What Is the Word of the LORD in the Old Testament?

The phrase “the word of the LORD” appears so often in the Old Testament that we can easily read past it without asking what happened. Did God give someone a message, or does the passage describe Him personally appearing? I want to look at how Scripture uses that phrase before we come to John, who tells us that the eternal Word became flesh.

The LORD Revealed Himself at Shiloh

When the LORD speaks, we are hearing from God Himself. His Word reveals what is true and commands His people, but it also brings things into being and pronounces judgment. Through His promises, He makes known what He will do and places His people under covenant responsibility to Him.

A prophet cannot give God’s message its authority or change it to suit himself. That authority belongs to the LORD whose character stands behind every word. We can depend on His promises because He is truthful, and we need to take His warnings seriously because He is holy. Even when a passage simply says that His word came to a prophet, the hearer is being called to respond to God.

That does not make every mention of “the word of the LORD” a visible appearance of Christ. Often the passage describes God giving a message that His prophet must faithfully deliver. It is divine revelation because it comes from the LORD, not a religious opinion the prophet has formed.

Other passages describe an appearance or vision in which God personally addresses someone. He may give a covenant promise or commission a servant to act under His authority. We see this in 1 Samuel 3:21, where the LORD appeared at Shiloh and revealed Himself to Samuel by the word of the LORD. I want to take that connection seriously without assuming that every prophetic message describes a Christophany, which means an appearance of Christ.

To understand 1 Samuel 3, we need to consider what was happening at Shiloh. Eli was an aging priest whose sons had corrupted Israel’s worship while serving at the tabernacle. Samuel was still a boy ministering before the LORD under Eli’s care. The chapter tells us that the word of the LORD was rare and there was no widespread revelation. Priests still served and sacrifices were still offered, but that activity did not make up for the lack of God’s clear Word or the people’s dullness toward Him.

When the LORD called Samuel in the night, Samuel thought Eli had called him. He ran to the priest three times before Eli recognized what was happening and told him how to answer. What Samuel received was a difficult message of judgment against Eli’s household. Eli knew about his sons’ persistent sin but had not restrained them. Through this encounter, the LORD restored prophetic revelation in Israel and established Samuel as a trustworthy prophet.

Then the LORD appeared again in Shiloh. For the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

1 Samuel 3:21, NKJV

Notice how the verse describes what happened. The LORD appeared and revealed Himself, and His Word was the means by which He made Himself known. We shouldn’t treat the speech as a minor detail added to the encounter. The LORD spoke as He revealed Himself to Samuel.

Samuel did not arrange this meeting with God. The LORD took the initiative, and Samuel had to learn to listen and obey. That makes me consider whether I’m ready to hear what God says. Knowing Him begins with His willingness to make Himself known, not with our cleverness or ability to reach Him.

The Hebrew wording translated “revealed Himself” describes something being uncovered and made known. The phrase “by the word of the LORD” uses dabar, a Hebrew word that can mean speech or a word. Depending on the context, it can also refer to a matter, event, or thing. Here the preposition tells us how the revelation came about: the LORD made Himself known by His Word. Understanding the Hebrew helps us follow the statement accurately, but the grammar alone should not be made to prove more than it says.

That is why I wouldn’t treat 1 Samuel 3:21 as though it merely said that Samuel received a message. It expressly connects the LORD’s Word with His appearing and revealing Himself. Other uses of the phrase may not describe a visible appearance. This passage, however, helps us understand the connection between Old Testament prophetic revelation and John’s declaration that the eternal Word became flesh.

The Word Comes with Personal Authority

When Scripture says “the word of the LORD came” to a prophet, it identifies the source of his message. His responsibility was to deliver what God said faithfully. The prophet’s personality could not make the message true, nor could his popularity or courage. Its authority rested with the LORD who spoke.

Genesis 15 lets us see how personally God dealt with Abram. He had obeyed God’s call and left his homeland, and he had just returned from rescuing Lot from a coalition of kings. Yet he still had no son. How would God’s promise be fulfilled while he remained childless? The word of the LORD came to him in a vision amid that fear and uncertainty.

