Exodus 23:20–23

The goodness of God is seen again in His promise in verse 20. He would send an angel before them, both to guard them and to guide them to the place He had appointed for them, the land of promise. For the Lord does not leave us to make our own way to heaven as best we can!

Who then was this angel? It is clear, both from this scripture and chapter 14, as well as from others, that divine attributes are given to Him. It says here, for example, "My name is in Him."... That He is divine is therefore clear. So it is fair to conclude — as godly students of the Word in every age have concluded — that in this angel we have none other than the Second Person of the Trinity, God the Son, Jehovah. And in His many appearances we may see foreshadowings of His incarnation. It is He who has always been the leader of His people.

God goes before them by angelic power, by what He calls (v. 23) "my Angel." That is, it was God Himself stepping in, only in the form of angelic power... So where God, as I AM, showed Himself in a flame of fire in the bush, He is called "the Angel" in the bush. At Peniel (that is, the face of God) Jacob declares that he had seen God face to face and lived. Of the same event Hosea says "he had power over the angel and prevailed."

Also we read of the Angel of the Lord who went before them, whom Isaiah calls "the Angel of His presence." In Malachi 3:1, the expression "Messenger of the covenant" is really "Angel of the covenant." That is a clear prediction of the coming of the Lord Jesus. So in this title too we may see a reference to Him.

He was holy. His people had put themselves under law, so He could not pardon their transgressions. "My name" — the expression of all that God was in His relationship with Israel — "is in Him." So He would act in righteousness, on the basis of the law God had given as the standard of their conduct.

But the unchanging favour of God does not lessen our responsibility... "But if you carefully obey his voice [that of the angel whom He sent] and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries." Israel's prosperity was therefore conditional — it depended on their obedience. The promised possession was theirs by divine sovereignty. Their prosperity depended on their behaviour. And so it is with the Christian.

The Lord's answer still assured Moses that He would act in forbearance toward the erring people. He would lead them on by His Angel, as He had promised earlier in chapter 23:20-23. Yet His governmental judgment would still come upon them.

Who is this angel? He is called in chapter 33:15 "the face of Jehovah" (literal translation). The name of God is in Him; God revealed Himself in Him. His voice must be obeyed. He has power to pardon transgressions or not to pardon them. This angel is not a created being. He is the same one who appeared in the burning bush. He is the same one Jacob spoke of when he said, "The angel, the Redeemer." It is Jehovah Himself, the Son of God. The ancient synagogue paraphrased this person by using the expression "Memra," which means "the Word." They believed and taught that "the Word" brought Israel out of Egypt; "the Word" led them in the pillar of cloud; "the Word" confounded the Egyptian army. And they paraphrased "the angel" by "the Word."

This title may be understood by a scripture in Exodus: "Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way … my name is in Him." That proves He was a divine Person. In the Word, a name is always the expression of the truth of what the Person is.

They were to beware of Him, obey His voice, and not provoke Him. He was holy. His people had placed themselves under law, so He could not pardon their transgressions. "My name" is the expression of all that God was in His relationship with Israel. That name "is in Him," and so He would act in righteousness, on the basis of the law God had given as the standard of their conduct. On the other hand, He made obedience the condition of fully identifying Himself with their cause.

But the unchangeable favour of God does not lessen our responsibility. When the seed of Abraham grew into a nation, Jehovah spoke to that nation about His promise to Abraham. He then pressed their responsibility on them like this — "If you will indeed obey his voice [that of the angel whom He sent], and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries." Israel's prosperity was therefore conditional — it depended on their obedience. The promised possession was theirs by divine sovereignty. Their prosperity depended on their behaviour. And so it is with the Christian.

People were to receive a prophet because he spoke in the name of Jehovah who sent him (Deut. 18:18-19). But now men had to believe in the name of the Speaker Himself — the Only-begotten Son. Israel had to believe the message of the prophet, but not on his name. But now the people were called to believe on the Son, for Jehovah's "name is in Him" (Ex. 23:21).

In her path the church has to do with no mere angel or representative of God. It is a blessing to have such a pledge of God's faithfulness and power. Yet the church has to do with Him who has the fullness of divine power and divine supremacy over all rule or lesser authority — "Him who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars."

Who is this angel? Exodus 33:15 calls Him "the face of Jehovah" (a literal translation). The name of God is in Him; God revealed Himself in Him. His voice must be obeyed. He has power to pardon transgressions or not to pardon them. This angel is not a created being. He is the same one who appeared in the burning bush. He is the same one Jacob spoke of as the angel who redeemed him. It is Jehovah Himself, the Son of God.

