Gods Sabbath

42

E NTERING INTO G OD ’ S S ABBATH R EST

Jacob Jacob wrestled with the Angel Michael, or Christ, till the break of day, as Hosea confirms: “In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel; as a man he struggled with God. He struggled with the an gel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there.” Hosea 12:3, 4. Here the prophet equates struggling with the Angel as strug gling with God, acknowledging that the Angel who wrestled with Jacob was, at the same time, God. Therefore the Angel could be none other than Christ, the Angel of the Covenant, be cause no other angel can be God and angel at the same time. “It was Christ, ‘the Angel of the covenant,’ who had revealed Himself to Jacob.” Patriarchs and Prophets , 196.3. Gideon It was the same mighty Angel, Michael or Christ, who spoke the commission to Gideon. The record of their conversation is found in Judges , where the story is given. “Now the Angel of the L ORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiez rite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the L ORD appeared to him, and said to him, ‘The L ORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!’ Gideon said to Him, ‘O my L ORD ...’ Then the L ORD turned to him and said ...” Judges 6:11–14 (NKJV). Then Gideon, desiring to know for sure that this was the Angel of the covenant, brought Him a sacrifice, which no common angel would accept. The heavenly Visitant not only accepted the sacri fice but proved His divine power by bringing fire out of the rock (see verse 21). Gideon was afraid that the fact he had seen the An gel of the L ORD would cost him his life, but his fears were calmed. “When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, ‘Ah, Sovereign L ORD ! I have seen the angel of the L ORD face to face!’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.’ So Gideon built an altar to the L ORD there and called it The L ORD is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.” Judges 6:22–24. “Gideon desired some token that the one now addressing him was the Covenant Angel, who in time past had wrought for Isra