 33, the other people
in these encounters did not understand this fact. They did
not ponder these things as fully as Moses did. And so they
feared seeing God in any form and they were perplexed when
they saw him face to face.
And,
as we have pointed out on numerous occasions already, while
this fact may lend itself to Modalism when viewed in a vacuum,
when combined with the explicit occasions in which there is
side by side coexistence of YHWH and the figure known as the
angel of YHWH, this fact leads to the fundamental component
of Trinitarianism. YHWH God consists of more than one consciousness
and his separate consciousnesses exist simultaneously alongside
one another.
As
we close this section, we want to include some critical commentary
that might otherwise be lost in the midst of all the analysis.
What a remarkable testimony to God’s ability to interact with
his creation and with his creatures that he loves so much.
He is not the God of the pagans and philosophers who is so
transcendent that he is unknowable, whose only contact with
creation is through a series of intermediary sub-deities.
He is a God that can come down to men, a God that can himself
mediate with his creation and needs no other intermediary
on his behalf. He is a God that is capable of relating to
his creation and his creatures. He is a God who is capable
of even dwelling with his creation. And in these intermittent
Old Testament encounters, he not only foreshadows his prolonged
visitation among men for 33 years from the incarnation to
the ascension, but he also foreshadows a time when he will
permanently dwell with men on earth, after he has restored
it and made it ready to receive him in all his glory, including
making men immortal so that they can see him and not die.
This is the plan further revealed by the New Testament but
initiated and communicated in the Old Testament. God was coming
here, humbly at first to relate to us, but ultimately as with
Moses in Exodus 33-34, he would reveal his fully glorious
form as well.