Notice the wonderful grace with which this representative of Jehovah fits Himself to the circumstances of His people. This is the Angel of Jehovah whom the Old Testament speaks of so often — Jehovah Himself under this mysterious character. God says of Him, "My name is in him" (Ex. 23:21). As others have observed, He stands with Israel as their Deliverer at the Red Sea, as the Companion of their travels in the desert, and as Lord of Hosts in Canaan. Later, once the kingdom stands, He dwells in peace among them.

Israel receives a warning: provoking the angel would be no small thing. They must have a spirit of submission and obedience, for they could not expect any pardon for their transgressions. This is of course the language of law, for they had promised to keep the law. If they did obey, then the Lord would be an enemy to their enemies and an adversary to their adversaries. Satan will not gain any advantage over us while we obey the Word of the Lord.

They were to beware of Him, obey His voice, and not provoke Him. He was holy, and since His people had placed themselves under law, He could not pardon their transgressions. "My name" — the expression of all that God was in His relationship with Israel — "is in Him." So He would act in righteousness, on the basis of the law God had given as the standard of their conduct. On the other hand, obedience was the condition of His complete identification with their cause. Their enemies would in that case be His enemies, and He would cut them off.

This was the angel of that conditional covenant which was now established. On the one hand He would make good all God's promises to the people. On the other, He would punish their sins against God. So we later see Him appearing at Bochim, to punish them there for breaking this covenant (Judges 2:1).

But the unchanging favour of God does not cut short our responsibility. When the seed of Abraham rose into a nation, Jehovah addressed that nation about His promise to Abraham, and He then pressed on His people their responsibility. The promised possession was theirs by divine sovereignty; their prosperity was conditional on their behaviour; and so it is with the Christian.

There is no clashing between the sovereignty of God in blessing His people and their responsibility to obey His word. By grace God has made every spiritual blessing secure in Christ for all His people. Even so, every man still reaps what he sows.

An angel was to go before them for guidance and safe conduct. He is often referred to in this connection (Ex. 14:19; Ex. 33:2; Num. 20:16, etc.). The prophet Isaiah calls Him the angel of His (Jehovah's) presence. Who then was this angel? This scripture, chapter 14, and others show that He has divine attributes. Here, for example, God says, "My name is in Him." In Exodus 14, the text first calls Him an angel, then identifies Him with Jehovah. So it is clear that He is divine. Godly students of the Word in every age have drawn the fair conclusion: in this angel we have no other than the Second Person of the Trinity, God the Son, Jehovah.

The same great Person must be meant in Exodus 23:20: "Behold, I send an angel before you." No one but a Divine Person can "pardon transgressions," or have God's name in Him.

The goodness of God is again seen in His promise in verse 20. He would send an angel before them, both to guard them and to guide them to the place He had ordained for them, the land of promise. For the Lord does not leave us to make our own way to heaven as best we can!

The names here, as everywhere, are surely significant. They stand for the powers of evil that get there first. They would stop us enjoying our God-given inheritance in Christ. The Hittite, "child of terror" — how spiritual dread makes cowards of us all! The Amorite, "the talker," rather than the doer of the Word. The Canaanite, "the trafficker," companion to the talker, who turns the very truth of God into merchandise. The Perizzite, "the countryman," perhaps suggests great power, nobility, false pride. The Hivite, "the villager," suggests the opposite, a false humility. The Jebusite, "the treader down," never rests until it has trampled every divine thing underfoot. All these are to be cast out. Any alliance with them is to be utterly refused.

Satan will not gain any advantage over us while we obey the Word of the Lord. The six nations mentioned in verse 23 stand for different forms of spiritual evil. They seek to draw the saints of God away from a path of true obedience to the Lord. If obedient, Israel could expect God's angel to cut off their enemies.

They were to beware of Him, obey His voice, and not provoke Him. He was holy, and since His people had placed themselves under law, He could not pardon their transgressions. "My name" — the expression of all that God was in His relationship with Israel — "is in Him." So He would act in righteousness, on the basis of the law God had given as the standard of their conduct. On the other hand, obedience was the condition of His full identification with their cause. Their enemies would in that case be His enemies, and He would cut them off.

The promised possession was theirs by divine sovereignty. Their prosperity depended on their behaviour. And so it is with the Christian.

There must be no covenant with the people of the land or their gods; nor should they let them live in the land. If they did, those nations would surely make them sin against the Lord. There can be no alliance between the people of God and His enemies. "The friendship of the world is enmity with God."