“I am going to send an angel before you to protect you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. Be attentive to him and listen to him. Do not defy him, because he will not forgive your acts of rebellion, for my name is in him. But if you will carefully obey him and do everything I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
The idea of angels is a pretty rich and varied one in human religious history. Nearly every culture has stories of angels in some form or fashion. Angels themselves are portrayed in all sorts of ways. And indeed, the Scriptures present angels in several different forms. Each kind seems to have a different role in the administration of God’s kingdom. Here, in the concluding statement on the first block of law, we find God’s telling the people about an angel that will serve as His representative as they go from Sinai to the Promised land. Let’s talk about a couple of ideas regarding the identity of this angel and the authority God has given to him.
Read the rest…