An appearance of the Angel of the Lord
The Angel of His Presence
Looking back on Israel's history, the prophet Isaiah sings of the LORD's mercies, and says that in all their affliction he was afflicted, and the Angel of his presence saved them. He bore them and carried them all the days of old. Here the appearances gather into a single tender line about God's saving nearness.
“In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.”Isaiah 63:9
What happened
In a passage recalling the LORD's steadfast love, Isaiah says that in all the affliction of his people, the LORD himself was afflicted, and the Angel of his presence, or of his face, saved them. In his love and pity he redeemed them, and he lifted them up and carried them through all the days of old. The verse looks back across the exodus and wilderness years and sums up God's dealings not as distant management but as personal, suffering companionship. The following verses tell how the people rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit, so that he turned to be their enemy for a time, deepening by contrast the wonder of the saving presence that had carried them.
Why many see the pre-incarnate Christ
This verse gives the appearances a name that many find revealing, the Angel of his presence, literally the Angel of his face. Because this figure saves and redeems Israel, works only God performs, and is joined to the statement that God himself was afflicted in their affliction, many Christians read the Angel as a manifestation of the LORD, and some as the pre-incarnate Son who shares his people's sufferings. We hold this honestly as interpretation. Some ancient texts and readers understand the line differently, and the phrase may describe an angel who bears God's own presence rather than a distinct divine person. Isaiah is singing worship, not defining doctrine, and faithful readers hear it in more than one way.
Is this the Son before Bethlehem?
The church has treasured this line as one of the tenderest in the Old Testament, God so united to his suffering people that in all their affliction he is afflicted. Many have seen it fulfilled in Jesus, who does not save from a safe distance but enters our affliction, is despised and acquainted with grief, and carries us as a shepherd carries the weak. Whether or not the Angel of his presence is the pre-incarnate Son, the truth the verse guards is the truth of the incarnation, that God's way of saving is to come near and bear us himself. The face of God that saved Israel is the face we now see in Christ, full of grace and truth.
Questions people ask
Who is the Angel of his presence in Isaiah 63?
Isaiah says this Angel saved and redeemed Israel, works only God does, and links him to God being afflicted in their affliction. Because of this, many Christians read the Angel as a manifestation of the LORD, and some as the pre-incarnate Son who shares his people's sufferings. Others understand an angel bearing God's presence. Isaiah is worshiping rather than defining, so readers hear it variously.
What does the Angel of his presence mean?
The phrase literally means the Angel of his face, the presence that goes with God's people and carries them. It gathers the Old Testament appearances into one tender picture of God's saving nearness. Many Christians see here a foreshadowing of Christ, who enters our affliction and bears us himself, though the verse invites worship more than it settles the figure's precise identity.