God’s angels will keep the believer in the way,
though it lay through the enemy’s country and will bring him into the place God has prepared.
A precept of obedience goes with every promise.
Exodus 1
1 Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
2 ¶ Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:
3 ¶ Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.
4 ¶ If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.
6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.
7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
8 ¶ And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
9 ¶ Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:
11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.
12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
14 ¶ Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.
18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.
19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.
20 ¶ Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.
24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.
25 And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
26 ¶ There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.
27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.
28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.
32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.
Exodus 1 – J. Vernon McGee
Exodus 23:1-17 – Laws of Conduct and Worship
We may apply these various precepts to our own hearts. Many of them breathe the very spirit of Christ. We must watch our speech, so that no man’s character may suffer by our gossip or slander. We must dare to stand for the truth, though we stand absolutely alone. With all kindness and good will we must save our neighbor from damage, even though he has vented on us his spleen. It is never for us to take advantage of him; God will deal with him on our behalf, and in His own time and way. Let us not fret ourselves to do evil. David’s example in refusing to injure Saul when his bitter enemy was within his reach is an inspiring example for us to follow. We must hold an even balance for just and honorable dealing with all men; and cultivate the Sabbath-keeping of the heart. In every life, also, there should be perpetual memory of Calvary, the Resurrection and Pentecost—the three feasts of the soul! —Through the Bible Day by Day
Exodus 23:18-33 – Promise of Entrance into Canaan
This Angel must have been the Lord himself, for Stephen said expressly that the Angel was with Moses at the burning bush, where Jehovah revealed Himself, and the very ground was holy. Besides, we are told here that God’s Name—i.e., His nature—was in Him. The Son of God, therefore, must have been the leader of that pilgrim-host, preceding the march, and preparing for their needs.
Notice that God would also send the hornet before His people, Exodus 23:28. The Presence, which is an Angel for God’s children, becomes a hornet to the rebellious and ungodly. To one it is a savor of life, and to the other of death. The sun that bleaches linen white, tans the hands that expose it; the cloud which is light to Israel is thick darkness to Egypt. Grieve not the Holy One, who will overcome your enemies and satisfy your soul with goodness, if you will obey His voice. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Exodus 23:22 – An enemy unto thine enemies.
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 careful not to grieve or disobey Him, lest we lose his mighty championship. Strict obedience to his slightest whisper 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 chosen host (Exodus 23:28). He who is an angel to the saint is a hornet to his foes. A swarm of hornets 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 must always be in antagonism to 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” (1 Peter 3:13-14). 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 master of 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 between us and their hate. He will not leave us in their hands; He will give us vindication and deliverance. —Our Daily Homily