Jesus was god's angel protecting israel

JESUS WAS GOD'S ANGEL PROTECTING ISRAEL
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Exodus 23:20 Behold, I am sending an angel before
you to protect you along the way and to bring you to
the place I have prepared.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Promises And Warnings
Exodus 23:20-33
J. Orr
These conclude the Book of the Covenant.
I. PROMISES.
1. An angelguide (vers. 20-23). But this angelwas no ordinary or created
angel. He is repeatedly identified with Jehovahhimself. God's "name" - his
essentialnature - was in him. He is one with Jehovah, yet distinct from him -
no mere personification, but a real hypostasis. See the careful treatment of
"the doctrine of the Angel of the Lord," in Oehler's "Old Testament
Theology," vol. 1. pp. 188-196 (Eng. trans.). We view the "angel" as the pro-
incarnate Logos - Christ in the Old Testament. Israel's guide was the Son of
God - the same Divine Personwho is now conducting "many sons unto glory,"
and who is become" the author of eternal salvationto all them that obey him"
(Hebrews 2:10; Hebrews 5:9).

2. Defence againstenemies (ver. 22). If Israelobeyed God's voice, and did all
that God spake, their enemies would be reckonedhis enemies, and their
adversaries his adversaries. And "if God be for us, who can be againstus?"
(Romans 8:31).
3. Aid in the conquestof Canaan(vers. 23, 27-31). Apply throughout to the
spiritual warfare of the individual and of the Church.
(1) The way for the conquestwould be prepared. God would send his fear
before the Israelites (ver. 27) - would, as statedin Deuteronomy, put the dread
of them, and the fear of them, upon the nations that were under the whole
heaven (Deuteronomy 2:25; Deuteronomy11:25; cf. Exodus 15:15, 16). There
is a presentiment of defeatin the hearts of the enemies of God, especiallywhen
the Church is energetic and fearless in her work, which goes farto secure the
victory for the latter. Something whispers to them that their "time is short" (1
Corinthians 7:29; Revelation12:12;cf. Matthew 8:29). Moral forces are all on
the side of the kingdom of God. They assistits friends, and operate to enervate
and discourage its enemies. The Christian workermay rely on numerous
invisible allies in men's own hearts. Workings of conscience,stings of fear,
dread of God, etc. God would also sendhornets before the Israelites, to drive
out the Canaanites from their strong castles (ver. 28). To us there seems no
goodreasonfor taking this declarationotherwise than literally. If taken
symbolically, the "hornets" are equivalent to the stings of fear, etc., above
referred to. A veritable hornet warfare this, and one of greatvalue to the
Gospelcause. Takenliterally, the "hornets" may be regardedas types of
secretprovidential allies - of the co-operationof God in his providence, often
by means of things insignificant in themselves, but working, under his secret
direction, for the furtherance of his kingdom, and the defeatof those opposed
to it. In a million unseen ways - how encouraging the reflection! - Providence
is thus aiding the work of those who fight under Christ's captaincy.
(2) They would be prospered in battle (ver. 27). The individual, in his warfare
with the evil of his own heart - the Church, in her conflict with the evil of the
world - enjoy a similar promise. If Christ inspires, if he, the captain of the
Lord's host, gives the signalto advance, victories are certain. However

numerous and powerful our spiritual enemies, greateris he that is with us
than they that are againstus (1 John 4:4).
(3) The conquestwould be given by degrees. God would drive out their
enemies before them, "little by little" (ver. 30). The reasongiven is, "lestthe
land become desolate, andthe beastof the field multiply againstthee" (ver.
27). The method was a wise one. It doubtless had its dangers. Remaining
idolatry would tend to become a snare. The delay in the extirpation of the
Canaanites had thus its side of trial - it would act as a moral test. In other
respects it was attended with advantage. It would make the conquestmore
thorough. It would enable the Israelites to consolidate, organise, andsecure
their possessionsas they went along. It would prevent the multiplying of the
beasts of the field. And quite analogous to this is God's method of conducting
us unto our spiritual inheritance. The law of "little by little" obtains here also.
"Little by little" the believer gains the victory over evil in self, and the heart is
sanctified. "Little by little" the world is conquered for Christ. In no other way
is thorough conquest possible. Suppose, e.g., that, as the result of
extraordinary shakings ofthe nations, a multitude of uninstructed tribes,
peoples, communities, were suddenly thrown into the arms of Christendom -
even supposing the conversions real, how difficult would it be to prevent
mischiefs from arising! Compare the troubles of the ReformationChurches.
Make the yet more extravagantsupposition that by some supreme moral
effort - the evil of our own hearts being suddenly arousedto intense activity -
it pleasedGod to give us the victory over the whole of this evil at once. How
little could we do with such a victory when we had it! Thrown at once upon
our own hands, how difficult it would be to know what to do with ourselves!
Would not new foes - fantastic conceits - speedily arise from the ground of our
yet undisciplined natures, to give us new troubles? The surestmethod is "little
by little." It is not goodfor any man to have more than he needs - to have a
greatervictory than he canrightly use; e.g., a man who reads more books
than he can mentally digest and assimilate;who has a largerestate than he
can manage;who has more money than he can make a gooduse of. And yet
the factof evil still lurking in our hearts, and continuing in the world around
us, exposes us to many perils. It acts as a moral test, and so indirectly
conduces to the growth of holiness.

4. Materialblessings (vers. 25, 26). In the land to which he was conducting
them, God would give the people of Israel abundance of food and water;
would take away all sicknessfrom their midst (cf. "I am the Lord that healeth
thee." Exodus 15:26);would greatly bless their flocks and herds; and would
lengthen out their days to the full term (cf. Deuteronomy 28:1-14). The
blessings ofthe new covenantare predominantly spiritual (Ephesians 1:3). Yet
even under it, "godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the
life that now is, and of that which is to come" (1 Timothy 4:8). Godliness has a
natural tendency to promote temporal well-being. So ample a measure of
prosperity as that promised in the text could, however, only accrue from
direct Divine blessing. The absolute form of the expressionanswers to the
absoluteness ofthe requirement - "Obey my voice, and do all that I speak"
(ver. 31). Falling short of the ideal obedience, Israelfell short also of the ideal
fulness of the blessing.
5. Expansionof bounds (ver. 31). Only once or twice was this maximum of
possessiontouchedby Israel. Failure in the fulfilment of the condition kept
back fulfilment of the promise. The Church's destiny is to possessthe whole
earth (Psalm 2:8).
II. WARNINGS. If these glorious promises are to be fulfilled to Israel, they
must obey the voice of God and of his angel. Let them beware, therefore, -
1. Of provoking the angel (ver. 21). God's name was in him, and he would not
pardon their transgressions. Thatis, he would not take a light view of their
sins, but would strictly mark them, and severelypunish them. He was not a
Being to be trifled with. If his wrath againstthem were kindled but a little,
they would perish from the way (Psalm 2:12). He was one with Jehovahin his
burning zeal for holiness, and in his determination not to clearthe guilty. See
below. The Gospelis not wanting in its similar side of sternness. There is a
"wrath of the Lamb" (Revelation6:17). There is a "judgment" which "begins
at the house of God" (1 Peter4:17). There is the stem word - "It shall come to
pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed
from among the people" (Acts 3:23). Cf. also Hebrews 2:2, 3; Hebrews 10:26-
39; Hebrews 12:25.

2. They must not serve other gods (ver. 24). Conversely, they were utterly to
overthrow the idol gods, and to break down their images. "Where Jesus
comes, he comes to reign." No rival will be toleratedalongside of him. We
cannot serve
(1) God and Mammon (Matthew 6:24).
(2) God and fashion (1 John 2:15-18).
(3) God and our own lusts (2 Peter1:4; 2 Peter2:20, 21).
(4) God and human glory (John 5:44).
The worship of Jehovahand that of any of the world's idols will not
amalgamate. See reflectedin these commands the principles which are to
regulate the relationof God's servants at this hour to the world and to its evil
-
(1) No tolerationof it (Matthew 5:29, 30).
(2) No communion with it (2 Corinthians 6:14-18;Ephesians 5:3, 11).
(3) Unceasing war againstit (2 Corinthians 10:4; Colossians3:5).
3. They must make no league with the Canaanites (ver. 32). The lessontaught
is, that believers are to seek their friendships, their alliances, their consorts,
etc., elsewhere thanamong the ungodly. We are not only to keepout of harm's
way, and avoid occasionsofsin, but we are to labour to remove from our
midst entirely what experience proves to be an incurable snare. - J.O.
Biblical Illustrator
To bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
Exodus 23:20
Life's pilgrimage

J. B. Brown, B. A.
The angel, the way, the prepared place. It is the Divine key to the mystery of
life. Life is emphatically a way. Not by the way of the sea — a prompt and
easypath — but by the way of the wilderness, of old God led His pilgrims.
The vision of the angelin the way lights up the wilderness. Considerthe
suggestionofthe text as to —
I. The pilgrim's CONDITION.God's children must be pilgrims, because this
world is not goodenough, not bright enough, not capable of being blessed
enough, for the pilgrim in his home. For —
1. The instructed soul sees the touch of essentialimperfectionand the bounds
of close limitation in everything here.
2. There is a constantaching of the heart through memory and hope.
3. Life is a pilgrimage because it is far awayfrom the Friend whom we
supremely love.
II. The pilgrim's GUIDE.
1. God has sent His angelbefore us in the personof His Son.
2. He sends His angelwith us in the person of the Holy Ghost.
III. The pilgrim's WAY TO THE PILGRIM'S HOME.
1. It is a way of purposed toil and difficulty, of wilderness, peril, and night.
Suffer we must in the wilderness;the one question is, Shall it be with or
without the angel of the Lord?
2. It is a way of stern, uncompromising duty. God asks us now simply to do
and to bear, and to wait to see the whole reasonand reap the whole fruit on
high. We must train ourselves to the habit of righteous action, and leave the
results to God and eternity.
3. It is a way of death. God promises to none of us an immunity from death.
The shadow hangs round life as a drear monitor to all of us. He only who can
eye it steadily and fix its form will see that it is angelic and lustrous with the

glory beyond. The grave is but the last step of the way by which the angel
leads us to the place which He has prepared.
(J. B. Brown, B. A.)
Divine guidance
W. Burrows, B. A.
I. THERE IS A DIVINE WAY.
1. Through the wilderness.
2. Besetwith enemies.
3. Many privations.
4. Contrary to mere human liking.God's way is not our way! Ours may be
pleasantat first but bitter at last, but God's way is the reverse;and yet not
exactly, for sweets are graciouslymingled with the bitters. There is hunger,
but there is manna. There is thirst, but there is clearwaterfrom the smitten
rock. There is perplexity, but there is an angelto guide and protect.
II. THIS WAY LEADS TO DIVINELY-PREPARED PLACES. Heavenis a
speciallyprepared place. "I go to prepare a place for you." A place in the best
of all places. A home in the best of homes. A dwelling-place where all the
abodes are mansions. A seatwhere all the seats are thrones. A city where all
the citizens are kings. What matters it though the way be long and sometimes
dreary, so long as the place is so attractive;and we cannotfail to reachit if we
obey Divine directions.
III. THE TRAVELLERS ON THIS WAY ARE FAVOURED WITH A
DIVINE GUIDE. Jesus Christ, the Angel of the new covenant, is fully
competent to direct and protect. He has trodden every inch of the way.
IV. DIVINE PROMISES ARE CONTINGENTON THE FAITHFUL
PURSUIT OF DIVINE METHODS (ver. 21). The Divine methods are —

