Yesterday, we saw that the defining function of angels is to be God’s messengers. We even saw that they were often used to deliver the message of deliverance. However, at times they are also the means of deliverance.
Many of us heard the Sunday school lesson of Daniel in the lions’ den. But did you catch the means by which God delivered Daniel? You guessed it:
My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths. They haven't hurt me, for I was found innocent before Him. (Daniel 6:22)
And this isn’t just an Old Testament thing. In fact there are more examples of God’s deliverance in the New Testament. Like when some of the apostles were locked up in jail. We are told that:
An angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail during the night, brought them out . . . (Acts 5:19)
But my favorite story of an angel being used by God to provide deliverance is this one involving the apostle Peter, who is bound in prison and awaiting execution.
On the night before Herod was to bring him out for execution, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while the sentries in front of the door guarded the prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell. Striking Peter on the side, he woke him up and said, “Quick, get up! ” Then the chains fell off his wrists. “Get dressed,” the angel told him, “and put on your sandals.” And he did so. “Wrap your cloak around you,” he told him, “and follow me.” So he went out and followed, and he did not know that what took place through the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. After they passed the first and second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went outside and passed one street, and immediately the angel left him. (Acts 12:6-10)
Whether I realized it or not, I often wonder how many times God’s angels have delivered me from either physical or spiritual harm. It shouldn’t surprise us that God’s angels are all about deliverance. They serve the one true Deliverer!
Many of us heard the Sunday school lesson of Daniel in the lions’ den. But did you catch the means by which God delivered Daniel? You guessed it:
My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths. They haven't hurt me, for I was found innocent before Him. (Daniel 6:22)
And this isn’t just an Old Testament thing. In fact there are more examples of God’s deliverance in the New Testament. Like when some of the apostles were locked up in jail. We are told that:
An angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail during the night, brought them out . . . (Acts 5:19)
But my favorite story of an angel being used by God to provide deliverance is this one involving the apostle Peter, who is bound in prison and awaiting execution.
On the night before Herod was to bring him out for execution, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while the sentries in front of the door guarded the prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell. Striking Peter on the side, he woke him up and said, “Quick, get up! ” Then the chains fell off his wrists. “Get dressed,” the angel told him, “and put on your sandals.” And he did so. “Wrap your cloak around you,” he told him, “and follow me.” So he went out and followed, and he did not know that what took place through the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. After they passed the first and second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went outside and passed one street, and immediately the angel left him. (Acts 12:6-10)
Whether I realized it or not, I often wonder how many times God’s angels have delivered me from either physical or spiritual harm. It shouldn’t surprise us that God’s angels are all about deliverance. They serve the one true Deliverer!
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