I believe there are at least three occasions in which God the Father made an appearance in the Old Testament.

1 – Daniel Saw Him in a Vision.

Dan 7:9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. Dan 7:10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. Dan 7:11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. Dan 7:12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. Dan 7:13, I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. Dan 7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Some attribute Dan. 7:13 to be about Christ’s Second Coming once again. There’s no way. By the time you get to vs. 13, Christ is already here and seated on His throne on Mount Zion. How can we be given another vision of His Second Coming when He’s already here?

Then someone comes to visit. Look again at this verse: “behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.“

How do you explain the phrase, “LIKE the Son of man?”

How can He be LIKE the Son of man if He IS the Son of Man?

Who’s already here and seated on His throne?

How can Christ be brought TO the Ancient of Days if He IS the Ancient of Days in vs. 9? Plus, the end of vs. 13 is very specific about where this person is brought. He is brought near Him and before Him. How can Christ be brought near and before Himself?

Some say, “He’s not really brought near or before anybody. He’s just brought near to us.” Are you kidding me? That’s not what the verse says!

I’d suggest that this verse is saying that before the Lord’s judgment of the nations, someone else who is like Christ comes down with the clouds of heaven, which are angels, and the angels brought this epic glorious person to the Ancient of days. They brought Him to Christ. They brought him near before him.

Who could this other person be?

One writer tried to say Elijah, but there’s no way. He’d be with all the saints at the prophesied time of the resurrection.

There’s only one answer.

Who else in Heaven could possibly be like the Son of man?

God the Father.

What did the Lord say in Joh. 14:9? “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father…”

I think the Father will make an appearance on the Earth when Christ judges the nations. We’re told in Dan 7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Is this talking about the Lord or the Father? YES. The Lord’s kingdom is the Father’s kingdom.

But what’s happening here is that the Father has come down and He is personally before everyone giving His Son all dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. Just as the Father endorsed His Son at His baptism, so too, the Father will now at the beginning of the kingdom come down to publicly endorse Him once again giving Him all authority before the entire world.

Then what happens at the end of the millennial reign? Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 15, that when Christ puts all things under His feet, when all things are subdued unto Him, He’s going to give everything back to the Father, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. At the beginning of the kingdom, the Father gives all things to the Son, and at the end of the kingdom, the Son gives all things back to the Father.

If you need irrefutable proof of the existence of the Father in the OT – Daniel 7.

2 – Abraham Met God the Father… At Least Twice.

Consider the first 12 verses of Genesis 18. When Abraham was in the plains of Mamre, three men stood at the door of his tent. When Abraham saw them, he “he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground” (Gen. 18:2). He told Sarah, “Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth” (Gen. 18:6). In other words, “Get the finest flour in the house! Separate them into three meals and turn them into cakes of bread!” Those three cakes were three meals for the three visitors.

We know that one of those three men was the Lord Himself in pre-incarnate form, which happened on rare occasions in the Old Testament. While they were all eating, the Lord tells Abraham and Sarah that she will be giving birth to a son and Sarah laughs.

Who were the other two visitors with the Lord? Could that have been an appearance of the entire triune Godhead in human form? We’re not told but it’s possible.

3 – Melchizedek is God the Father.

Before those three mystery men appeared before Abraham’s tent in Gen. 18, Abraham met Melchizedek in Gen. 14:17-24 after he rescued Lot.

Gen 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. Gen 14:19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: Gen 14:20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

Do you think the Lord would show up as Melchizedek and sing His own praises?

Absolutely not.

Was the Holy Spirit ever King of Salem?

Absolutely not. He’s never been king of anything.

Who else could it be?

Consider also Psa 110:4, “The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”

We read similar accounts in Heb. 5:6 and 7:17. Who is the One who declared to the Lord, “Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek?” Do you think the Lord would say such a thing about Himself? Never. Who else in Heaven has the divine authority to declare the Lord to be a priest after the order of Melchizedek? There is only one answer.

God the Father.

“Wait a minute, Joel. Are you suggesting that the LORD in caps, representing Jehovah, can at times be a reference to God the Father in the OT?” Absolutely. There is no other solution to vs. 4. “The LORD” in this context has to be a reference to God the Father.

We also have no choice but to conclude that in Psa 110:1, “The LORD said unto my Lord,” we’re reading about the Father talking to the Son. In the Hebrew, Jehovah spoke to Adonai. Both Jehovah and Adonai are titles of God. Not applicable to anyone else. So, here, one God spoke to another God. Jehovah spoke to Adonai.

Consider also what’s said of Melchizedek in Heb. 5 & 7. He is eternal, not human, never created, without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God… (Heb. 7:3). If He has no beginning and no end, then He has to be eternal, one of the members of the Godhead. There are only three possibilities. He absolutely cannot be the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ isn’t going to come down to this Earth as Melchizedek and heap praises and blessings upon Himself. He also cannot be the Holy Spirit. Melchizedek was the King of Salem. The Holy Spirit was never king of anything.

We have no choice but to conclude that He has to be God the Father.

When Abraham had that victory over those tribes who kidnapped his brother, I’d submit to you that the Father took a trip to Earth in human form and met Abraham. Remember how Heb. 7:3 said that He was made like unto the Son of God? How could the Father make Himself like unto His Son? It’s simple. He made Himself like unto His Son because He made Himself a type of Christ when He showed up as Melchizedek. As He is in Heaven, as the King of Salem, so shall His Son be on Earth. Melchizedek is His Father practically declaring that my Son’s future reign here on Earth will be a reflection of Me. The Father made Himself like unto His Son because He chose to be a type of Christ by appearing as Melchizedek. And when we read that first verse about Him in Gen. 14, we can already see in Him the operation of the entire triune Godhead.

When He blessed the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth, He was blessing His own Son. He was King of Salem. He was King of heavenly Jerusalem. Consider the fact that Christ and the Father are one. If you’ve seen Christ, you’ve seen the Father. So all the titles that will be given to the Lord as ruler over the Earth in the kingdom, all those same titles are already true of the Father in Heaven. What will be true of the Son as ruler on Earth is already true of the Father as ruler in Heaven. The perfect rule of the Son on Earth will mirror the perfect rule of His Father in Heaven.

If you’re interested, I once published a mega deep dive on Melchizedek.