Caution, obedience, self-restraint, and the entire destructionof all that has the
remotesttendency to damage the moral nature.
(W. Burrows, B. A.)
The angelof the covenant
J. W. Burn.
I. HIS NATURE WAS DIVINE.
1. Equal with God.(1)Bearing the Divine name; "My name is in Him." The
incommunicable covenant name of Jehovah.(2)Performing Divine actions;
"Mine angelshall go," etc., "Iwill cut them off." So New Testament, "Iand
My father are one."
2. Distinct from the personality of the speaker, "Isend," so New Testament,
"The Father which sent Me."
II. HIS OFFICE WAS TO CONDUCT THE COVENANT PEOPLE TO THE
FULFILMENT OF GOD'S COVENANT ENGAGEMENT.
1. Providence. "To keepthee in the way." So Christ "upholds all things by the
word of His power." "In Him all things consist." Generallyand particularly
He preserves those who trust in Him (John 10:28).
2. Redemption. "To bring thee into the place which I have prepared." Israel's
redemption is only half accomplishedas yet. So Christ's eternal redemption is
not complete till the last enemy is destroyed (John 14:2, 3).
III. THE PROPER ATTITUDE TOWARDSHIM.
1. Fear. Carefulness notto displease Him. Christ is the Saviour of those only
who believe in Him. To others He is a "savourof death unto death."
2. Obedience. "ObeyHis voice." So says the Father in the New Testament
(Matthew 17:5); and Himself (Matthew 28:20). This implies
(1)Trust in His person.

(2)Subjection to His authority.
(3)The prosecutionof His commands.
IV. THE REWARD OF OBEDIENCE TO HIM (vers. 22, 23).
1. Identification and sympathy with us in our cause. "Iwill be an enemy," etc.
2. Victory over our foes (1 Corinthians 15:57), world, flesh, devil, death, etc.
3. Inheritance in the promised land.Learn —
1. (2 Timothy 1:9), That God's grace has been manifested in Jesus Christ from
the beginning of the world.
2. That God's grace has been, through Jesus Christ, with His people up to the
present moment.
3. And will be till the end of the world.
(J. W. Burn.)
Christ at the head of the column
M. Simpson, D. D.
It is said when the Duke of Wellington, on one occasion, rode up to his
retreating army, a soldier happened to see him first and cried out: "Yonder is
the Duke of Wellington; God bless him!" and the retreating army had
courage to nerve itself afresh and went forward and drove the enemy away.
One has saidthat the Duke of Wellington was worth more at any time than
five thousand men. So it would be if we had the Captain of our salvationin
front, we would go forward. How gloriouslywould this Church contend if
Christ were visibly in front of them! But the army was sometimes without the
Duke of Wellington. There was a place where he could not be. And if Christ
were visibly present, He would be present at the same time, only at one church
in one locality; it might be in Philadelphia, but what of the thousand other
cities? But an unseenSaviour is at the head of the column everywhere. We
know He is there. The Captain of our salvation is where two or three are

gatheredin His Name to inspire us; and to-day, in every city on the face of this
globe, where the columns meet to march, His voice sounds "Onward!" in their
ears.
(M. Simpson, D. D.)
The angelin life
J. Parker, D. D.
Laws without angels would turn life into weary drudgery. Life has never been
left without some touch of the Divine presence and love. From the very first
this has been characteristic ofour history. The solemn — the grand, factis,
that in our life there is an angel, a spirit, a presence;a ministry without
definite name and altogetherwithout measurableness!a gracious ministry, a
most tender and comforting service, always operating upon our life's necessity
and our heart's pain. Let us restin that convictionfor a moment or two until
we see how we can establishit by references to facts, experiences,
consciousnessagainstwhich there can be no witness. See how our life is
redeemedfrom basenessby the assumption that an angelis leading it. Who
can believe that an angelhas been appointed to conduct a life which must end
in the grave? The anticlimax is shocking;the suggestionis chargedwith the
very spirit of profanity. If an angelis leading, us, is he leading us to the grave?
What is it within us that detests the grave, that turns awayfrom it with
aversion, that will not be sent into so low and mean a prison? It is "the
Divinity that stirs within us." Then again, who could ask an angelto be a
guestin a heart given up to evil thoughts and purposes? Given the
consciousnessthatan angelis leading us, and instantly a series ofpreparations
must be set up corresponding with the quality and title of the leading angelof
our pilgrimage. We prepare for some guests. According to the quality of the
guestis the range and costliness ofour preparation. Whom our love expects
our love provides for. When we are longing for the coming one, saying, "The
presence will make the house the sweeterand the brighter, and the speechwill
fill our life with new poetry and new hope. Oh, why tarry the chariot wheels?"
then we make adequate — that is to say, proportionate — preparation. The

touch of love is dainty, the invention of love is fertile, the expenditure of love is
without a grudge or a murmur, — another touch must be given to the most
delicate arrangement;some addition must be made to the most plentiful
accommodation;love must run over the programme just once more to see that
every line is worthily written. Then the front door must be opened widely, and
the arms and the heart, and the whole being to receive the guestof love. And
that is so in the higher regions. If an angelis going to lead me, the angelmust
have a chamber in my heart prepared worthy of myself. Chamber! — nay, the
whole heart must be the guest-room;he must occupy every corner of it, and I
must array it with robes of purity and brightness that he may feel himself at
home, even though he may have come from heaven to do some service for my
poor life. Any appeal that so works upon every kind of faculty, upon
imagination, conscience,will, force, must be an appeal that will do the life
good. It calls us to perfectness, to preparedness, to a nobility corresponding in
some degree with the nobility of the guestwhom we entertain. The Divine
presence in life, by whatevername we may distinguish it, is pledged to two
effects, supposing our spirit and our conduct to be right. God undertakes our
cause as againstour enemies. Would we could leave our enemies in His hands!
I do not now speak altogetherofmerely human enemies — because where
there is enmity betweenman and man, though it never can be justified, yet it
admits of such modification in the system of words as to throw responsibility
upon both sides — but I speak of other enemies, — the enmity expressedby
evil desire, by the pressure of temptation, by all the array againstthe soul's
health and wealof the principalities of the power of the air, the princes of
darkness, the spirits of evil. Send the angelto fight the angel; let the angelof
light fight the angelof darkness. The secondeffectto which the Divine
presence in our life is pledged is that we shall be blessedwith the contentment
which is riches. Thus we have mysteries amongstus which the common or
carnalmind cannotunderstand. Men asking God's blessing upon what
appears to be unblest poverty — men saying it is enough when we can
discovernext to nothing in the hand uplifted in recognitionof Divine
goodness.Thus we hear voices coming from the bed of affliction that have in
them the subdued tones of absolute triumph; thus the sick-chamberis turned
into the church of the house, and if we would recoverfrom dejection, and
repining, and sorrow, we must go to the bedside of affliction and learn there

how wondrous is the ministry of God's angel, how perfecting and ennobling
the influence of God's grace.
(J. Parker, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
THE PROMISES OF GOD TO ISRAEL, IF THE COVENANT IS KEPT.
(20-33)The Book of the Covenant terminates, very appropriately, with a
series ofpromises. God is “the rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” He
choosesto “rewardmen after their works,” andto setbefore them “the
recompense ofthe reward.” He “knows whereofwe are made,” and by what
motives we are influenced. Self-interest, the desire of our own good, is one of
the strongestofthem. If Israelwill keepHis covenant, they will enjoy the
following blessings :—(1) The guidance and protectionof His angeltill
Canaanis reached;(2) God’s help againsttheir adversaries, who will, little by
little, be driven out; (3) the ultimate possessionofthe entire country between
the Mediterraneanand the Red Sea on the one hand, the Desertand the
Euphrates on the other; (4) a blessing upon their flocks and herds, which shall
neither be barren nor casttheir young; and (5) a blessing upon themselves,
whereby they will escape sickness andenjoy a long term of life. All these
advantages, however, are conditionalupon obedience, and may be forfeited.
(20) I send an Angel before thee.—Kalischconsiders Mosesto have been the
“angel” or“messenger;” others understand one of the createdangelic host.
But most commentators see in the promise the first mention of the “Angel of
the Covenant,” who is reasonablyidentified with the SecondPersonofthe
Holy Trinity, the Eternal Son and Word of God. When the promise is
retractedon accountof the sin of the goldencalf, it is in the words, “I will not
go up with thee” (Exodus 33:3).

