READ THE BIBLE IN 2022: This past week, 2-8 January, we read from Genesis 4-26. A key verse from our reading is found at Genesis 16:7 where we read for the first time of the “Angel of the LORD.” Although the ESV and NIV use a lower-case “a”, the NKJV and AMP Bibles, taking the meaning from the text in the chapter, prefer an upper-case “A” to indicate God is speaking. In verse 10 for instance, the Angel told Hagar, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” No one but God could make such a claim and keep it. In the 21st chapter God restates this promise to Abraham when He tells him, “I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.” The Lutheran Study Bible provides this insight about the Angel of the Lord: “Generally, an angel is a created being who speaks for the Lord. But in many OT settings, ‘the angel of the Lord’ and ‘the Lord’ are used interchangeably (e.g., Gn 16:7–13; 21:17–20; 22:11–12, 15–18; 31:11–13; Ex 3:2–6). This signals an appearance of God’s Son before His incarnation (cf Jn 1:1)” (1227). This week, January 9-15, read from Genesis 27-45.