The Angel of the Lord

The Angel of the Lord
Words of Faith 1-23-2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Exodus 23
[20] "See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. [21] Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. [22] If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. [23] My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. [24] Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces. [25] Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, [26] and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.

Wow. What an incredible promise and commitment from the Lord. The Lord did not bring the Israelites out of bondage to then abandon them in the desert! They were traveling with an escort! The angel of the Lord was going ahead to guard them and bring them into the place prepared by the Lord. The people were to pay attention to the angel and what he said. They were not to rebel against the angel. The angel of the Lord would win the battles. The Israelites were to demolish the sacred stones of pagan worship. With this, a great blessing would be upon their food and water giving them health and full life.
Interestingly, the Israelites were not to fight the enemies of God. The angel of the Lord would win the battles. What was the one job for the people? Worship the Lord. Don't bow down to false gods or follow their practices. Demolish the sacred stones and places of pagan worship. It does not sound very politically correct, but the point is clear. Our job is not to fight the battle. Our job is to worship the Lord who fights the battle. Our job is to follow Him and break from anything that would tempt us away from Him.
The truth here is that there is great blessing in walking with the Lord and allowing Him to fight and win the battles. "Worship the Lord your God, and His blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span." Was this promise unique to the Israelites? Not entirely. As we walk with the Lord in the desert between salvation and heaven, we can trust He is there with us. His favor is upon us. There is much sickness that we are spared. There is great healing in His hand. He will make us fruitful and give us life that is full.
So what is on your agenda for today? Are you gearing up for battle? Let the Lord fight that battle. Worship Him and focus upon Him. Demolish the stronghold of temptation. Keep Him high before you.

Father God, the day is Yours. God before me with the strength of Your mighty angels. Win the battles in the power of Your mighty name. I will worship You. I will magnify You. I will point to You. I am surrendered to You. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2023 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.