BensonCommentary
Exodus 23:20-21. Behold, I send an Angel before thee — The Angel of the
covenant:accordingly, the Israelites, in the wilderness, are said to tempt
Christ. It is promised that this blessedAngel should keepthem in the way,
though it lay through a wilderness first, and afterward through their enemies’
country; and thus Christ has prepared a place for his followers. Beware of
him, and obey his voice;provoke him not — It is at your peril if you do; for
my name — My nature, my authority; is in him.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
23:20-33 It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way
through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angelbefore
thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be
obedient to this angelwhom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel
of Jehovah; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have a
comfortable settlement in the land of Canaan. How reasonable are the
conditions of this promise; that they should serve the only true God; not the
gods of the nations, which are no gods at all. How rich are the particulars of
this promise! The comfort of their food, the continuance of their health, the
increase oftheir wealth, the prolonging their lives to old age. Thus hath
godliness the promise of the life that now is. It is promised that they should
subdue their enemies. Hosts of hornets made way for the hosts of Israel; such
mean creatures canGod use for chastising his people's enemies. In real
kindness to the church, its enemies are subdued by little and little; thus we are
kept on our guard, and in continual dependence on God. Corruptions are
driven out of the hearts of God's people, not all at once, but by little and little.
The precept with this promise is, that they should not make friendship with
idolaters. Those that would keepfrom bad courses, must keepfrom bad
company. It is dangerous to live in a bad neighbourhood; others' sins will be
our snares. Our greatestdangeris from those who would make us sin against
God.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible

An Angel - See Exodus 3:2, Exodus 3:8; Joshua 5:13; Isaiah63:9.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
20-25. Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keepthee in the way—The
communication of these laws, made to Mosesand by him rehearsedto the
people, was concluded by the addition of many animating promises,
intermingled with severalsolemn warnings that lapses into sin and idolatry
would not be tolerated or passedwith impunity.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
To wit, Christ, the Angel of the covenant, as may be gatheredboth from the
following words, because pardon of sin, which is God’s prerogative, Mark 2:7,
is here ascribedto him, and God’s name is in him, and by comparing other
scriptures, as Exodus 32:34 Acts 7:38,39 1 Corinthians 10:9. See Exodus 13:21
14:19.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Behold, I send an angelbefore thee,.... Nota createdangel, but the uncreated
one, the Angel of God's presence, that was with the Israelites atSinai, and in
the wilderness;who saved, redeemed, bore, and carried them all the days of
old, whom they rebelled againstand tempted in the wilderness;as appears by
all the characters aftergiven of him, which by no means agree with a created
angel:Aben Ezra observes, thatsome say this is the book of the law, because it
is said, "my name is in him", or "in the midst of it"; others say, the ark of the
covenant;but he says this angelis Michael; and if indeed by Michaelis
intended the uncreatedangel, as he always is in Scripture, he is right: Jarchi
remarks, that their Rabbins say, this is Metatron, whose name is as the name
of his master; Metatron, by gematry, is Shaddai, which signifies almighty or
all-sufficient, and is an epithet of the divine Being; and Metatron seems to be a
corruption of the word "mediator":some of the ancient Jewishwriters say
(k), this is the Angel that is the Redeemerof the world, and the keeperof the
children of men: and Philo the Jew (l) applies the word unto the divine Logos,
and says,"he (God)uses the divine Word as the guide of the way; for the
oracle is, "behold, I send my Angel", &c.''whichagrees with what follows:

to keepthee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have
prepared; to preserve the Israelites in their journey through the wilderness,
from all their enemies that should setupon them, and to bring them safe at
last to the land of Canaan, which he had appointed for them, and promised to
them, and had prepared both in his purpose and gift for them, and would
make way for their settlementin it by driving out the nations before them.
(k) In Zohar in Gen. fol. 124. 4. (l) "De migratione" Abraham, p. 415.
Geneva Study Bible
Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keepthee in the way, and to bring thee
into the place which I have prepared.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
20. an angel] such as guided and protectedthe patriarchs (Genesis 24:7;
Genesis 31:11;Genesis 48:16);cf. Exodus 14:19 (on Exodus 32:34, Exodus
33:2, see the notes), Numbers 20:16. It is true, the expressionhere used is ‘an
angel’(so Numbers 20:16 : contrastch. Exodus 3:2); but he appears in v. 21 as
Jehovah’s full representative (see on Exodus 3:2). Elsewhere in JE the pillar
of cloud (see on Exodus 13:21), Hobab (Numbers 10:31), and the ark
(Numbers 10:33), are severallydescribed as guiding Israelin the wilderness.
20, 21. An angelis to guide Israel on its journey to Canaan:his instructions
must be receivedwith the same respectand fearas those of JehovahHimself;
for Jehovahwill Himself be speaking in him.
20–33.Hortatory epilogue. The laws which Israel is to observe have been
defined: and now Jehovahdeclares whatHe will do for His people if it is
obedient to His voice (v. 22): He will give it prosperity, freedom from sickness
and long life, successin its contests with the nations of Canaan, and extension
of territory afterwards. Comp. the similar, but longerand more elaborated,

hortatory discourses (including curses on disobedience), concluding the codes
of H (Leviticus 26:3-45)and Dt. (Deuteronomy 28). It is remarkable that the
commands which Israel is to obey are not those embodied in ch. Exodus 20:22
to Exodus 23:19, but (v. 22)those to be given it in the future by the angel on
the wayto Canaan. Perhaps (Bä.)the passage waswritten originally for a
different context: but even if that were the case, it must be intended, where it
now stands, to suggestmotives for the observance ofthe preceding laws.
Pulpit Commentary
Verses 20-31. -THE REWARDS OF OBEDIENCE. Godalways places before
men" the recompense ofthe reward." He does not require of them that they
should serve him for nought. The "Book ofthe Covenant" appropriately ends
with a number of promises, which God undertakes to perform, if Israel keeps
the terms of the covenant. The promises are: -
1. That he will send an angelbefore them to be their guide, director, and
helper (vers. 20 - 23).
2. That he will be the enemy of their enemies (ver. 22), striking terror into
them miraculously (ver. 27), and subjecting them to other scourges also(ver.
28).
3. That he will drive out their enemies "by little and little" (ver. 30), not
ceasing until he has destroyedthem (ver. 23).
4. That he will give them the entire country betweenthe Red Sea and the
Mediterraneanon the one hand, the Desertand the Euphrates on the other
(ver. 31). And

5. That he will bless their sustenance, avertsicknessfrom them, cause them to
multiply, and prolong their days upon earth (vers. 25, 26). At the same time,
all these promises - exceptthe first - are made conditional. If they will
"beware" ofthe angeland "obey his voice," then he will drive their enemies
out (vers. 22, 23): if they will serve Jehovah, and destroythe idols of the
nations, then he will multiply them, and give them health and long life (vers.
24-26), and "settheir bounds from the Red Sea even unto the Sea of the
Philistines, and from the desertunto the river" (ver. 31). So far as they fall
short of their duties, is he entitled to fall short of his promises. A reciprocityis
established. Unless they keeptheir engagements,he is not bound to keephis.
Though the negative side is not entered upon, this is sufficiently clear. None of
the promises, exceptthe promise to send the angel, is absolute. Their
realisationdepends on a strict and hearty obedience. Verse 20. - Behold, I
send a messengerbefore thee. Jewishcommentators regardthe messengeras
Moses,who, no doubt, was a speciallycommissionedambassadorforGod, and
who might, therefore, well be termed God's messenger. Butthe expressions -
"He will not pardon your transgressions,"and "My name is in him," are too
high for Moses. An angelmust be intended - probably "the Angel of the
Covenant," - whom the best expositors identify with the SecondPersonof the
Trinity, the Ever-BlessedSonof God. To keepthee in the way is not simply
"to guide thee through the wilderness, and prevent thee from geographical
error," but to keepthee altogetherin the right path. s, to guard thy going out
and thy coming m, to prevent thee from falling into any kind of wrong
conduct. The place which I have prepared is not merely Palestine, but that
place of which Palestine is the type - viz., Heaven. Compare John 14:2: - "I go
to prepare a place for you."
Keil and DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament
The Fundamental Rights of Israelin its Religious and TheocraticalRelationto
Jehovah. - As the observance ofthe Sabbath and sabbaticalyear is not
instituted in Exodus 23:10-12, so Exodus 23:14-19 do not containeither the
original or earliestappointment of the feasts, ora complete law concerning
the yearly feasts. Theysimply command the observance ofthree feasts during
the year, and the appearance of the people three times in the year before the
Lord; that is to say, the holding of three national assemblies to keepa feast

before the Lord, or three annual pilgrimages to the sanctuaryof Jehovah. The
leading points are clearlyset forth in Exodus 23:14 and Exodus 23:17, to
which the other verses are subordinate. These leading points are ‫םיטּפׁשמ‬ or
rights, conferredupon the people of Israelin their relationto Jehovah;for
keeping a feastto the Lord, and appearing before Him, were both of them
privileges bestowedby Jehovahupon His covenantpeople. Even in itself the
festalrejoicing was a blessing in the midst of this life of labour, toil, and
trouble; but when accompaniedwith the right of appearing before the Lord
their God and Redeemer, to whom they were indebted for everything they had
and were, it was one that no other nation enjoyed. Forthough they had their
joyous festivals, these festivals bore the same relation to those of Israel, as the
dead and worthless gods ofthe heathen to the living and almighty God of
Israel.
Of the three feasts at which Israelwas to appear before Jehovah, the feastof
Mazzoth, or unleavened bread, is referred to as already instituted, by the
words "as I have commanded thee," and "atthe appointed time of the earing
month," which point back to chs. 12 and 13;and all that is added here is, "ye
shall not appearbefore My face empty." "Notempty:" i.e., not with empty
hands, but with sacrificialgifts, answering to the blessing given by the Lord
(Deuteronomy 16:16-17). These gifts were devotedpartly to the general
sacrifices ofthe feast, and partly to the burnt and peace-offeringswhichwere
brought by different individuals to the feasts, and applied to the sacrificial
meals (Numbers 28 and 29). This command, which relatedto all the feasts,
and therefore is mentioned at the very outsetin connectionwith the feastof
unleavened bread, did indeed impose a duty upon Israel, but such a duty as
became a source of blessing to all who performed it. The gifts demanded by
God were the tribute, it is true, which the Israelites paid to their God-King,
just as all Easternnations are required to bring presents when appearing in
the presence oftheir kings;but they were only gifts from God's own blessing,
a portion of that which He had bestowedin rich abundance, and they were
offered to God in such a way that the offerer was thereby more and more
confirmed in the rights of covenantfellowship. The other two festivals are
mentioned here for the first time, and the details are more particularly
determined afterwards in Leviticus 23:15., and Numbers 28:26. One was

