The Word of the Lord — Yahweh's Visible Person
The "word of the Lord" in the Old Testament simply means God's message or
communication. It is not a separate person. John 1:1 says Jesus was "a god,"
not Jehovah himself.
Walk through three OT passages where the "word of the Lord" acts as a visible, physical person: (1) — the word of the Lord comes to Abraham in a vision, speaks in first person as Yahweh ("I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur"), and Abraham sees him. (2) ,21 — the Lord came and stood before Samuel, and the Lord revealed himself by the word of the Lord. The word IS the Lord standing there. (3) — the Lord put forth his hand and touched Jeremiah's mouth. The word of the Lord has a hand. Then pivot to ,14 — "the Word was God" and "the Word became flesh." John isn't inventing something new — he's explaining what the OT already showed: the Word is a distinct person who is fully God, and that person became Jesus.
The OT "Word of the Lord" is not just a message — it's a visible person who claims to be Yahweh. explains who that person is: Jesus.
The 'word of the Lord' is just God's message, not a person
Messages don't stand in front of people (), put forth hands to touch mouths (), or appear in visions as visible figures (). The text describes a person — one who claims to be Yahweh.
That was an angel speaking on Jehovah's behalf
The text says "the word of the Lord" and identifies the speaker as Yahweh himself — not as an angel. In , the word says "I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur." No angel claims to be Yahweh.
John 1:1 says 'a god' — Jesus is not Yahweh
Even the Watchtower's own Kingdom Interlinear shows the Greek reads "theos en ho logos" — "God was the Word" with no indefinite article. And John is explaining the same pattern we just saw in the OT — the Word who is God, who appeared to Abraham, Samuel, and Jeremiah, became flesh in Jesus.
Don't overload with too many OT passages at once. Pick one (Genesis 15 is the clearest) and let the JW read it in their own NWT. Only add 1 Samuel or Jeremiah if they're engaged.
Read until you can retell it without notes: the word of the Lord comes to Abram in a vision and then says, "I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur." Then read 1 Samuel 3 (watch verses 10 and 21) and Jeremiah 1 up to verse 9, noting where the Lord stands and where he puts out his hand. Look up the same verses in the NWT on jw.org so you know how they read in the Witness's own Bible, and plan to start with Genesis 15 only. Practise the doorstep question aloud, ending on "who was that visible Word?" Then rehearse the angel reply: in the speaker claims to be Yahweh, and no angel does that.