The Old Testament records several instances in which God physically appeared and interacted with certain individuals on the earth. Many believe these appearances were pre-incarnate manifestations of Jesus Christ.
One such instance was when God encountered Hagar in the wilderness after she fled from Abram and Sarai’s home (see Genesis 16:1-14). While by a spring, she encountered “the angel of the LORD” who told her to return to Abram and Sarai’s home.
This “angel” was not a messenger of God but God Himself, as conveyed in His words to her afterward. He told her in Genesis 16:10, “I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count.” Hagar also understood that God was the One who appeared and spoke to her, based on Genesis 16:13, “Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, ‘You are a God who sees’; for she said, ‘Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?’”
Another instance in the Old Testament in which God physically appeared and interacted with certain individuals on the earth was when He told Abraham that he and Sarah would conceive a son (see Genesis 18:1-33). During this interaction, God and two angels appeared to Abraham in human form.
However, despite His “human appearance,” it was the LORD, as Genesis 18:1 states: “Now the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.” It also states in Genesis 18:13-14, “And the LORD said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.’” (See also Genesis 18:16-22.)
A third such instance in the Old Testament, in which God physically appeared and interacted with certain individuals on the earth, was when He wrestled with Jacob all night (see Genesis 32:24-32). God was described as a man during this encounter, yet Jacob identified Him as God in Genesis 32:30, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.”
Hosea also confirmed that Jacob’s wrestling partner was God, stating in Hosea 12:3-5, “In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his maturity he contended with God. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed; He wept and sought His favor. He found Him at Bethel and there He spoke with us, even the LORD, the God of hosts, the LORD is His name.”
A fourth such instance in the Old Testament, in which God physically appeared and interacted with certain individuals on the earth, was when God confronted Balaam and his donkey (see Numbers 22:22-41). Once again, Scripture describes God as “the angel of the LORD,” who repeatedly blocked a disobedient Balaam’s path as he rode his donkey. This “angel” was God, as conveyed through His numerous statements to Balaam.
First, He told Balaam that His disobedience was against Him personally. Numbers 32:32 says, “And the Angel of the LORD said to him, ‘Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me.’”
Then He told Balaam to speak only what He told him, which Balaam later described as words given by God Himself. Numbers 32:35 says, “Then the Angel of the LORD said to Balaam, ‘Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.’” Afterward, Balaam said to Balak in Numbers 32:38, “Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak.”
A fifth such instance in the Old Testament, in which God physically appeared and interacted with certain individuals on the earth, was when He manifested Himself to Gideon and conversed with him (see Judges 6:11-23). Scripture again referred to God as “the angel of the LORD,” and clearly identified Him as God when He responded to Gideon’s question.
Judges 6:14 says, “Then the LORD turned to him and said, ‘Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?’” Judges 6:16-18 says, “And the LORD said to him, ‘Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.’ Then he said to Him, ‘If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me. Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You.’ And He said, ‘I will wait until you come back.’”
There are many other instances recorded in the Old Testament where God manifested Himself to individuals in various ways and forms, like with Adam and Eve (see Genesis 3:8-13), Abraham (see Genesis 12:7), Moses, the Israelites, Aaron, and the 70 elders (see Exodus 3, 13, 14, 19, 24, 33, and Numbers 11:25), Moses and Joshua (Deuteronomy 31:14-15), and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego (see Daniel 3:21-30).
I hope this brief synopsis sheds light on some of the most likely pre-incarnate appearances of Jesus on the earth before His incarnation.
