In Exodus 23:20 God promised His people that He would send them an angel to guard them along the way and to bring them into the Promised land. They were told to pay attention to the guidance of the angel and were given the reason why they should do so. They were even told not to rebel against the angel for there would be dire consequences if they did. The first question that confronts us is: “Who is this angel?” There have been many suggestions regarding who this angel was. Some proposed that it’s the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire that led them by night. While the cloud could direct and guide, it, unlike a person, could not speak. So, we can quite easily dismiss the idea that God was referring to the cloud.
One other suggestion is that this angel is a human being. The reason they gave for this conclusion is the word ‘messenger’, used to describe an angel. There were some who thought that God was referring to Moses. But this is quickly debunked because we know that Moses never entered the promised land. So God is certainly not talking about Moses. To support that the angel is a human being, some went even further to suggest that Joshua, who took the people into the promised land, was being referred to. Besides, the name Joshua means, Jehovah saves. Is not this exactly what we are told in verse 21 when God said, “My name is in him”?
Of course, we can also see it as God referring to just an angel. But from the context, we know that He was talking about more than just an angel because he was so closely associated with God. This “unique angel” had the power to forgive sin and punish rebelliousness. And He also bore God’s name. Since this “angel” is not God yet share the same divine authority and attributes, lead us to conclude that He is none other than the pre-incarnate appearance of Christ Jesus, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Accept it or not, this certainly points us to Christ. The promises Christ Himself had made also helped us to come to this conclusion.
The Lord Jesus Himself promises to be with us on our journey. Before His ascension, He said He would personally be with His believers. His words were, “Lo, I am with you to the very end of the age.” Today, His presence can be felt through the attendance of the Holy Spirit in our life until we reach our promised land. Now, like the angel in Exodus 23:20, Jesus makes God known to us. He is God’s final message to us and everything that is true of God is also true of the Lord Jesus. He is our saviour, friend, guide, teacher and Lord. He is with us to see us through our spiritual journey. Our victory in the journey is ensured because Jesus walks and talks with us, and shows us the way to God. What a great privilege!
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