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

Genesis 15:1, NKJV

The Word came in a vision and addressed Abram directly: “I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” Abram could bring his questions about the promise to the LORD, who continued dealing with him and later made covenant with him. I notice that the promise rested on God’s own faithfulness. Abram was receiving personal covenant revelation, not trying to work out the meaning of an inward impression.

Jeremiah 1 describes a different calling. The LORD called Jeremiah during King Josiah’s reign, before Judah’s final collapse and exile to Babylon. His service would bring him before rulers and priests who did not want to hear about the coming judgment. Before sending him into that difficult work, the LORD declared that He had known Jeremiah before birth and appointed him as a prophet to the nations.

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

Jeremiah 1:4-5, NKJV

Jeremiah objected because he was young and understood the cost of speaking against sin. Rather than flattering him, the LORD sent him with a command not to fear and a promise to deliver him. The account then says, “the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth” (Jeremiah 1:9). I wouldn’t try to supply details about what Jeremiah saw beyond what Scripture tells us. We are given enough to see that the LORD personally claimed this man for His service.

In 1 Samuel 15, the word of the LORD came to Samuel with judgment against Saul for disobeying God. Being king could not excuse that disobedience. Neither Saul’s public standing nor his military success could change the verdict God had given.

Now the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, “I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.”

1 Samuel 15:10-11, NKJV

We should notice both the similarities and the differences in these encounters. Genesis 15 describes a vision and a covenant promise, while Jeremiah’s commission includes the LORD touching his mouth. In 1 Samuel 15, the emphasis is on prophetic judgment. God was speaking with authority in each case, whether He was making a promise, calling a servant, or warning a sinner and giving His verdict as King.

I don’t need to make the experiences of Samuel, Abram, Jeremiah, and Saul identical to recognize their common source. Where a vision or appearance is described, we should acknowledge it. Where the passage emphasizes a message, we should listen to what God said. The phrase connects these accounts through the LORD’s authority without requiring that He revealed Himself in the same way every time.

God’s Word Acts

The Hebrew word dabar can describe speech or a matter being discussed, and in some contexts it refers to an event or thing. That range helps us understand the active way Scripture speaks of God’s Word. It expresses His will and carries His authority into action. We don’t need to search the word’s definitions for a hidden doctrine when the passages themselves show us what God does through His Word.

Psalm 33 praises the living God who brought creation into being by speaking. Its purpose is worship rather than a technical explanation of the process of creation.

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

Psalm 33:6, NKJV

The psalm connects God’s Word with the breath of His mouth. His command accomplishes what He says because He is God, not because the words have the power of a spell. That gives us a foundation for understanding John’s statement that all things were made through the Word. John identifies the Person through whom God created, building on what the Old Testament has already taught us.

Isaiah 55 invites the thirsty to come freely and calls the wicked to forsake their ways because the LORD is ready to pardon. His thoughts are higher than ours, but He sends His Word to accomplish His purpose. Isaiah compares it to rain that waters the earth. Just as that rain has an effect, His Word does not return empty.

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:11, NKJV

God’s Word is true whether people approve of it or not. It exposes sin and brings down pride, yet it also gives us hope and builds our faith. Jeremiah 23:29 asks, “Is not My word like a fire?” That question warns false prophets whose lies cannot withstand what the LORD says. For someone who needs truth stronger than human opinion, the same authority is a comfort.

We need to let Scripture explain its own use of “word” instead of treating the expression as an invitation to speculate. Depending on the passage, it may refer to God’s speech or to a particular command, promise, prophetic message, or effective decree. In several passages, His Word is also the means by which He personally makes Himself known. The New Testament brings us to the eternal Word Himself, who is the Son rather than an impersonal force.

The Son Makes the Father Known

The New Testament helps us understand how people could encounter God without confusing the Persons of the Trinity. Abraham and Jacob met Him in the ways the Old Testament describes, as did Moses and Manoah. Isaiah also received genuine revelation. We should preserve those accounts while listening to what the New Testament tells us about the One who makes God known.

No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

John 1:18, NKJV

John 1:18 explains those encounters rather than denying them: the Son makes the unseen Father known. Jesus says in John 5:37, “You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.” I cannot identify the Father as the visible Person in the Old Testament encounters without setting them against Jesus’ words. The Son is the One who reveals Him.

