Exodus 23:20-23

Exo. 23:20-23. God says of this angel, "My name is in Him." God had a little before, from this same Mount Sinai, declared to Moses with very great solemnity that He might thereby make Him known to the children of Israel (who were become very ignorant of Him) what His name was - viz., "I Am that I Am," and "Jehovah," (Exodus 3:13; Exodus 3:14, and again chap. Exodus 6:2; Exodus 6:3); and again, very lately after the children [of Israel] were come to that Mount Sinai where God revealed Himself to Moses and told him His name, to declare it to the children, the people heard God speak from thence Himself in a most solemn and awful manner, with a great voice declaring the same name, chap. Exodus 20:2 - "I am Jehovah," etc., which were the first words of God that they heard from Mount Sinai when He spoke to them from thence, when "the mountain burnt with fire," etc. This was at most but a few days before God said this that He does concerning His angel, and perhaps it was the same day. So that when He says, "My name is in Him," they would naturally understand no other than that name that He had lately revealed Himself by, which was in an eminent manner His name, even "I Am that I am," or "Jehovah," which being in an eminent manner God's name, above all other names expressing His nature; and it having been a common thing in those days from the beginning of the world to give names to express the nature of things, they naturally must understand it that God's nature was in Him, and that as His name Jehovah belonged to Him, they must naturally understand it that the thing expressed by that name was in Him. And that the children of Israel understood it so, is also confirmed by this - that here God commits the care of the congregation to this His angel, that He might go before them as their Captain, and lead them and bring them into the land of Canaan, and fight for them and possess them of the land; and therefore when the Angel appeared to Joshua with a sword drawn in His hand (Joshua 5:13), and told them that as the Captain of the Lord's host He was come, Joshua seems to understand Him to be this Angel, and therefore immediately falls on his face, and the angel teaches Joshua to pay Him divine respect by taking off his shoes because the ground was holy, as Moses was commanded when Jehovah appeared to him at the Bush, and he obeyed; and afterwards in the process of the story this angel is called Jehovah, as in the next chapter, verse Joshua 6:2, by the penman of the history. What is said of the Messiah, Micah 5:5, is parallel with this - "And He shall stand," etc.; Proverbs 21:24 - "Proud and haughty," etc. - i.e., that is His true nature and character. The saying, "My name is in Him," evidently implies as much as that my Divine essence and character is in Him. By God's name is plainly meant His internal nature and essence, in Proverbs 30:4. Why should it be there represented that none can tell what God's name is when God had so plainly and expressly declared it to Moses, and told him that His name was Jehovah and I Am that I Am? Therefore the meaning might be that none could comprehend that infinitely perfect nature signified by that name. "None by searching can find out God;" His nature "is high as heaven; what can we do? deeper than hell; what can we know," (Job 11:8)