In Job 38 verse 4 God asks Job "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the cornerstone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkeness a swaddlingband for it, and brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, and said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed? Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place..."
God was describing to Job how he had created the earth. But what has this got to do with our Angels? God doesn't mention any Angels in these verses... or does he? Lets read verse 7 again "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?.." These are of course the Angels, but what have they got to sing about? Lets consider what they had just achieved... God had chosen to start new life on an earth without form or void and he had his Messengers to carry out his will. The Angels were given creative power and possibly a task each so Creation could take place. Genesis 1 verse 2 reads "And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters..." verse 3 "And God said Let there be light" and under the Ultimate creator, an Angel made the light. Over the six days of creation imagine the buzz of excitement from the Angels as they were given each job to do and were able to see what the others were creating.
How much fun would it be to make an animal for God?
Possibly the Angels had never even set eyes on some of the animals or plants made for this planet, it would be an exciting stimulating time for all present. God planned everything to the finest detail and the Angels one by one followed his designs creating birds and their beautiful plumes such as the Peacock in Job 39 verse 13, the individual instincts that animals have, their sense of smell and sight.. Job 39 verse 26 says "Doth the hawk fly by the wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south? Doth the eagle mount up at thy command and make her nest on high?..." some birds have a homing instinct that leads them back to the same nest every year after travelling great distances, all part of Gods great design.
Then Genesis 1 verse 26 reads "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.." what a rewarding time for the Angels who were now allowed to form a human in their own image, pushing the dust of the ground into shape and then watching as the breath of life was given to him.
When creation was completed it was then that the Angels could stand back and fully comprehend what had been achieved, they could see how each individual animal or plant complemented each other and how intricate Gods new earth was.
We know that modern man is only scratching the surface of some of the beauty God and the Angels set in place for us, for example Job 38 verse 22 tells us "Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail?..." Before microscopes were invented people would not know what this verse was leading to but we know now that each individual flake is made up of crystals forming their own design and no two are alike. Only God has the power to create without limits.
The Angels have been with God as he has influenced time through his creations, they saw the power of the climate as described in Job 38 verse 22, 23 "Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?" When we read verses like these we are reminded how people such as Napoleon and Hitler were defeated by weather patterns, perhaps more handy work of Gods messengers.
After we consider the Angels role in the six days of creation we can understand why they would be singing for joy as described in Job 38 verse 7 There are no words that could describe the feelings after such a glorious event, imagine being part of the choir of Angels as they all joint in to celebrate the beginning of new life and to praise their creator.
We don't know how Angels rose to their position but we are assured that we have the chance to be immortal and spiritual like them. We know they looked forward to the birth of Christ with intense interest and who wouldn't? The bible tells us that Jesus is Gods only begotten son and to think he was given to this creation makes us very fortunate. The Angels had helped God set in motion the course of time often unaware of the "full picture" There must have been many Angels through time that were wondering why they were doing certain tasks, consider the Angel who was instructed to guide Abraham to the mountain where he would slay his only son Isaac, or the Angel who made sure that Reuben and his brothers sold Joseph to a bunch of strangers.
We can read our bible and see why these things had to happen but the Angels at that time would be waiting for Gods next move unaware they were laying down the pattern for the arrival of Christ. 1 Peter 1 verse 12 reads "Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the holy spirit sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into..." Despite all the information the Angels had they were burning with curiosity about the son of God, they wanted to fully comprehend this method of atonement that God was now going to work in his own son.
The words Desired to look into in verse 12 mean in Greek they "stared inquiringly, " the same word used as the disciples looked into the empty tomb of Christ. So as the prophets wrote down their message not fully comprehending it, over their shoulders were Angels staring inquiringly as they tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together for themselves.
The excitement of the Angels would be intense as the time grew near to Christ's birth. There had been very little Angel activity in the past 400 years and now there was a lot of preparation for the event. The Angels could look back and see how humanity had led to this point and how their input had helped. Angels visited Zacharias and Mary to give them the exciting news of what was about to happen and then Joseph was visited and reassured by an Angel. These were very important visits but behind the scenes others were hard at work preparing for the child. Spare a thought for the Angel who had the task of making sure every Inn and spare room in the town of Bethlehem was full.
Luke 2 verse 7 "And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And Lo, the Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the Angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord..." and in verse 13 "and suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to all men. And it came to pass as the Angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord had made known unto us..."
Once again the Angels showed their delight by giving praise by song at this wonderful occasion, they had all been curiously waiting for Jesus and now he was here. The one and only Son of God. From that day on the Angels looked on as Christ grew into a young man and they would all be interested in how he was progressing and what sort of man he would become. Later in life he needed help such as after the temptation and an Angel would be there to help immediately. Luke 22 verse 42 reads "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an Angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.." What a terrible time for the Angels to go through after all their hard work of preparing the way for Christ then getting to know him, now he was about to be crucified.
Their sorrow for Jesus and the Lord would be a genuine sadness.
As Christ died on the cross the Angels were at work in Matthew 27 verse 51 "And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent..." After Jesus was resurrected and spent a short time on the earth it was time for him to assend to heaven to be with his father and meet all the spiritual beings who took such loving interest in his life.
Now it is time for Christ to return to the earth and Judge each and every one of us, and there will be an Angel who has spent time looking after us who will report whether we are worthy or not to join them in the kingdom with the Saints and prophets of old. What an honour to be given the chance to be like these beings who God trusts in to do his will.
Ezekiel 40 verse 44 explains about the chambers of singers in the inner court of the temple and we pray that we might be able to join that Angelic choir and sing praises to our heavenly creator for eternity.
