The angel of the Lord

“Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, ‘What is your name, so that we may honour you when your word comes true?’
“He replied, ‘Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.’” Judges 13:17-18
There are several instances in the Old Testament where we read of the angel of the Lord appearing to someone, giving them a message from God or acting on His behalf. The word ‘angel’ simply means ‘messenger’. It doesn’t necessarily refer to the created heavenly beings that we refer to as angels.
When we look at the appearances of the angel of the Lord, we notice a few interesting things. There is usually a seamless crossover in the text between ‘the angel of the Lord said’ and ‘God said’, for example, Gen. 16:11-13, Gen. 22:15-16, Judg. 2:1. The angel of the Lord accepts worship from people (Ex. 3:2-5, Josh. 5:15). For other instances, see Jacob (Gen. 32:24-30), Balaam (Num. 22), Gideon (Judg. 6), Elijah (1 Kin. 19:7, 2 Kin. 1).
In today’s passage we have a hint of who this angel is. Manoah asks him what his name is, and he replies, ‘Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.’ The word translated ‘beyond understanding’ is the Hebrew piliy, meaning secret or wonderful. It is only used twice in the Bible: here, and Psalm 139:6 (“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain”). The root of the same word appears in Isa. 9:6, speaking of Jesus the Messiah: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
All of these aspects point to these appearances of the angel of the Lord as being times when Jesus came to earth prior to His incarnation. He came as a messenger, and acted in His divine power, doing the Father’s will.