calledthe feastof Harvest, "ofthe first-fruits of thy labours which thou hast
sownin the field," i.e., of thy field-labour. According to the subsequent
arrangements, the first of the field-produce was to be offered to God, not the
first grains of the ripe corn, but the first loaves ofbread of white or wheaten
flour made from the new corn (Leviticus 23:17.). In Exodus 34:22 it is called
the "feastofWeeks,"because, according to Leviticus 23:15-16;Deuteronomy
16:9, it was to be kept sevenweeks afterthe feastof Mazzoth; and the "feast
of the first-fruits of wheatharvest," because the loaves of first-fruits to be
offered were to be made of wheatenflour. The other of these feasts, i.e., the
third in the year, is called"the feastof Ingathering, at the end of the year, in
the gathering in of thy labours out of the field." This generaland indefinite
allusion to time was quite sufficient for the preliminary institution of the feast.
In the more minute directions respecting the feasts given in Leviticus 23:34;
Numbers 29:12, it is fixed for the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and
placed on an equality with the feastof Mazzoth as a sevendays' festival. ‫ּׁשהנּׁש‬
‫תאצּב‬ does not mean after the close ofthe year, finito anno, any more than the
corresponding expressionin Exodus 34:22, ‫הנּׁשּב‬ ‫,ּׁשהנּׁש‬ signifies at the turning
of the year. The year referred to here was the so-calledcivil year, which began
with the preparation of the ground for the harvest-sowing, and ended when all
the fruits of the field and garden had been gatheredin. No particular day was
fixed for its commencement, nor was there any new year's festival; and even
after the beginning of the earing month had been fixed upon for the
commencementof the year (Exodus 12:2), this still remained in force, so far as
all civil matters connectedwith the sowing and harvestwere concerned;
though there is no evidence that a double reckoning was carriedon at the
same time, or that a civil reckoning existedside by side with the religious.
‫תצסטּב‬ does not mean, "whenthou hast gathered," postquam collegisti; for ‫ת‬
does not stand for ‫,רחצ‬ nor has the infinitive the force of the preterite. On the
contrary, the expression"at thy gathering in," i.e., when thou gatherestin, is
kept indefinite both here and in Leviticus 23:39, where the month and days in
which this feastwas to be kept are distinctly pointed out; and also in
Deuteronomy 16:13, in order that the time for the feastmight not be made
absolutely dependent upon the complete termination of the gathering in,
although as a rule it would be almost over. The gathering in of "thy labours
out of the field" is not to be restrictedto the vintage and gathering of fruits:

this is evident not only from the expression"outof the field," which points to
field-produce, but also from the clause in Deuteronomy 16:13, "gathering of
the floor and wine-press," which shows clearlythat the words refer to the
gathering in of the whole of the year's produce of corn, fruit, oil, and wine.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
ADAM CLARKE
Verse 20
Behold, I send an Angel before thee - Some have thought that this was Moses,
others Joshua, because the word ‫ךאלמ‬ malach signifies an angel or messenger; but
as it is said, Exodus 23:21, My name is in him, (‫וברקב‬ bekirbo, intimately,
essentially in him), it is more likely that the great Angel of the Covenant, the Lord
Jesus Christ, is meant, in whom dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. We
have had already much reason to believe that this glorious personage often
appeared in a human form to the patriarchs, etc.; and of him Joshua was a very
expressive type, the names Joshua and Jesus, in Hebrew and Greek, being of
exactly the same signification, because radically the same, from ‫עשי‬ yasha, he
saved, delivered, preserved, or kept safe. Nor does it appear that the description
given of the Angel in the text can belong to any other person.
Calmet has referred to a very wonderful comment on these words given by Philo
Judaeus De Agricultura, which I shall producehere at full length as it stands in Dr.
Mangey's edition, vol. 1., p. 308: Ὡς ποιμην και βασιλευς ὁ Θεος αγει κατα δικην
και νομον, προστησαμενοςτον ορθοναυτουλογον πρωτογονονυἱον, ὁς την
επιμελειαν της ἱερας ταυτης αγελης, οἱα τις μεγαλου βασιλεως ὑπαρχος,

διαδεξεται.Και γαρ ειρηται που· Ιδου εγω ειμι, αποστελω αγγελον μον εις
προσωπον σου, τουφυλαξαι σε εν τῃ ὁδῳ "God, as the Shepherd and King,
conducts all things according to law and righteousness, having established over
them his right Word, his Only-Begotten Son, who, as the Viceroy of the Great
King, takes care of and ministers to this sacred flock. For it is somewhere said, (
Exodus 23:20;), Behold, I Am, and I will send my Angel before thy face, to keep
thee in the way."
This is a testimony liable to no suspicion, coming from a person who cannot be
supposed to be even friendly to Christianity, nor at all acquainted with that
particular doctrine to which his words seem so pointedly to refer.
Verse 21
He will not pardonyour transgressions - He is not like a man, with whom ye may
think that ye may trifle; were he either man or angel, in the common acceptation of
the term, it need not be said, He will not pardonyour transgressions, for neither
man nor angel could do it.
My name is in him - The Jehovah dwells in him; in him dwelt all the fullness of the
Godhead bodily; and because of this he could either pardonor punish. All power is
given unto me in heaven and earth, Matthew 28:18.
RON DANIEL
23:20-23 A Guarding Angel
We've talked many times before in our studies of Genesis and Revelationthat
Jesus Christ is often calledan angel. Notbecause He is a celestial, created
being, but simply because the word "angel" means "messenger." Here we see

that the Lord said, "My name is in Him." This angelwill often be calledin the
Hebrew "Yahweh" and "Elohim." But even the name Jesus includes the
name of God. "Jesus"in Hebrew is "Yah-Shua", meaning "Yahweh is
Salvation." The name of God is in the name Jesus.
Loyalty to God
Series:Exodus
Sermon by J. Ligon Duncan on Sep4, 2002
Exodus 23:20-33
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Exodus 23:20-33
Loyalty to God

If you have your Bibles, please open to Exodus chapter23, beginning at verse
20, hear the word of God:
"Behold, I am going to send an angelbefore you to guard you along the way
and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. "Be on your guard
before him and obey his voice;do not be rebellious towardhim, for he will not
pardon your transgression, since My name is in him. "But if you truly obey
his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an
adversary to your adversaries. ForMy angelwill go before you and bring you
in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the
Hivites and the Jebusites;and I will completely destroy them. You shall not
worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their deeds; but you
shall utterly overthrow them and break their sacredpillars in pieces. But you
shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water;
and I will remove sickness fromyour midst. There shall be no one
miscarrying or barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. I
will send My terror aheadof you, and throw into confusionall the people
among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to
you. and the Hittites before you. I will not drive them out before you in a
single year, that the land may not become desolate andthe beasts of the field
become too numerous for you. I will drive them out before you little by little,
until you become fruitful and take possessionofthe land.
I will fix your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea ofthe Philistines, and
from the wilderness to the River Euphrates; for I will deliver the inhabitants
of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you. You shall
make no covenantwith them or with their gods. They shall not live in your
land, because theywill make you sin againstMe;for if you serve their gods, it
will surely be a snare to you."
Amen. This is God's Word. May He add His blessing to it. Let's pray.
Our Father, we thank you for Your word and we ask that You would teachus
from it. In Jesus'name, Amen.
Here we have before us a promise, a command, another promise and another
command. But the focus of the whole sectionis that we would honor God, that

we would glorify God, that we would be loyal to God, and that we would be
obedient to His commands, and in that obedience that we would find blessing.
And you’ll appreciate why this messageis so important. In less than ten
chapters, Israelwith the word of God from Mount Sinai still ringing in their
ears, while they’re still encamped within the plain of Sinai will violate every
command in this passage.She’llgo after other gods, she’ll make a golden calf;
she’ll follow the detestable ritual practices ofthe Canaanites in the very
presence ofGod in Sinai. So it is vital that God give this reiterative warning to
Israelat the very end of this covenantthat He is making with them. I want
you to see three or four things which still speak to us.
I. God will finish what He starts but He expects obedience from His people.
First, if you’ll look at verses 20-23, you’ll see God's promise and provision of
His angelto guide and bring Israel into the land of promise. We learned
something from this section. We learned that God will finish what He starts.
God doesn't start a projectand then forgetabout it; He doesn'tstart a project
and leave it undone. He will finish what He starts. But He expects obedience
from His people. In verse 20 God reiterates His commitment to Israelby
assuring them of His supernatural intervention on His part. He says, “I'm
going to send an angelto guard you along the way and to bring you into the
place which I have prepared.” He has been promising to bring His people into
the place which He prepared for them eversince He calledAbraham out of
the Ur of the Chaldees. Everysince Genesis 12:1-3, He's been promising to
bring His people into the place which He has prepared for them. And in fact,
He promised Abraham that His children would sojourn in Egypt and then be
brought back to the place which God had prepared for Him. And all along the
way in the wilderness, Godhas been promising to bring His children, His
people, into the land and into the place He has prepared for them. Here He
reminds them that He will give them a supernatural guide into the land. “I am
going to send an angelbefore you to guard you along the way.”
Now, if you haven't been paying close attentionto Exodus, you may be
scratching your head real quickly and saying, “Wait a minute–an angel–I
don't remember this.” Well, it's been a little while, but the angelhas been
there before. The first time in the Book ofExodus that an angelshows up is at

the burning bush. In Exodus 2:3, the angel of the Lord appears to Moses
himself in a blazing fire from the midst of the bush. The next time that an
angelshows up is in Exodus 14:19 as the pilgrimage across the wilderness
begins and God says, “The angelof God who had been going before the camp
moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them
and stoodbehind them.” And so, it's not just that this pillar of fire and pillar
of cloud are guiding Israelby day and night; it's the angelof God there as
well. And that angel's presence is reiterated in Exodus 23 not once, but twice,
in verse 20 and then again in verse 23. In verse 20 he is called an angel, but in
verse 23 he is calledmy angel. “My angelwill go before you and bring you
into the land.” This is not the lasttime that the angelwill appear.
Significantly, the angelwill reappear in Exodus 32 and 33. Don't forget that.
In Exodus 32:34 we will read, “Behold, my angel shall go before you.” In
Exodus 33:2, “I will send an angelbefore you and I will drive out the
Canaanite.”
But I won't spoil the significance ofthose passagesfor you. The point is that
God had supernaturally been guiding His people and now He is reminding
them againof that and saying, “I'm going to complete the task which I
promised. I'm going to bring you into the land through the intervention of My
angel.” You see, that angel's presence is reflective of and an extensionof the
Lord's ownpresence. The New Testamentwriters are not hesitant at all to
identify the angel of the Lord with a pre-incarnate manifestation of our Lord
Jesus Christ. The point is this: God is in your midst. I am with you. My own
angelis with you; I am with you. I'm going to complete the project that I've
begun. God doesn't getinto the middle of a projectand give up; He follows
through. That is why Paul could say, “I know whom I have believed and I am
convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him againstthat
day.”
If you go to the city of Edinburgh, on the hill on the northeastside of town,
Calton Hill, you’ll see a monument to the Napoleanic veterans. It's supposed
to be a replica of the Parthenon. But if you've ever seena picture of the
Parthenon or the ruins of the Parthenonitself, you will notice as you look at
this monument in Edinburgh that it is only half there. That's because the
Scots gothalfway into the building of it and they ran out of money, and they

