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EXODUS: FUNCTIONING WELL IN A HOPELESS GROUP ASSIGNMENT
Part II: God's Sustainment Of Israel In The Wilderness Amid Humanly Helpless Trials
K. God's Elaboration And Application Of The Ten Commandments
12. Epilogue To God's Elaborations: Motivating Words On The Future Based On Avoiding Idolatry
(Exodus 23:20-33)
  1. Introduction
    1. God seeks to motivate us to see Him as our only God both in causing us to fear punishment for replacing Him with idols as well as by comforting and directing us on future blessings for resisting idols, 1 Jn. 5:21.
    2. This twofold effort to motivate us on this matter is clearly evident in God's message in Exodus 23:20-33:
  2. Epilogue To God's Elaborations: Motivating Words On The Future Based Avoiding Idolatry.
    1. After giving Moses the Ten Commandments, God enlarged and applied them in Israel's life so that there would be no possible misunderstanding as to what He meant by them, and this elaboration is known as the "Book of the Covenant" in Exodus 20:22-24:11, Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, p. 140.
    2. The twelfth part of that "Book of the Covenant", Exodus 23:20-33 is an epilogue with a mix of warnings and encouragements about the future as motivation for Israel to heed God above all other false gods, Ibid.:
      1. In Exodus 23:20-23, God warned and then encouraged His people to heed the Angel of the Lord Whom we hold to be the Preincarnate Jesus Christ, cf. Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn. to Gen. 16:10:
        1. God told Israel He was sending His Angel before the nation to preserve it en route to Canaan and to protect Israel in coming battles with the Canaanites until Israel possessed the land, Exodus 23:20.
        2. However, Israel was to revere and not to provoke God by disobeying His Law, for He as God bore God's Name, and He would not forgive her willful disobedience, Exodus 23:21.
        3. Conversely, obedience to God would be rewarded by this Angel's becoming an Enemy to Israel's Gentile foes to destroy them that the people of Israel might possess the land, Exodus 23:22-23.
        4. [We know from Judges 2:1-3 that the Angel of the Lord was particularly concerned that Israel not depart from God to serve the false gods of Canaan! Thus, the matter He most wanted Israel to obey was that of worshiping God versus all the false gods of the Canaanites!
      2. In Exodus 23:24-26, God promised to bless Israel with livelihood provisions, health and long life for not worshiping the Gentile gods, but for destroying them upon entering Canaan.
      3. Exodus 23:27-30 describes the process of divine blessing in the transfer of the land's possession to Israel, a description that would give encouraging guidance if Israel would heed God as her only Lord:
        1. For allegiance to God, Israel would see Him cause her enemies to be intimidated by her, Ex. 23:27.
        2. For allegiance to God, Israel would see Him even cause hornets to drive out her Canaanite foes, making her task of fighting them in battle much easier and encouraging, Exodus 23:28!
        3. For obeying the Lord, Israel would see God drive out the land's inhabitants by their fear of Israel and the gradual influence of hornets so that the wild animals would not control the land, but that Israel could more safely and easily possess it, Exodus 23:29-30!
      4. Exodus 23:31 reveals the boundaries of the land that would be given to Israel for her obedience to God, insight to settle and provide direction for her: God promised that Israel's obedience would be met with taking all the land from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, from the desert of Judaea in the south to the Euphrates River up north, and that God would drive out the inhabitants of this area for Israel's good!
      5. Finally, in Exodus 23:32-33, and in the face of all these stated blessings, God reminded Israel not to fellowship with the pagan inhabitants of Canaan, not to make any covenant with them nor with their gods nor to allow these pagans to dwell with Israel in the land lest they lead Israel into idolatry!
Lesson: God negatively warned and positively encouraged Israel to worship Him ALONE versus slipping into idolatry by communing with idolatrous Canaanites and their gods, noting that failure in the matter led to great loss where obedience brought great blessing!

Application: (1) If God BOTH WARNS AND ENCOURAGES us to HEED Him, He is MOTIVATING us to HEED Him, so we BEST HEED Him! (2) As God's motivation here dealt with Israel's need to avoid idolatry and fellowship with those that left her vulnerable to the temptation for idolatry, may we guard our allegiance to God over any false idol even as it applies to the friends that we keep!