ANGELS, GOD'S SERVANTS

ANGELS, GOD'S SERVANTS
Heb 1:5-14
"Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve…?" (v.14)

THE JEWS REVERE ANGELS. TO them, angelic beings act as intermediaries between man and God. But sometimes the homage paid to angels becomes so ardent that it is only a step away from worship. The apostle Paul in Colossians 2.18 cautions against angel worship.

In this passage in Hebrews, seven quotations are drawn from the Old Testament to show that Jesus is superior to the angels. He is to be worshipped, not these beings. God speaks of Jesus as Son, the angels as servants. Of course, the Son is greater than the servants.

Angels are after all "ministering spirits". They are sent to serve God's people. We have some amazing stories of such ministry by God's angels. One account concerns a Rev John G. Paton, missionary in the New Hebrides Islands. Hostile natives surrounded his mission headquarters one night, intent on burning him and his wife out and killing them. The missionary couple prayed through the night. At daybreak, they were surprised to see the natives leave without attempting anything.

A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted. The missionary, remembering what had happened, asked the chief what had kept him and his men from burning down the house and killing him and his wife. The chief replied, "Who were all those men you had with you there?" "There was no one except the two of us," said the missionary. But the chief insisted that they had seen hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords in their hands, standing guard around the mission station. Only then did they realise that God had sent His angels to protect his children.

Thank God for His angels. They often minister to us without our even knowing it. But let us not forget they serve under the Lord Jesus' command. Much as we appreciate the ministry of the angels, our worship is directed not to them but to the one superior to them, Jesus our Lord.

Christ reigns, angels serve.