That helps me understand the appearances of the LORD as revelations of the Son. Where the distinctive Angel of the LORD speaks as God and bears His authority, we recognize a Christophany. He receives fitting reverence and exercises God’s right to forgive or judge, while the account both identifies Him with God and distinguishes Him personally. Melchizedek is likewise a Christophany, and his role as priest and king points to Christ’s eternal priesthood.

We still need to distinguish these appearances from visits by created angels. The same care applies when we read “the word of the LORD came” because some passages simply describe God giving a message. Others describe an appearance or vision. In 1 Samuel 3:21, the LORD revealed Himself by His Word, and Genesis 15 records His personal speech and covenant dealings with Abram. Those passages prepare us for what John says about the Word: He is Someone who is with God and is God, not merely something God says.

The Word Was God and Became Flesh

John opens his Gospel with “In the beginning,” taking us back to Genesis. Before anything was created, the Word already existed. John does not describe Him coming into being at the beginning.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

John 1:1-3, NKJV

We need to hold John’s statements together. The Word already existed in the beginning, so He is eternal. Being with God means He is personally distinct from the Father, while being God means He is fully divine. We cannot make sense of all three statements by treating Jesus as an exalted creature or a lesser god.

John 1:3 draws a firm line between the Creator and His creation. All things were made through the Word, and nothing made came into existence without Him. If every created thing was made through Him, then He is not one of those things. The Word stands on the Creator’s side of the line.

The Word was with God, so the Father and Son cannot be one Person simply changing roles. That mistaken view is called modalism. The Son comes from the Father and speaks to Him. He obeys and reveals the Father before returning to Him. Those are real personal relationships, yet they do not make the Son less than God. John plainly says that the Word was God.

Some readers look to Greek philosophy to explain Logos, the Greek term John uses for “Word.” I would begin with the explanation John himself gives us rather than let Plato determine who Jesus is. John draws on Scripture’s teaching about creation and light as he writes about life and faithful witness. He shows us divine glory and tells us that grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. His testimony to the Son explains how he is using the term.

The connection to the Old Testament becomes clearer when we put these passages beside John. Psalm 33 attributes the making of the heavens to the word of the LORD. In 1 Samuel 3, the LORD revealed Himself by His Word, and Isaiah says His Word accomplishes the purpose for which He sends it. John identifies the divine Person who has always existed and was active in creation. Those earlier passages prepare us to recognize the glory he describes without replacing what John 1 itself tells us.

I don’t assume that every Old Testament reader understood everything John would later explain in John 1. The earlier passages need to be heard in their own setting, where they establish the authority and effectiveness of God’s Word. But John isn’t beginning a discussion unrelated to those passages. He tells us more fully who the Word is: an eternal, divine Person.

Then John 1:14 tells us that this eternal Word became flesh. He took on true humanity without ceasing to be God. I want to be clear about that, because the incarnation was not a temporary disguise or a costume. The Son truly became man while remaining truly God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14, NKJV

The word translated “dwelt” carries the idea of pitching a tent or tabernacling. In the wilderness, the tabernacle stood among Israel’s tents as the place God appointed for His presence and worship. John uses wording that draws our attention to God living among His people. In Christ, that nearness went further: the Word lived among us in real flesh. He experienced hunger and weariness, and He wept. He obeyed the Father as a real man, and the blood He shed was physical blood.

At the beginning of Hebrews, Paul brings these truths together. God had spoken through the prophets in many ways, and now He has spoken by His Son. This Son is the heir of all things and the One through whom God made the worlds. He is the brightness of God’s glory and the express image of His person.

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Hebrews 1:1-3, NKJV

Notice that Hebrews moves from what the Son reveals to what He did to save us. The One who makes God known and sustains creation also purged our sins by Himself. Jesus bore the punishment for our sins in His innocent body as wicked men tortured Him and shed His physical blood. He died for the whole world and then rose bodily from the dead.

That helps me see why we cannot separate the Son’s revelation from His saving work. He did more than add information to what the prophets had said. He entered the world they described and fulfilled the promises of redemption. The One who upholds creation gave Himself for people who had rebelled against Him. He is now alive and seated at the Father’s right hand, having purged sins and risen from the dead.

