The Announcement Of The Angels

Psalm 8

I think it would have been quite interesting to hear the dialogue among the angels that

took place in heaven during the creation week., especially when God formed man from

the dust of the earth and breathed into him the breath of life.. Ps 8 tells us that man was

made a little lower than the angels, so I don’t think they would have felt threatened. But

they must have been intrigued with the whole thing, especially since God went down in

the cool of the day to fellowship with Adam. Angels were created to serve and worship.

But here God is fellowshipping with this being that was created a little lower then them. I

can imagine them rooting for Adam and Eve when their old nemesis came along with the

temptation, and when they fell into temptation I can’t help but believe there was a low

moan of disappointment from one end of heaven to the other. At least two angels were

placed at placed at the east of the garden of Eden with a flaming sword after the fall, to

keep Adam and Eve from the tree of life. Things got pretty bad on earth over the next

nine hundred years or so. And finally God made a drastic decision. He would destroy

man whom He had created, except for a righteous man named Noah and his family.

Surely after what Noah and his family witnessed of the sin of man they would begin a

righteous heritage. But it didn’t take long for sin to show it’s ugly head. For the next

5000 years there was an ongoing struggle in the world. No matter how righteous men

were at any given time, it seems they always succumbed at some point to sins

temptation. The angels were witness for these many centuries to this apparent failure.

Many were sent on various occasions to be influential for righteousness. We could read

a number of stories this morning where God sent angels on a holy mission.

I don’t know what kinds of things angels feel, but as those who are loyal to God there

must have been a heaviness in their hearts often. Yes there were moments of joy.

There was always rejoicing among the angels when a sinner repented. Luke 15:10

says,” ...there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents.”

But sometimes it sure seemed that there were more failures than victories.

Then throughout every corner of heaven there were rumors. Talk of something radical

that would make a major difference on the earth. Something that once and for all would

break the power of sin. It must have seemed unbelievable when the plan was fully

revealed. The angel Gabriel was sent to a man named Zacharias, telling him that his

son to be born would prepare the way of the Lord. I wonder if the angels understood the

immenseness of what was about to take place. A couple of months later they did, for

Gabriel was sent this time to a girl whose name was Mary. Listen to what he told her.

Luke 1:28-31...

There that was it. It confirmed all the rumors. Somehow God the son was to enter the

human race through birth. God the Son who all the angels knew so well was going to

leave heaven, leave the side of His father, and limit himself to a human form. How

absolutely incredible, but yet how exciting. The angels were confident that He would

win. Sin had won against some pretty serious heavyweights through the centuries, but

this time it would fail. This time it would be outmatched. This time it would finally be

defeated.

For months the anticipation grew, till finally it was time. It was determined His entrance

into humanity would be low key. There would be no headlines, those who knew would

be few, and none would have much notoriety. His entrance into human history would not

be through the doors of a palace, or even modest housing, but in a place where any who

cared to could enter whether rich or poor, famous or infamous. His first bed would not

be gold plated or fixed with new sheets or sweet smelling, or even specially prepared.

He would be born in a stable in an obscure village. A simple announcment would be

made to some shepherds on a hillside. The scripture says in Luke 2:9-12...

Well so much for the plan to keep things low key, for it seems to me that the host of

heaven was so filled with excitement and enthusiasm, there was so much anticipation

that after the announcement was made to the shepherds, it was like a dam breaking...

The angels could contain themselves no longer. Vs 13,14 says...