Exodus 23:21

21 Pay attention to him and listen to his voice; do not defy him, for he will not forgive rebellion, since My 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.

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FOOTNOTES:

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

Exodus 23:21 In-Context

19 Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

20 Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.

21 Pay attention to him and listen to his voice; do not defy him, for he will not forgive rebellion, since My Name is in him.

22 But if you will listen carefully to his voice and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.

23 For My angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will annihilate them.