Was it an angel, or was it a preacher? The same word is used in the Hebrew for both an angel (heavenly spiritual being) and an envoy or human messenger (preacher). It does make some difference. If God sent a heavenly being to deliver His message, it indicates that there was no human messenger to do it for Him. I personally do not believe that was the case. Israel was not without spiritual leadership. They did not disobey God because they had no godly preachers, they disobeyed God because they chose to ignore God’s messengers. When they chose to disobey Him, God did not remain silent but He chose to have His preachers speak the truth.

Truth: Israel was in the land of Canaan only because God led them out of Egypt. God made a covenant with them. God is honorable; God never breaks His covenants.

Truth: all covenants involve more than one party. As the messenger reminded the people, Israel was the second party to the covenants. Just as God had obligations, they had their obligations also. They failed to keep their side of the bargain. They compromised with the people in the land of Canaan and did not drive them out of the land. They disobeyed God, and yet as the messenger makes clear, they still had the audacity to expect God to keep His side of the bargain. The messenger makes clear to them that God is not going to drive the people out of the land of Canaan. God is not going to do for them what they should have done for themselves with His help.

Truth: Because they did not, and God would not, drive the people out, they were now going to have to live with the consequences of their sins. The preacher tells them that the people who remained along with their foreign gods would become traps and snares to the Israelites.

God’s angels/messengers still speak truth, and God still requires his disobedient children to repent.