certainly weren't going to build it on faith. They never completed it; it's half
done. They gotinto the project but they couldn't complete it. There are
monuments like that all over the world. People startthem; they don't count
the cost, they never finish them. God is saying here, I'm not going to get into
the middle of a project and not bring it to completion.
Now that is vitally important for you to remember when you do get to Exodus
32 and 33. God is telling you here now of His purposes to complete that which
He has begun. And so, when you get to Exodus 32 and 33, and the people of
God rebel againstHim and He says to Moses, “OK, that's it; I'm done with
them. I'm going to bring you into the land of Canaanand make you a great
nation.” You need to remember God's prior commitments to understand what
is going on there. God is not changing His mind when He gets to Exodus 32
and 33, and He's tipping you off to that right here in Exodus chapter23. The
strong language ofverse 22, the strong language of conditionality, “If you
obey; if you do all I say—thenI will be an enemy to your enemies.”
This strong language of conditionality helpfully emphasizes the requirements
of the covenant. Obedience is not an option for Israel. And in light of what
Israelis about to do in just a few chapters, this is all the more poignant. Verse
23 recollects the promise of God to Abram in verses 16-21.“Myangelwill go
before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites and the Hittites and
the Perrizites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.”It's just
what God had promised to Abraham. I want you to understand that the
destruction of these people here is not some sortof a tyrannical, amoral,
genocidalactionby a satanic deity. It is a moral visitation of judgment against
sin. God said that to Abraham 550 years before it happened, “the iniquity of
the Amorite is not yet complete.” That's why I haven't yet brought judgment.
I'm waiting for the Amorites to repent. Now, however, judgment is coming—
550 years later. Don't tell me that God is not a patient God. He waits 550
years before the judgment and then the judgment comes. This is not some sort
of a capricious, arbitrary, mean-spirited, small-minded actionof a vindictive
deity. This is the moral judicial and penal judgment of God againstsin.
But you see that this whole passageis a warning to the people of God. He
expects obedience from them. “If God is for us, then who can be againstus,”

Paul asks. Butyou can turn that around. If God is againstus, then who canbe
for us? And if we are againstHim while declaring that we are for Him, then
how we can expectother than for Him to bring judgment againstus as
traitors and hypocrites. That's why He can sayin verse 21, “Be on your guard
before him and obey His voice;do not defy Him; do not be rebellious toward
Him, for He will not pardon your transgression….”If you rebel againstthe
angelof the Lord, if you rejectthe presence of the Lord, it you turn your back
on the God of your salvation, can you but expect judgment? That's the
warning of this passage. That's the first thing I want you to see.
II. God expects an absolute uncompromising loyalty to Himself in our
obedience to the first command.
The secondthing is this; look at verse 24. Obedience to the first
commandment requires the rejectionof the gods of the Canaanites, and of the
way of worship of the Canaanites. In verse 24 we learn that God expects an
absolute, uncompromising loyalty to Himself in our obedience to the first
command.
There are four directions given in verse 24. First: There is to be no
participation in the religious worship of the Canaanites gods. “Youshall not
worship their gods.” Second:There is to be no following after the religion of
the Canaanite gods. “Youshall not worship them nor serve them.” Third:
There is to be no emulation of their worship practices nor do according to
their deeds. Fourth: Canaanite worship sites are to be obliterated. You shall
utterly overthrow them and break their sacredpillars in pieces.” Yousee, this
is another one of those passages thatteaches us that the Exodus was all about
God's glory. The Exodus is all about bringing into being a people who will
glorify Godand syncretism doesn't glorify God. Mixing loyalty to the one true
God and to false gods doesn't glorify God, and so God wants everything wiped
out that would detract from His glory. And at the very heart of covenant
loyalty to God is our commitment to worship Him and worship Him alone.
And not only are we to worship Him alone, we are to worship Him as He
commands and not according to the way of the nations around us. This is the
absolute uncompromising loyalty that God is calling for and againit is
preciselythat which will be violated in Exodus chapter32. Its mind boggling,

isn't it? It's almost like they went through this passageand said, “OK now,
what have we forgotten? Which command have we not violated yet.” Step by
step they go through this passageandignore its warnings and ignore its
demands.
III. Faithfulness to God's covenantmeans blessings forGod's people.
Third. If you look at verses 25-31, youwill see a very important theme in the
five books ofMoses;the theme of the connectionbetweenobedience and
blessing. The obedience blessing principle is set forth here in Exodus 23:25-31,
and it simply teaches us that faithfulness to God's covenantmeans blessing for
God's people. And we learn severalthings here. In verses 25-27, we simply
learn this. Obedience is goodfor you. You remember Satanhad tempted Eve
to believe that obedience was bad for her. Do you mean to tell me that He told
you that you couldn't eat from any of the trees? Now, never mind that that is
not what God said. The point of that statement by Satanwas to cause Eve to
begin to doubt in her heart whether God's commands were goodor goodfor
her. Here in verses 25-27,Godis simply reiterating that My commands are
not like the commands of an arbitrary tyrant which serve only his interests;
My commands will serve your interests.
Look at what He says. “Obeyand this is what will happen. I’ll feedyou, I’ll
make you healthy, I’ll prevent miscarriage, I’ll give you long life, and I will
scare your enemies to death.” And He doesn't stop. In verses 28-31,He says,
“You obey and not only will I defeat your enemies, but I’ll do it in the best
possible way for you. If I wiped them all out now there wouldn't be enough of
you to go into the land and possess itand you’d have lions and tigers and
bears everywhere. So I'm going to wipe them out little by little so you cango
in and inhabit the place. So I'm not only going to defeat your enemies but I'm
going to defeat them in the best possible wayfor you.”
And it is vital for us to see that this passageis not about the health and wealth
gospel. This is preciselythe kind of passagethat health and wealth teachers go
to and say, “See, you obey God and you get blessing. You obey God and
everything will be greatin your life.” This is a passageaboutloyalty to God
and about the goodnessofGod's will and about the blessing of obedience and

about the particular situation in redemptive history that Israel found herself
in. SoonIsraelwas going to violate all of these directives. And God is warning
her now, and He is reminding her of the blessing of obedience and the curse of
disobedience. Trustand obey for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus
but to trust and obey. You could have summed up the passagejustlike that.
IV. God expects an exclusive covenant loyalty to Him and no human
relationship must detract from it.
And there is one last thing in verses 32 and 33. Godagain demands exclusive
covenantloyalty from His people. “You shall make no covenantwith them or
with their gods.” Godexpects and exclusive covenantloyalty to Him and no
human relationship must detract from it. In verse 32, in addition to the
directions that He had given Israelin verse 24, Israelis here forbidden to
enter into a covenantrelationship with the occupants of the land. They are not
only not to worship their gods, they are not only not to use the wayof worship
that the Canaanites used, they are not only to refuse to engage in the cultic
practices ofthe Canaanites, theyare not only to tear down the sanctuaries of
the Canaanites;they are not to make treaties or agreements with the
occupants of the land. That's going to be significant later too. In Joshua 9,
somebody is going to realize that Israeldidn't break that particular command
in Exodus 32, and they’re going to say, “Oops!We missedthat one; we need to
go ahead and break that one quickly too.” You see, allof these things set up
things that are going to happen on the way into the land. All of these
commands of God look into the future and speak to the situations that Israel
will face on its way into the land. The reasonfor this command is plainly
statedin verse 33. “Theyshall not live in your land because they will make
you sin againstMe. And if you serve their gods it will surely be a snare to
you.”
And doesn't that speak to us today of how human relationships can still be a
snare to the people of God? A young Christian woman falling in love with a
pagan; she loves him, he loves her. They serve different Gods. She consigns
herself to a life of misery. He is a snare to her because she made a covenant
with someone who did not love the Lord, her God. And we could repeat that

story in 5,000 variations. The commands of God are still applicable today to
the people of God. May God grant that we would be loyal to Him. Let us pray.
JOHN GILL
Verse 20
Behold, I send an angelbefore thee,.... Nota createdangel, but the uncreated
one, the Angel of God's presence, that was with the Israelites atSinai, and in
the wilderness;who saved, redeemed, bore, and carried them all the days of
old, whom they rebelled againstand tempted in the wilderness;as appears by
all the characters aftergiven of him, which by no means agree with a created
angel:Aben Ezra observes, thatsome say this is the book of the law, because it
is said, "my name is in him", or "in the midst of it"; others say, the ark of the
covenant;but he says this angelis Michael; and if indeed by Michaelis
intended the uncreatedangel, as he always is in Scripture, he is right: Jarchi
remarks, that their Rabbins say, this is Metatron, whose name is as the name
of his master; Metatron, by gematry, is Shaddai, which signifies almighty or
all-sufficient, and is an epithet of the divine Being; and Metatron seems to be a
corruption of the word "mediator":some of the ancient Jewishwriters
sayF11, this is the Angel that is the Redeemerofthe world, and the keeperof
the children of men: and Philo the JewF12 applies the word unto the divine
Logos, and says,"he (God)uses the divine Word as the guide of the way; for
the oracle is, "behold, I send my Angel", &c.'whichagrees with what follows:
to keepthee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have
prepared; to preserve the Israelites in their journey through the wilderness,
from all their enemies that should setupon them, and to bring them safe at
last to the land of Canaan, which he had appointed for them, and promised to
them, and had prepared both in his purpose and gift for them, and would
make way for their settlementin it by driving out the nations before them.

Verse 21
Beware ofhim,.... Of his face or countenance;observe his looks towards you
in a providential way, whether frowning or smiling; observe his directions and
instructions, laws and commands:
and obey his voice; hearkento what he says, and cheerfully, readily, and
punctually do as he orders:
provoke him not; by unbelief, by murmurings and complaints, by unbecoming
words and actions, by transgressing his commands, and acting contrary to his
will:
for he will not pardon your transgressions:or suffer them to pass unchastised
and uncorrected, but will, as he did, take vengeanceontheir inventions, and
on them because ofthem, though he forgave their iniquities; for that he was
such an Angel as could forgive sin, which none but God can do, is evident;
because it would be absurd to sayhe will not pardon, if he could not pardon
their transgressions, seeMatthew 9:6,
for my name is in him; the Father is in the Son, and the Sonin the Father; the
nature and perfections of God are in the Word and Son of God, and so his
name Jehovah, which is peculiar to him; Christ is Jehovah our righteousness:
or "though my name is in him"F13;as Abendana and others, his name the
Lord God, gracious and merciful, pardoning iniquity, transgressionand sin,
as afterwards proclaimed in him; and yet, notwithstanding this, he would not
clearthe guilty, or suffer the Israelites to go unpunished, if they offended him:
the Targum of Onkelos is,"orin my name is his word,'he is my ambassador
and speaks in my name.

