The Angel of the LORD (5)

The Angel of the Covenant

The Angel of the LORD is also called the Angel of the Covenant: “Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 3:1).

In the Book of Malachi, The Angel of the LORD is spoken of in depth (Malachi 3:1-3). It is the last time that He is called Angel. In addition to that it is the only time that He is called the Angel of the Covenant. The question comes to the fore as to why the Holy Spirit has written it down in this manner specifically by Malachi, the last prophet in the Old Testament.

The people in darkness

Anxious days were approaching like a long dark night. God’s remnant would be small and despised, and the enemy would show nothing but anger. In the meantime, the mouth of prophesy would be silent. It would be a time where it would appear that God had cast them away eternally, a time where it would appear that the promised Messiah would never come. From out of the depths there would be an advent people who would confess, “If Thou Lord shouldest mark iniquity, Oh, Lord, who shall stand?” and waveringly question, “Is His mercy clean gone forever? Doth His promise fail forevermore?” (Psalm 130:2; 77:8).

The Spirit shall then let His promises shine as a light in a dark place. Oh, poor and miserable people are you already determining that there will no longer be any help and deliverance? Even that the promised King shall never come? Just see what His name is, the Angel of the Covenant. No matter what may happen or whatever may testify against you, it is impossible that the Covenant of Peace shall waver or that the Messiah shall not come (Isaiah 54:10b). Therefore, though He tarry, wait patiently for Him. You desire Him and seek Him. Yet most of all, He desires you and shall find you. He comes, He comes, and He will not despise you.

In this way the name—the Angel of the Covenant—is revealed in the soul by the Spirit as the gospel. Then the hope is rekindled and in the night the song of faith is heard, “Jehovah’s truth shall stand forever, His covenant bonds He will not sever.”

The preparer of His way

The Angel of the Covenant is speaking Himself when He says, “Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me” (Malachi 3:1). With these words, John the Baptist is pointed out as His messenger or herald. He, says the promised King, shall go before Me. This Angel, the Angel of the Covenant, shall prepare a way for Me where there is no way (Isaiah 40:3; John 1:23). Gabriel, while standing close to the altar of incense, said that the messenger “would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” And Zacharias his father prophesied, saying:

Now be the God of Israel bless’d,

Who makes His truth appear;

His mighty hand fulfills His Word,

And all the oaths He sware.

Behold the morning Star arise,

Ye that in darkness sit!

He marks the path that leads to peace,

And guides our doubtful feet.

The name, the Angel of the Covenant, preaches the Covenant of Grace. The Angel of the Covenant is the Head, Surety, and Mediator of the Covenant of Grace. The two parties in the Covenant of Grace are the holy, righteous God and the elect, but damnable in Adam are sinners.

Christ has come to stand where the Judge would stand. The sword of God’s justice did not rest until it was bathed in Christ’s most precious blood. Also, the Mediator has not rested until He had satisfied all of the demands of the covenant. Salvation is of God!

Christ is also the Mediator of application. “Behold” He says, “I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me.” Before He Himself comes, law and gospel will be glorified; first, room will be made for Him. By nature, what His children confess with shame and sorrow, is also true for us. “He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.” With this they wish to say, “It has not come from our side, for we would not have paid any attention to such great salvation and have rejected Him all the days of our life.” Oh, what a wonder it is that God Himself takes care that there is a people who desire Him, a people that learn to see Him as the highest Good. The treasures of the earth when compared with Him are nothing but dung. These people shall not be in rest until

they may know upon good grounds that He is their Saviour. It is through drawing love that they seek Him. They are desirous of salvation, tired, burdened, and assailed.

He comes to enlighten

Does the deferred hope make your heart sick? (Proverbs 13:12). Will it be the greatest wonder for you if He has a desire toward you, if He will seek you to make an eternal covenant with you—with you, a child of Adam lost, without any rights and empty? (Isaiah 55:3). Though the Lord tarry, He will surely come.

“See, He comes, says the Lord of hosts, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Malachi 1:3; Luke 1:79).

The wondrous works that God had wrought

His people ever keep in mind,

His works with grace and mercy fraught,

Revealing that the Lord is kind.

God’s promise shall forever stand,

He cares for those who keep His Word; Upon His saints His mighty hand

Upon His saints His mighty hand

The wealth of nations has conferred. p

(To be continued)

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