If we would take possession of the promised land, we must learn to obey the Angel of Jehovah, the One sent to us from God. This Angel, this sent One, is Jesus Christ. God sent Christ to us in a way that involves many steps: incarnation, human living, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, ascension, glorification, and enthronement. By means of all these steps, God has sent Christ, His Angel, to us. Now that He is with us, we must obey Him.
In order to take possession of Christ, we need to realize that we have Him with us, even within us, as a living Person. This means that we have the living Christ Himself, not a system of doctrines. This living Person is now in us (Col. 1:27). Romans 8:9 says, “If anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him.” If we do not have Christ in us, we do not belong to Him. Instead, we belong to the Devil, the demons, and the world. Praise the Lord that Jesus Christ is in us! We have Him as the sent One, the Angel of Jehovah, who has come to us through the wonderful process of incarnation, human living, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, ascension, glorification, and enthronement. How marvelous that such a One has been sent to be with us!
Many Christians today do not realize that the living Person of Christ is with them and in them. They may care for biblical doctrines, but they may not pay attention to the living One. In an article entitled “The Waning Authority of Christ in the Churches” A. W. Tozer strongly points out that believers today neglect the living Christ and His lordship. Christians may care for their mission work, gospel preaching, or teaching of the Bible and theology, but may pay virtually no attention to the living Person of Jesus Christ.
In 23:21 and 22, God does not say, “I have given you teachings to follow.” No, here the Lord says of the Angel, “Take ye heed before him, and obey his voice...obey his voice, and do all that I speak” (lit.). Twice we are told to obey the voice of the Angel, for His voice is God’s speaking. This means that as the Angel, the sent One, Christ speaks for God. How crucial, then, that we obey His voice!
Today Christ speaks for God in a living way from within us. In John 10 there is strong emphasis on hearing the Lord’s voice. Speaking of Himself as the good shepherd, the Lord Jesus says, “The sheep hear his voice” (v. 3). In verse 16 the Lord goes on to say, “I have other sheep which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they shall hear My voice.” In verse 27 He testifies clearly, “My sheep hear My voice.” I have the assurance that we all have the voice of the Lord within us. Even the young people, those who are still teenagers, have heard the voice of the living One in them. Because they hear the Lord’s voice, many times it is not necessary for their parents or anyone else to tell them what to do. Christ, the living One, is more subjective to them than their parents. The parents of a young person cannot go to school with him, whereas the indwelling Christ not only goes with him to school, but remains in him all the time. Because we have Christ, the sent One of God, within us, we must obey Him. In particular, we should obey His voice.
Exodus 23:21 says, “Take ye heed before him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions” (lit.). Here we have four details concerning our relationship to Christ as the Angel of Jehovah. These details are related to taking heed to Him, obeying Him, not provoking Him, and not being pardoned by Him of our transgressions. It is important that we listen to the Lord’s voice and not provoke Him. According to this verse, if we provoke the Lord, He will not forgive our transgressions. If we consider this carefully, we shall see that this verse corresponds to our experience.
In a very real sense, the indwelling Christ is a pleasant, gentle person. Nevertheless, it is rather easy for Him to be provoked by us. Even if we are disobedient in a small matter, we provoke Him. As a result, we sense that He is no longer smiling upon us. We realize deep within that He is not happy with us. Because the Lord within us is not happy, we cannot be happy either. Perhaps during our time with the Lord in the Word at morning watch we are happy in the Lord. We rejoice and are full of praise. However, later in the day we may provoke Him by our disobedience. Suddenly our joy is gone. The fact that we are no longer happy indicates that we have provoked the Lord and that He is displeased. He may not be angry with us, but He definitely is not happy. The indwelling Christ is very sensitive, and we must be careful not to provoke Him.