Father God Promises To Protect If We Will Listen To Him.
Author: Pat Aman
Today a friend from church posted one verse of Exodus 23 on her FB page and it caught my spirit.
I think what really caught my eye was the part of the Bible verse that said, “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.” Exodus 23:20
I went back in my old sermons Library file that I preached through the years and did some research.
I got my Matthew Henry Commentary down, and four different study Bibles. The verse really sent a strong message to the Israelites and it sends the same message to the world today.
Exodus 23: 20 -33
“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces. Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span. “I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land. “I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out before you. Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.”
Let’s look at what some of commentary’s have to say about who this Angel might have been.
Some say this angel was human angel or messenger, and the likely person is Joshua who led God’s people into the Promised Land. Augustine saw that Joshua is another name for Jesus. So when it says in Exodus 23:21, “My Name is in him,” it is prophetic of Jesus who leads us into the inheritance of the heavenly Promised Land.
Another said this angel was, well, an angel, a supernatural being. The psalmist said, “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” Psalm 91:11. Hebrews 1:14, “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” Those are wonderful promises for us.
There’s also a third possibility. This angel is so closely associated with Father God that we get the feeling he may be more than an angel. God’s Name, which refers to the revelation and attributes of God, is in this angel.
Many Christians have thought the angel is the pre-incarnate Son, the second person of the Trinity.
We may asked then who do you think this angel is?
All I can say is from my studies whoever this Angel really was he points us to Christ.
If we look at the following verses, it shows in what ways is the Angel in Exodus 23:21-22 is like Jesus?
Matthew 28:20, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
John 14:2, My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
Hebrews 1:3, The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Luke 9:35, A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”
Colossians 1:14, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of
If I were making a lesson plan up like I did when I taught school, I would asked the students what lessons can we learn from this passage?
The Answer would be plain and simple, “The battle is the LORD’s”
Exodus 23:22 says, “If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and I will oppose those who oppose you.”
Obedience brings victory. We are in a spiritual battle. It’s not a flesh and blood battle; it’s a spiritual battle, “against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm” Ephesians 6:12, For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
We have two powerful weapons for this warfare, the Word of God and Prayer.
There are many times when we feel the pressure of this spiritual battle, and sometimes we get disheartened.
We would love to see more happening. But less can be more.
It was true for Jesus. He ministered to multitudes; he healed them; cast out demons; all exciting instant stuff. But it wasn’t the multitudes who turned the world upside down. It was the twelve disciples. It was the twelve men Jesus spent his time with day in and day out, in the nitty-gritty hard work of Christian discipleship. And progress was slow; it was little by little; two steps forward and two steps backwards; then maybe one step forward. It was painfully slow progress; but it was a long term strategy, and he knew it would reap a harvest.
I personally know at times we get disheartened by slow spiritual progress?
How do these verses encourage you to keep going?
One important thing I can say is there’s no room for compromise!
Exodus 23:32-33, Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.”
There are many ways we can compromise in our personal lives. But there’s no room for compromise with sin.
What is the statement we have heard many times written by
R. Zaccharias -.
“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”
We can compromise in our witness, and lose everything are we can live in Obedience which will brings victory.
Study Notes:
Pat Aman Sermons
Matthew Henry Commentary
Dake’s Study Bible
Strong’s Concordance
Spirit Filled Study Bible NKJV
Study Bibles Studies
Devotion Written By: Pastor Pat Aman Book © 1996/2022 “Coffee With Pat Daily Devotionals” “Coffee With A Little Spice Of Life” and Westbow Press a division of
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