Then the Lord, the God of their fathers, sent to them, by the hand of His messengers, rising in the night and daily admonishing them. For He was lenient to His people and to His habitation. (2Chr 36:15)
וַיִּשְׁלַ֡ח יְהוָה֩ אֱלֹהֵ֨י אֲבוֹתֵיהֶ֧ם עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם בְּיַ֥ד מַלְאָכָ֖יו הַשְׁכֵּ֣ם וְשָׁלֹ֑וחַ כִּֽי־חָמַ֥ל עַל־עַמֹּ֖ו וְעַל־מְעוֹנֹֽו׃
Mittebat autem Dominus, Deus patrum suorum, ad illos per manum nuntiorum suorum de nocte consurgens et cotidie commonens, eo quod parceret populo et habitaculo suo.
καὶ ἐξαπέστειλεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τῶν πατέρων αὐτῶν ἐν χειρὶ προφητῶν ὀρθρίζων καὶ ἀποστέλλωντοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἦν φειδόμενος τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγιάσματος αὐτοῦ.
Messenger (מַלְאָךְ mal՚āḵ) or “angel”, this noun occurs 213 times in the Old Testament, and its meaning is confirmed by the verbs with which it is combined: “to send, to speak, to convey a message, to return, etc.” The messenger (מַלְאָךְ mal՚āḵ) does not convey his own content, but that of the one who sends him. The messenger of God is one who comes from God and is sent by Him. “Messenger” is a synonym for “prophet,” who is called “the mouth of God.” In today’s first reading (2Chr 36:14-16.19-23), the author reports on the transgressions of the leaders of Judah and the entire people, who desecrated the temple and imitated pagan customs. As a remedy for this, God sent to them “unceasingly” his messengers (מַלְאָךְ mal՚āḵ), which was an expression of God’s mercy towards his people. The author describes the behaviour of the people towards God’s messengers, the prophets, with the following verbs: “They mocked God’s messengers, disregarded their words and made fun of His prophets,” which indicates not only the rejection of the messengers, but also the desecration of them. As a result of such behaviour, the people fell into slavery to the Chaldeans, who invaded them, completely destroyed what they themselves had not destroyed before and carried them away into captivity. However, God again sends his messenger (מַלְאָךְ mal՚āḵ), who was the Persian king Cyrus, to free the nation from slavery.
Such a messenger of God, according to today’s fragment of the Gospel of John (3:14-21), is Jesus: “For God did not send his Son into the world, in order to judge the world, but in order that the world may be saved through Him.” The sending of the Son is an expression of the Father’s infinite love. However, in a conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus makes us aware of the mechanism that makes us not take advantage of the opportunities God gives us: instead of looking at the Son who came as Light, we look at our darkness and prefer to stay in it because of our fear. However, accepting the light of truth is enough to get closer to the Light and be liberated from this bondage of fear.