The Battle belongs to the Lord
by Scott Grant
The details are covered
As I prepared to leave for a ministry in Brazil, I was really concernedwith
only one thing: teaching Ephesians. That's not the only thing that needed to be
done, of course. A trip like this involves a plethora of preparations. But those
preparations were made by the organizationthat had arrangedfor our trip,
the JapaneseEvangelicalMissionarySociety. JEMS wentbefore us, so to
speak, and took care of all the details. I'm thankful for this, because I'm not a
details person. Knowing that JEMS was taking care of all the details liberated
me to focus on the one thing I knew I was calledto do: teach.
As anyone familiar with the New Testamentknows, we are in a spiritual war.
The details of that war can be overwhelming. They would be, in fact, if not for
the factthat God has gone before us and fights for us. Like JEMS, he takes
care of all the details. This frees us up to do the one thing we know we're
calledto do: worship the Lord. In spiritual warfare, God fights for us while
we worship.
Exodus 23:20-33 contains echoesofthe Lord's dealings with Abraham.
Abraham was told of judgment upon the Amorites (Genesis 15:16, Exodus
23:23). The Israelites would serve a foreign nation, but they were not to serve
the gods of the nation (Genesis 15:13-14, Exodus 23:24). God would bless
them and they would not be barren (Genesis 15:2-3, Exodus 23:25-26). Their
number would be great(Genesis 15:5, Exodus 23:26). They would live in the
land (Genesis 15:18-21,Exodus 23:31). God made a covenantwith Abraham
to give him and his descendants the land, and the people were to make no
covenantwith those who lived there (Genesis 15:18, Exodus 23:32-33). Justas
the Lord promised to be faithful to Abraham, and was faithful to Abraham,

he promises to be faithful to Israel, and will be faithful to Israel. In their
upcoming battles, then, it will be important for them to remember God's
historic faithfulness. Likewise in our spiritual battles, it is important for us to
remember God's historic faithfulness, as recordedin the scriptures, as
demonstrated in history and as proved in our own lives. The recordis there.
God is faithful.
The structure of Exodus 23:20-33 is built around what God will do and what
the people will do. Therefore, we will considerthe text thematically:
A 23:20-23WhatGodwill do
B 23:24-26Whatthe people will do
A' 23:27-31WhatGodwill do
B' 23:32-33Whatthe people will do
What is it that God does? He fights on our behalf.
God fights (23:20-33, 27-31)
God promises the people that he will send an angelbefore them. This is likely
the same angelthat is connectedwith the cloud that guided and protected
Israel, inasmuch as similar terminology is used (Exodus 14:19). At any rate,
the important thing to note is that the Lord has tremendous resources.Angels
elsewhere in scripture are called"hosts," ortroops. God is "the Lord of
hosts," who commands armies of angels. In light of the battles that lie before
them, this is important for the Israelites to know.
The angelis going to bring them to the place that the Lord has prepared, a
reference to Canaan. The people are in the wilderness now but are on their
way to Canaan, the land promised to Abraham and his descendants.
The people are warned about being "rebellious" towardthe angel. The angel
is God's representative;this is the meaning of the Lord's name being in the
angel. So any rebellion againstthe angelis a rebellion againstthe Lord.
Obviously, a serious rebellion is in view here, because it will not be pardoned.

Nothing less than a rejectionof a relationship with the Lord is in view. The
Lord is telling them, "Do not break off relationship with me."
Instead, they should "be on guard," which is further defined as obedience to
his voice. The base meaning of the word translated "obey" is "listen." Instead
of rebelling againstthe angel, they should listen to him, and by extension, the
Lord. The wayto guard againstrejecting the Lord is to listen to him. What
does the Lord have to say? He has already said it, and he is about to say it
again:"Don't worship other gods; do worship me." If they worship the Lord
and him alone, he promises to be an enemy to their enemies, and he promises
complete victory.
The Lord prepared the land of Canaanfor the Israelites. Whathas he
prepared for us? He has prepared Christ for us. Just as the Lord placedthe
Israelites in the land, he has placedus in Christ (Galatians 3:27). Restis not in
the land, as it was for the Israelites, but in Christ (Matthew 11:28).
Inheritance is not in the land, as it was for the Israelites, but in Christ
(Ephesians 1:11). Those ofus who believe in Christ are in him presently. But
just as the Israelites enteredthe land and had battles to fight, so do we.
Who are our enemies? Notthe Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the
Canaanites, the Hivites or the Jebusites. The New Testamentadvocates
engaging in no battles againstany human foe. But it does speak profuselyof
spiritual foes:"Forour struggle is not againstfleshand blood but againstthe
rulers, againstthe powers, againstthe world forces of this darkness, against
the spiritual forces ofwickedness inthe heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). So
this is one of those sections in the Old Testament where we learn about
spiritual warfare -- how to do battle with Satanand his spiritual entourage.
First, we need to note two little words that appear 11 times together in these
verses:"I will." Before we considerour part in spiritual warfare, we need to
considerGod's part.
Demons operate best in the dark, in hidden places where they go undetected.
What is more hidden than the future? Notknowing the future, we may be
inclined to fear it. Demons themselves would promote that fear. Eight times
the Lord says that he, or his angel, will go "before" or "aheadof" the people.

When we move forward into the future, the Lord is there already. We
therefore need not fear the future.
Demons would not only inspire fear, they would inspire terror. Yet the Lord
says that his "terror" will go ahead of the people, and that their enemies will
be in terror. James says the demons "shudder" (James 2:19). We need not be
terrified of demons, because they are terrified of the Lord.
The Lord says he will confuse Israel's enemies. Satanis brilliant, but he
commits cosmic blunders. His wits are no match for the Lord's. His intent was
to crush the seedof Eve, both Christ and his people (Genesis 3:15), but every
effort has been thwarted. Everything he tries backfires. That's because the
Lord uses Satan's evil schemes for goodpurposes. Satanentered into Judas
(John 13:27), whose betrayal led to the crucifixion of Jesus, the worstthing
that could have ever happened to Satan, as he discoveredwhen Christ rose
from the dead. He must be the most confusedbeing in the universe. Satanis
brilliant, but God's wisdom confounds him every time. Therefore, we need not
fear Satan's schemes, forthe Lord will turn them againsthim.
The Lord will make the enemies of the people turn their backs in flight. The
New Testamentspeaks ofSatanand his demons running in defeat. After
failing in his battle with Jesus in the wilderness, the devil "left him" (Matthew
4:11). James says, "Resistthe devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). In
the end, Satanalways runs away, because he can't win. Therefore, we need
not fearthat Satan will ever be triumphant. He will flee in defeat time after
time.
The Lord promises that he will drive out the enemies of the people, but not all
at once. He will not do it in a single year but "little by little." We may feelthat
spiritual "victories" are few and far between. If God is so greatand can
vanquish Satan with the blink of an eye, we may reason, why do we still feel so
oppressed? Where is the victory in this supposedvictorious Christian life?
And for that matter, why do we have to face these spiritual enemies, anyway?
What are they doing in our way?
The answerto these questions is in Exodus 23:29-30. Note that God takes
responsibility for the pace. So if we don't feel the waris going so well, could it

be that God is responsible? Could it be that, from our perspective, he's taking
his ownsweettime about things, allowing demons to continually bombard us
with thoughts raised up againsthim and to place before us golden
opportunities to rejectthe Lord? It's not only possible, it's true.
Why is the Lord so deliberate? He's deliberate, strange as it may seem, for
our sakes. If he were to drive out Israel's enemies in a single year, they would
not be able to control the numerous "beasts ofthe field" simply because there
are not enough people to do so. At this point, they don't have enough people to
take possessionofthe land. But as they "become fruitful," meaning
reproduce, the Lord will increasinglydrive out the enemies. The Lord will
later tell the people that he is leaving enemies in the land to teachthem war
(Judges 2:20-3:4). The Lord, then, is using the enemies of Israelfor its benefit
-- to keepthe animals from ravaging the land and to teachIsraelwar.
How does the Lord use our spiritual enemies -- Satanand his demons -- for
our benefit? First, like the Israelites, we would not be able to dealwith instant
freedom from enemies. Like a newly releasedprisoner who can't deal with life
"on the outside," we'd have a difficult time with all the choices thatfreedom
allows. We need to become more spiritually fruitful. We need to learn
spiritual warfare. The Lord uses evil, then, to teachus spiritual warfare that
we might become spiritually fruitful that we might be mature. The Lord, then,
is using Satan for the sake ofour maturity. Maturity comes not in a single
year but little by little, as we believe truth by truth, as we have our "senses
trained to discern good and evil" (Hebrews 5:14). So because ofthe Lord's
graciousness,we're in a war, an inch-by-bloody-inch war, that is contributing
to our spiritual maturity.
The Lord promises the people that one day they will be fruitful enough to take
possessionofthe land, their inheritance. One day, too, we will be spiritually
mature enough to take full possessionofour spiritual inheritance. That will be
the day when Jesus Christreturns for us to set up his eternalkingdom, when
we live forever in the land that God brings down from heaven (Revelation
21:1-2). Just as the Lord fixed the boundaries of the promised land, so he will
fix the boundaries of the heavenly land, where we will be safe from any
further attack. Justas the Lord would completely drive out the enemies of