We receive salvation in Christ by grace through faith, not by moral effort or religious insight. His invitation is genuine and open to everyone, though people can resist and reject it. A person who is truly born again becomes a new creation, indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit. That believer is eternally secure in Christ, but this security never gives permission to treat sin lightly.

Colossians 1 also places the Son before everything He created. All things were made through Him and for Him, and they continue to hold together in Him.

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

Colossians 1:16-17, NKJV

Paul goes on to speak about redemption through Christ’s blood, connecting the One who made us with the One who saves us. The Word entered His own creation to redeem sinners. Revelation 19:13 identifies the returning Christ as “The Word of God.” The One who existed in the beginning became flesh and shed His blood, and He will return with the authority of the King.

Reading and Answering the Word Faithfully

We should not read every Old Testament occurrence as though it must describe an appearance. “The word of the LORD came” often means that God gave a prophetic message. I don’t regard that as something less worthy of our attention. If God has spoken, we already have a reason to trust and obey Him.

A prophetic message carries more than the prophet’s observations about current events or his religious feelings. It comes from the LORD. Our responsibility to listen rests on His authority, not on how interesting we find the person delivering it.

We also need to preserve what Scripture tells us about God Himself. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each God, yet there is only one God. The Son is neither a creature nor the Father. He is fully God and became fully man. John 1:18 and John 5:37 help us understand His work of making the unseen Father known through visible divine encounters.

John 1 does not describe “a god” or a highly exalted creature. Nor was the Word an attribute that eventually became a person. He already existed with God in the beginning and was Himself God. Since every created thing was made through Him, we cannot place Him among those created things.

This also affects where we look for God’s direction. He has given us Scripture, so we don’t need to chase fresh voices. The Holy Spirit truly lives in believers and guides His people, but every spiritual claim must be tested by the written Word. Scripture is inspired and inerrant, sufficient as our final authority. Through it, the Lord who spoke by the prophets still corrects His people and steadies them in obedience.

The Holy Spirit will not lead us to contradict the words He inspired. I cannot make a strong feeling God’s Word by speaking confidently about it, and no claim of private revelation can overrule Scripture. We have a written standard that the whole church can read and test. That also protects people when a leader demands obedience to his impressions while evading what God has actually commanded.

I could spend a great deal of time studying “the word of the LORD” and still fail to respond to what He says. Understanding the phrase is not the whole purpose of the study. The God who reveals Himself also commands us and exposes our sin. The Word became flesh to save sinners, not simply to answer our questions.

Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears” (1 Samuel 3:10). I want to come to Scripture with that willingness to listen. When it exposes sin, the right response is honest confession and a real turning back to God, rather than negotiating with what He has said. We can also receive its comfort and worship the Christ it reveals. Its promise of mercy through His blood calls us to trust Him instead of our works.

A church can be busy and energetic while hearing very little of God’s Word. Religious language and well-run programs cannot make up for that absence. The conditions described in 1 Samuel 3 should make us examine what our churches are receiving. Entertainment or novelty won’t supply what is missing. We need the living God speaking through His written Word, received with faith that leads to repentance and obedience.

If you belong to Christ, you don’t have to guess whether God has spoken. He has given us Scripture and revealed Himself most fully in His Son. The Word who made the world took on flesh to die for sins. He rose again and will one day return. We can open the Bible with reverence, looking for Christ wherever the Old Testament reveals Him and receiving the fuller revelation given in the New Testament. He was active all along, and what we learn about Him calls for obedience.

For related studies, see A Complete Bible Study on the Angel of the Lord and Christophanies in the Old Testament.

My Final Thoughts

I do not believe every “word of the LORD” passage describes a visible appearance, but every word from Him deserves to be heard as more than information. He speaks with authority, and some passages describe Him personally making Himself known through His Word. John reveals that the eternal Word was with God and was God before becoming flesh for us. When I open the Bible, I am reading the written Word that faithfully bears witness to this living Word. I want to listen with Samuel’s humility, trusting the Savior it reveals and obeying what the Lord has commanded.