Exodus 23:21

21 "Be on your guard before * him and obey his voice; 1do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since 2My name is in him

Exodus 23:21 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 23:21

Beware of him
Of his face or countenance; observe his looks towards you in a providential way, whether frowning or smiling; observe his directions and instructions, laws and commands:

and obey his voice;
hearken to what he says, and cheerfully, readily, and punctually do as he orders:

provoke him not;
by unbelief, by murmurings and complaints, by unbecoming words and actions, by transgressing his commands, and acting contrary to his will;

for he will not pardon your transgressions:
or suffer them to pass unchastised and uncorrected, but will, as he did, take vengeance on their inventions, and on them because of them, though he forgave their iniquities; for that he was such an Angel as could forgive sin, which none but God can do, is evident; because it would be absurd to say he will not pardon, if he could not pardon their transgressions, see ( Matthew 9:6 ) ,

for my name is in him;
the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father; the nature and perfections of God are in the Word and Son of God, and so his name Jehovah, which is peculiar to him; Christ is Jehovah our righteousness: or "though my name is in him" F13; as Abendana and others, his name the Lord God, gracious and merciful, pardoning iniquity, transgression and sin, as afterwards proclaimed in him; and yet, notwithstanding this, he would not clear the guilty, or suffer the Israelites to go unpunished, if they offended him: the Targum of Onkelos is,

``or in my name is his word,''

he is my ambassador and speaks in my name.


FOOTNOTES:

F13 (ymv yk) "quamvis nomen menum", Drusius.

Exodus 23:21 In-Context

19 "You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. " You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother
20 "Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
21 "Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in him
22 "But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
23 "For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Deuteronomy 9:7; Psalms 78:40, 56
  • 2. Exodus 3:14; Exodus 6:3; Exodus 34:5-7
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