Israel, he will completely drive out our spiritual enemies (1 Corinthians 15:25,
Revelation20:10). He will "sooncrush Satanunder your feet" (Romans
16:20). These spiritual enemies, therefore, are being used by God to getus
ready for heaven, to bring us to maturity, to the point where we are prepared
to know and worship the Lord for all eternity in the particular way he has for
eachof us.
Exodus 23 illustrates the greattruth of Romans 8:37-39:"But in all these
things we overwhelmingly conquer through him who loved us. For I am
convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, norprincipalities, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other
createdthing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus."Satanand his demons are numbered among principalities,
powers and createdthings. Simply, Satanis againstus, but God is for us, and
God is bigger than Satan -- way bigger. God is so big, in fact, that he uses
Satan's resistance to the favor of those who love Jesus. Thatmeans, where
spiritual warfare is concerned, there's nothing to worry about. There is little
for us to do in this sectionof Exodus but to believe it -- believe that God fights
for us and is defeating and will defeatSatan.
In the early 1970s,British journalist MalcolmMuggeridge learnedfrom
Anatoli Kuznestov, an exile from the Soviet Union who was living in England,
that the intellectual elite were experiencing a spiritual revival in the Soviet
Union. Muggeridge recalls, "Iaskedhim how this could have happened given
the enormous anti-religious brainwashing job done on the citizenry, and the
absence ofall Christian literature, including the gospels. His reply was
memorable; the authorities, he said, forgotto suppress the works of Tolstoy
and Dostoevsky, the most perfect expositions of the Christian faith of modern
times." Satan can't win. Every move he makes backfires. Godfights for us.
That means we can focus on what we're supposedto focus on: worshiping the
Lord.
We worship (23:24-26, 32-33)
The previously consideredsections were dominated by the words "I will," in
reference to what God will do. These sections are dominated by the words

"You shall," in reference to what the people should do. They appear together
four times in five verses. In 23:21-22, the people were told to listen to what the
Lord says. These sectionscontainwhat he says. The Lord says to worship him,
not other gods.
Satan, in his war againstGodand God's people, has one goal, really. It is to
turn people away from God (2 Corinthians 11:3). In order to do this, he offers
an array of other gods that parade before us a host of promises (1 Corinthians
10:20). Not surprisingly, then, the Lord tells us not to worship other gods but
to worship him. This is the essenceofspiritual warfare, really. Our part is
simply to worship the Lord. He fights; we worship.
But how easilywe are drawn away from the worship of the Lord to the
worship of other gods. The people of Israelwere easilydrawn away, also.
That's why the Lord takes a no-prisoners approachto idolatry. The people
who worship other gods are to be overthrown, no covenant is to be made with
them, and they should not be allowedto live in the land. The pillars used in
the worship of these gods are to be crushed, and no covenants are to be made
with these gods, either. From a New Testamentperspective, we can
understand the people as demons and the gods as those offered by demons.
We are to make no provision whatsoeverfor other gods.
What are these gods? The people of the land worshiped various pagandeities
and made idols in devotion to them. Such obvious worship of other gods is still
with us today in the form of Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Mormonism,
astrology, fortune telling and scores ofother headings. Much of it is gathered
today under the banner of what is called the New Age. Perhaps more insidious
in our culture are the gods that might go by the names of Success,
Materialism, Sex, Self-fulfillment and Control.
Whateverpoison we choose, it's still poison. And that's why God is so ruthless
when it comes to idolatry. He tells us not to worship other gods because they'll
kill us. Keeping other gods around is a "snare" that would trap and kill. The
word that is translated "snare" was usedof bait in a fowler's trap. The
intention, in setting up the trap, was to kill the bird. Idolatry is poisonous.

If idolatry is so lethal, why then do we opt for it? We worship other gods for
one simple reason:We think they will bless us. We think that Successwill
finally make us feel goodabout ourselves. We think that Materialismwill add
spice to life. We think that Sex will meet our relational needs. We think that
Control will protectus from harm. When we think this way, we're thinking
exactly the way Satanwants us to think. Those gods meet none of those needs.
They hold forth the promise of blessing, but they never deliver. They don't
bless;they kill.
The antidote for worshiping other gods is worshiping the true God. Godgives
us plenty of help here by showing himself as the true source of blessing. He
tells the Israelites that he will bless them. Gods who don't bless are not worthy
of worship. The Lord blesses.He will bless their food, he'll remove sickness,
none will miscarry and they'll live full life spans. This didn't happen, of
course, becausethe people, once in the land, sought after other gods for such
blessings.
How are we to understand such blessings from a New Testamentperspective?
The Old Testamentphysicalblessings are given to us as a picture of the far
more important spiritual blessings. Paulsays in Ephesians 1:3, "Blessedbe
the Godand Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessedus with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." God promised physical
blessings to Israel, though such blessings were to lead them to understand how
he had blessedthem spiritually in their relationship with him. He promised
them blessings in the land -- their inheritance, though David and others
declaredthat the Lord himself, not the land, was their portion (Psalm142:5).
Our blessings are not physical but spiritual, they are not earthly but heavenly
and they are not in the land but in Christ. Paul then goes onto sing about
them in Ephesians 1:4-14. They include being adopted as sons, being
redeemedand being given an eternal inheritance, and they all gather around
the conceptof knowing God through Jesus Christ, and knowing him forever.
God has ultimately blessedus by giving us himself. The source ofblessing is
God, and the blessing is God. He is what we want; he is what we were made
for. What do the other gods have to offer in comparisonthe blessings in
Christ? They're peddling junk jewelry, and the Lord is offering the realthing.

The best thing we can do in this spiritual war, then, is recognize the Lord as
the true source of blessing and worship him. That means we don't have to be
paranoid about what the enemy is up to. We don't have to be looking for him
everywhere and figuring out where he is. We don't have to be looking all over
the place for demons to castout. It is incumbent on us to worship the Lord.
When I was a sophomore journalism major in college, I took a required
editing course along with the other aspiring journalists. As young journalists
are wont to be, we were an ambitious lot, with big dreams of working on big
stories and changing the world. There were thousands of battles to fight out
there, and we wanted to fight them. Our first assignmentin the editing class
was to take a grammar test. Without exception, we all failed miserably. We
were journalism majors, and we failed a grammar test! What happened? We
were distracted by everything "out there." The basics ofgrammar didn't
interest us, but that was the main thing we needed to do. Similarly, we can get
distracted from our main purpose in spiritual warfare. We can be paranoid
about demons, and that paranoia distracts us from worshiping the Lord. But
if we worship, like focusing on the basics of grammar, everything else will take
care of itself.
Believe and Worship
So what do we do with what the Lord tells us in Exodus 23? First, believe that
he fights for us, and that Satanis grosslyoutmatched. Second, worshipthe
Lord, not other gods. In spiritual warfare, the Lord fights for us while we
worship.
MATTHEW HENRY
I. It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way
through the wilderness to the land of promise: Behold, I send an angelbefore
thee (Exodus 23:20), my angel(Exodus 23:23), a createdangel, saysome, a

minister of God's providence, employed in conducting and protecting the
camp of Israel that it might appear that Godtook a particular care of them,
he appointed one of his chief servants to make it his business to attend them,
and see that they wanted for nothing. Others suppose it to be the Son of God,
the angelof the covenantfor the Israelites in the wilderness are said to tempt
Christ and we may as well suppose him God's messenger, andthe church's
Redeemer, before his incarnation, as the Lamb slain from the foundation of
the world. And we may the rather think he was pleasedto undertake the
deliverance and guidance of Israel because theywere typical of his great
undertaking. It is promised that this blessedangelshould keepthem in the
way, though it lay through a wilderness first, and afterwards through their
enemies'country thus God's spiritual Israel shall be kept through the
wilderness of this earth, and from the insults of the gates of hell. It is also
promised that he should bring them into the place which God had not only
designedbut prepared for them: and thus Christ has prepared a place for his
followers, and will preserve them to it, for he is faithful to him that appointed
him. The precept joined with this promise is that they be observant of, and
obedient to, this angelwhom God would send before them (Exodus 23:21):
"Beware ofhim, and obey his voice in every thing provoke him not in any
thing, for it is at your peril if you do, he will visit your iniquity." Note, 1.
Christ is the author of salvationto those only that obey him. The word of
command is Hear you him, Matthew 17:5. Observe what he hath commanded,
Matthew 28:20. 2. Our necessarydependence upon the divine power and
goodness shouldawe us into obedience. We do well to take heed of provoking
our protectorand benefactor, becauseif our defence depart from us, and the
streams of his goodnessbe cut off, we are undone. Therefore, "Bewareofhim,
and carry it towards him with all possible reverence and caution. Fearthe
Lord, and his goodness." 3. Christ will be faithful to those who are faithful to
him, and will espouse their cause who adhere to his: I will be an adversary to
thine adversaries, Exodus 23:22. The league shall be offensive and defensive,
like that with Abraham, I will bless him that blesseththee, and curse him that
curseth thee. Thus is God pleasedto twist his interests and friendships with
his people's.

F. B . MEYER
Exodus 23:22
An enemy unto thine enemies.
F B Meyer - Our Daily Homily
It is a most helpful thought that the angel of the covenant in whom is God’s
name, always precedes us. In our march through the wilderness we perceive
his form, which is viewless to others, and realize that his strong hand prepares
our path. Let us be very carefulnot to grieve or disobey Him, lest we lose his
mighty championship. Strict obedience to his slightestwhisper secures the
certainty of his vindication of us from the wrongs we suffer at the hands of
our foes. A little further on the same voice promises to send a hornet before
the chosenhost(Exodus 23:28). He who is an angelto the saint is a hornet to
his foes. A swarm of bonnets is the most relentless and irresistible foe that
man can face.
Have you enemies? Be sure that they hate you only for the truth’s sake,and
because darkness mustalways be in antagonismto light. “Who is he that will
harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for
righteousness’sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be
troubled.” But see to it that you cherish no spirit of hatred or retaliation
towards them. Think of the misery of their heart, which is full of jealousy,
envy, and bitterness. Pity and pray for them.
When we are right with God we shall have many new enemies. All who hate
Him will hate us. But this is rather to our credit than otherwise. Those who
have defamed the masterof the household will be hostile to his servants. But
when our cause is one with God’s, and his foes ours, our foes are his, and He
deals with them; He stands betweenus and their hate. He will not leave us in
their hands; He will give us vindication and deliverance.

