Yahweh’s Guidance
Yahweh's Guidance
Image by Daniel Mena from Pixabay
Following the Messenger
“Look, I’m sending a messenger ahead of you to guard you on the way and to lead you into the place I’ve prepared. Stay on guard because of him! Obey him and don’t anger him. He won’t forgive your rebellion because my name is within him. But if you carefully obey him and do everything I say, I’ll be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.”
Image by Daniel Mena from Pixabay
The final section of the covenant stipulations moves from Israel’s obligations to Yahweh’s. It gives new details about how he would fulfill his promise to give them the land of Canaan if they obeyed.1 He would send a messenger to travel ahead of the Israelites, leading them into Canaan and guarding them on their journey.
Though the Hebrew word for “messenger” often refers to angels, this messenger had Yahweh’s name “within him.” Yahweh’s name represents his character and identity, something no angel shares. But the messenger did share it, qualifying him to forgive or withhold forgiveness.2 The messenger who would lead Israel out of the wilderness was the same one who encountered Hagar in the wilderness and sent her home.3
Because the messenger shared Yahweh’s essential nature, he had to be strictly obeyed. All the times Israel had disobeyed Moses, they’d been forgiven. But if they rebelled against the messenger as he led them into Canaan, he wouldn’t forgive them. On the other hand, if they obeyed the messenger, Yahweh promised to fight against their enemies on their behalf.
The Gods of Canaan
“When my messenger goes ahead of you to lead you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites and I wipe them out, don’t bow down to their gods or serve them. Don’t do what they do. Instead, tear down their sacred pillars and break them to pieces! Serve Yahweh, your God, so he’ll bless your food and water.”
Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
Despite Yahweh’s frequent warnings against serving other gods, he knew the Israelites would be tempted to serve the gods of the Canaanites. In the ancient Near East, most people believed that different gods ruled over set territories. So those who conquered a new land needed to learn how to appease the local gods, though they still worshiped their own gods. But Yahweh will not share his people with anyone.
Instead of imitating the ways the Canaanites worshiped, the Israelites had to destroy all remnants of it. Their blessing would come not from appeasing the local gods but from breaking their sacred pillars to pieces. They didn’t need to fear bringing a curse on the land and its bounty because Yahweh would bless their food and water. But they had to serve only him.
- See The Promised Land.
- See Mark 2:5–12.
- See Yahweh’s Messenger.