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We have seen that El Shaddai is the person of the Godhead whom people  can see and still live. In Genesis 18 He came to Abraham, looking like  an ordinary man. El Shaddai also appeared in the Old Testament as the  Angel of the Lord. These appearances should strengthen our faith in  God's love for us and in the deity of Jesus.

HAGAR

Hagar, Sarai's maid, became pregnant by Abram (later called Abraham) and  started to slight her mistress. So Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that  Hagar could bear the situation no longer and fled. When she arrived at a  water spring in the desert, the Angel of the Lord met her (Gen16:7)

Hagar was not surprised at the sight of the man who spoke to her,  probably because His appearance was human in every way. The man  instructed Hagar to return to Sarai (later called Sarah). Then He  blessed her and told her she was carrying a son whose name would be  Ishmael, and He prophesied Ishmael's future.

Only then did Hagar understand that she stood before the Lord Himself:  "Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her,  You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, 'Have I also here seen Him who  sees me?'" (v13)

Hagar called El Shaddai by the name El Roi, "The God Who Sees," a name  that presents a vital characteristic of El Shaddai: His omniscience. He  knows and sees everything. Nothing is hidden from His eyes. Our lives  are an open book before Him.

ABRAHAM

Abraham encountered El Shaddai when the Lord tested the patriarch by  commanding him to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering on one of  the mountains of Moriah. Confident that God would raise Isaac from the  dead (Heb11:17-19), Abraham bound his son on an altar and took the knife  to slay him:

But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, 'Abraham,  Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am." And He said, "Do not lay your hand on  the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since  you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me" (Gen22:11-12)

The phrase you have not withheld your son... from Me indicates the Angel  of the Lord was the One--the Lord Himself--who had commanded Abraham to  sacrifice Isaac.

Also, in Exodus 23:20-23, the Angel of the Lord is none other than the  Lord who walked before the people of Israel in the desert. The same is  true in Exodus 13:21; 14:19, 24; 33:14-15; Numbers 22:22-35; Judges  2:1-5; 2 Samuel 24:16; Psalm 34:7; 35:1-6; Isaiah 52:12; Zechariah  1:11-12; 3:1-5; 12:8.
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GIDEON

Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which  was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son  Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the  Midianites. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him,  "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!" (Jdg 6:11-12)   

The security situation in those days was    poor, and Gideon answered  bitterly, "My lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this  happened to us?" (v13)

In answer to this question, the Angel of the Lord revealed Himself as  the Lord: "Have I not sent you? Surely I will be with you" (vv14,16)

The word angel does not necessarily refer to a winged image. In most  cases in the Old Testament, it describes a messenger. Had the guest  appeared as an angel with wings, Gideon would have responded  differently. However, Gideon saw a man, as any other man. To the best of  his knowledge, he was speaking with an ordinary person. Only in verse  22, after he witnessed a miracle, did Gideon understand that he had seen  the Lord face-to-face.

MANOAH and WIFE

The Angel of the Lord also appeared to the wife of Manoah and told her  she would give birth to a son, a Nazirite to God from the womb, who  would save Israel from the Philistines (Jdg13:2-5)

Manoah's wife then told her husband, saying she saw a "Man of God" whose  countenance was like "the Angel of God, very awesome." Manoah prayed  that the Man of God would return. He did. And this time Manoah met Him,  too, as the Angel of the Lord guided the couple regarding the child to  be born (Samson).

Then Manoah prepared a young goat for the visitor. When the animal was  on the altar, the Angel of the Lord ascended to heaven. Manoah and his  wife then understood they had spoken to no ordinary person; they had  spoken to the Lord face-to-face and lived (v23).
 
They saw El Shaddai, the person of the Godhead whom humans are allowed  to see. Clearly, the Angel of the Lord is the Lord Himself.

MOSES

The Jewish prophet Isaiah made it clear to the children of Israel that  their troubles hurt the Lord. Isaiah said the "Angel of His Presence"  (Hebrew, "the Angel of His face") had saved them, redeemed them, and  carried them all the days of old:

For He said, "Surely they are My people, children who will not lie. " So  He became their Savior 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 bore them and carried them all the days of old  (Is63:8-9)

The question is, "Who is the Angel of His Presence?"
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The answer is found in Exodus 33:14-15. Moses implored the Lord to  accompany him in the desert and help him guide the people of Israel. The  Lord declared, "My Presence [Hebrew, "face"] will go with you, and I  will give you rest" (v14)

Moses answered, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us  up from here" (v15). Exodus 13:21 says that it was the Lord who walked  before the people of Israel in the desert. Hence, the Angel of the  Lord's Presence is El Shaddai, the godly entity whom men are allowed to  see. When we see Him, we see the Lord. (See John 14:6-14)

Why would God allow mere mortals to see El Shaddai?

Because of His love for us! God created humanity because He is a loving  God. And love expresses itself in a desire to give and bestow. El  Shaddai's closeness to us is an expression of His love, as was His  self-sacrifice at Calvary so that we might have everlasting life.

by Meno Kalisher, pastor of the Jerusalem Assembly in Jerusalem, Israel