F. B. Meyer
Exodus 23:20-33 THE PREPARED PLACE AND THE ANGEL-GUIDE
"BEHOLD, I send an Angel before thee, to keepthee in the way, and to bring
thee into the place which I have prepared" (Exo 23:20). The Prepared Place
for the Hebrews.
I. The Prepared Place.
In the dawn of history we see the patriarchal family leaving the Euphrates
Valley and making across the desert for the land of which God had spoken.
"The Lord said unto Abram, Getthee out of thy country, and from thy
kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee So
Abram departed as the Lord had spokenunto him And the Lord said unto
Abram, after that Lot was separatedfrom him, Lift up now thine eyes, and
look from the place where thou art, northward, and southward, and eastward,
and westward;for all the land that thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy
seedfor ever" (Gen 12:1; Gen 13:14-15). This promise which Jehovahmade
with Abraham He now confirmed to Israelfor an everlasting covenant,
saying, "Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of thine inheritance."
--And for us. "Now these things happened unto them by way of example, and
they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are
come" (1Co 10:11, R.V.). For the Hebrews the prepared place was "the good
land beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon," of which Moses
spoke so pathetically; the land flowing with milk because ofits pastures, and
with honey because ofits flowers;"the glory of all lands," because ofits
fountains and springs, its mountains and vales, and its impregnable fastnesses.
It gleamedbefore the eye of the pilgrim-host as the Highland valley to that of
the far-travelled emigrant returning to see the place of his birth. It behoved

them from afar to press on through vicissitudes and perils, undaunted and
resolute.
For the young, the prepared place seems to be success, love, and home: when
the results of strenuous toil begin to be assured, and the firm land appears.
Thus in the story of Creation, when chaos began to give place to order and
beauty, the smile of Paradise answeredto the love of the one man for the one
woman.
For the saint, it is, generallyspeaking, the place of which the Mastersaid, "In
my Father's house are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told you,
I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come again, and receive you unto myself."
In that Land We shall be Perfected. The attractiveness ofthe fair land of
Heaven arises from three anticipations.
(1) We shall be perfected. There is not one of us that is not weary of the
constantfret of the inward conflict. If only we could realise our ideals, if only
we were always what we are in our best moments, if only the will were never
uncrowned, if only the throne of consciencewere neverupturned. Our
consciousnessofGod's presence is so fitful and the springs of eternity so
intermittent. But there the vision of our Lord will be unimpaired. We shall see
Him, and be like Him. We shall be perfectly good, desiring and realising only
the best. Our whole being will be responsive to the summons of His will, and
never get jangled and out of harmony. We shall hunger no more, neither
thirst any more, because He will make us exceeding glad with His
countenance.
And shall be in Accordwith Our Surroundings.
(2) We shall be in accordwith the Nature of things. Beauty is the remaining
trace of the Creator's originalworkmanship. It is the hallmark of the Eternal.
And when we are in perfect accordwith Him, she drops her veil and makes us
beside ourselves with ecstasy. Have you never walkedto and fro, or sat
quietly, amid some scene ofnatural beauty, like a summer morning on the
hills, so intoxicated with the inner view of Nature that you hardly knew

whether you were in the body or out? And have there not been other
experiences, whenthe beauty of some natural law, or Divine handiwork, or
moral splendour has brokenfreshly upon the eye of your mind, and you have
been filled with speechlessawe andreverence? These are rare and memorable
experiences, andforeshadow the perfect unveiling of things as they are, when
the mountains shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall
clap their hands. Creationis now subjected to vanity. She groanethand
travaileth in pain, but when she is delivered from the bondage of corruption
into the liberty of the glory of the children of God, when the sons of Godare
manifested, and the new heavens and earth are born, then God will destroy
the face of the covering that is castover all the peoples, and the veil that is
spread over all nations, and will swallow up death in victory.
And shall have Fellowshipwith the Blessed.
(3) We shall have uninterrupted fellowship with the blessed. Without us they
cannot be made perfect, and are awaiting us. To sit at the feetof Paul, to talk
with John, to hear the story of Creationor Redemption from the lips of one of
the Elders, like him who questioned about the greatmultitude--"one of the
elders answered, saying unto me"--to greetthe holy dead, to resume the long-
interrupted converse, to take up the broken and snapped threads of
friendship and fellowship, without the possibility of misunderstandings,
heartbreaks orseverance--surelyallthis, in the sweetsocietyof Paradise, is
enough to quicken our footsteps. Some lonelypeople amongstus may even
thank God for their lonely hours, for they will realise the joys of heavenly
fellowship as none else can. To no feet are grass and moss so soft as to those
which have climbed long and arduously the difficult flint-paved path.
The Possibilities ofthe Present. Suchare some of the thoughts that cluster
around the place that Christ has prepared for them that love Him. But how
greata mistake it is to postpone these blessings till we have passedthrough the
Doors of the West! Many, for instance, read those inspiring words of 1
Corinthians 2:9–10 as if they referred only and solelyto the other life; they
somehow miss the explanatory clause which follows immediately. Let us read
the passage again:"Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, and which
entered not into the heart of man, whatsoeverthings God prepared for them

that love Him. But unto us God revealedthem through the Spirit" (R.V.). The
latter words prove that they have been revealedto some, as is certainly on
record; but if to some, why not to all? Why should we not receive, here and
now, the Spirit which is of God, that we may know the things which are freely
given to us by God? The one condition is that we should not be carnal, but
spiritual, and that the eyes of our heart are enlightened that we may know.
The trouble is, with most of us, that from the earliestinfancy many loving
friends have helped us to make use of the body, by which we know the world
around us; and so few have helped us to recognise anduse the Spirit, by which
we come to know the Unseen, the Infinite, and the Divine.
Why Wait Till Death? It is not needful to waitfor death ere we enter on the
enjoyment of the good things prepared for us before the foundations of the
earth were laid. Our eternity does not begin from death, but from the soul's
secondbirth. We begin to live the religious life, which means that we live, and
move, and have our being in the Presence ofGod, and in constant touch with
Him. Forgiveness, Salvation, the New Birth are all preliminary to this. They
are the vestibule to the Palace. Suddenly the soul finds that God is all and in
all, that it is a child in the Divine Love, who need go no more out, and it hears
the assurancewhichis borne in perpetually on its inner consciousness, "Son,
thou art everwith me, and all that I have is Thine."
Then those three experiences, which we have locatedin the other world, begin
to be habitual possessionof the soul. In union with Christ, it comes to itself, it
obtains the child's open vision of Nature, and it knows that it has become one
with the Holy Catholic Church, and is admitted to the communion of saints.
"All things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, orthe world, or
life, or death, or things present, or things to come:all are yours, and ye are
Christ's; and Christ is God's" (1Co 3:22-23).
The Angel-Guide. II. The Angel Convoy. This Angel was no ordinary or
createdangel. He is repeatedly identified with JehovahHimself. God's name--
His essentialnature---is in Him. The martyr Stephen, in his defence, speaking
of Moses, said, "This is He that was in the assembly in the wilderness with the
angelwhich spake to him in the Mount Sinai" (Act 7:38, R.V.). Now, we know
Who that Angel was, and what He said. "Whenthe Lord saw that he turned

aside to see, Godcalled unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, The
place whereonthou standestis holy ground" (Exo 3:4-5). Malachidescribes
Him as "the messengerofthe Covenant" (Mal3:1), whose waywas to be
prepared by John the Baptist. We can have no difficulty, therefore, in
accepting the generalconsensus ofChristian opinion, which has identified this
Angel who was to help Israelin the way, and bring them to the prepared
place, with Jesus Christ, the ever-blessedSonof God, to Whom is given the
prerogative of pardoning or refusing to pardon sill.
For the Soul's Pilgrimage. The Lord Jesus is the supreme Guide of the Soul's
Pilgrimage. To abide in Him is to be savedfrom walking in darkness, andto
have the light of life. He is the door and the way. As we yield ourselves to Him
we are led into the deep things of God. But in order to appreciate Christ's
guidance in "the Way"--the phrase by which Christianity was knownin its
earliestyears (Act 9:2, R.V.)--we must be born of the Spirit, live in the Spirit
and walk in the Spirit. The natural man lives only in the sensuous and
intellectual realms. His outlook into the spiritual world is through a window of
horn, or some similar almostopaque medium. The higher faculties, which the
Apostle calls the eyes of the heart, must be opened before we know the hope of
His calling, or the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, or the
exceeding greatnessofHis powertoward them that believe. We canonly know
what Christ wafts to unfold, as fastas and to the degree in which we increase
in spiritual perception; and our spiritual faculties can only mature, as our
physical faculties did, through use, i.e. through obedience.
Submission to His Control. If any man is willing and resolvedto do His will,
he shall know, and shall follow on to know the Lord whose advent and work
are prepared as the morning. Take heedthen to the Christ above you, and
more especiallyto the Christ within you. Hearkenunto His voice speaking in
the Horeb-Cave of your soul. Be not rebellious againstHim, for if you will
indeed hearkento His voice and do all that He speaks, then you will be
brought into union with God and the nature of things. The stars in their
courses will fight for you. The mountains shall bring peace, and the little hills
righteousness. Godwill be an enemy to your enemies, and an adversary to
your adversaries. ForChrist Himself shall go before you, and bring you in to
possessthose parts of your own nature which have hitherto been held by the

Amorite, the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the
Jebusite. Those who obey Christ find Him to be as the Angel, whilst those who
refuse Him discoverHim to be as a hornet. God wafts to bless, but if a man
refuses and resists Him, He whets His sword.
Progressand Means.
III. The RoyalProgress ofthe Soul.
The way to Canaanwas infestedby enemies, and the land itself was held by
the nations already enumerated, but so long as Israelfollowed the Angel-
Guide there was no power amongstthem all that could resistthem. The one
condition was obedience--the hearkening to His voice;and for us there is no
other. Obey the voice that speaks inScripture: obey the voice that speaks in
moral intuitions: above all, obey the voice of the GoodShepherd, in the depths
of the soul, of which Jesus said:"My sheep hearMy voice, and I know them,
and they follow Me." As we obey Him, we climb the mountain, and as we
climb we see the ever-extending panorama of truth, which is a far-reaching
continent, only trodden by those who are willing to go in and possessit by the
obedient following of Christ.
But notice the promises which will be fulfilled in our experience.
(1) Guidance. "Mine angelshall go before thee Exo 23:23). It was superhuman
guidance. He preceded them in the Pillar of Cloud and Flame, indicating the
safestand directestof the desert-tracks,as no Arab or Bedawincould; and
whereverthe cloud brooded the manna fell and the water flowed. The" inner
guidance of the Spirit of Jesus was ofpriceless value to Paul, as much in the
paths He blockedas those He opened(Act 16:6, Act 16:7, Act 16:10). And it is
promised to every soul that will lay aside its own plans, and be still.
(2) Material Blessing (Exo 23:25-26). There would be bread and water,
immunity from disease,fertility of cattle, and the fulfilment of the term of life.
It is not necessaryto spiritualise all these, though they have their spiritual
counterparts. But godliness has the promise of this life as well as of the next. It
is a greatword which is spokenof Abraham, when we are told that "Abraham
died in a goodold age, an old man, and full." Surely this is what under normal

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