The accompanying angel, identified with the Lord himself, will bring the Israelites into the land inhabited by idolatrous people groups. The Israelites are to demolish all the idols and sacred stones lest they engage in practices that would threaten their fragile allegiance to the Lord God (23:24). The brief statement of blessings for covenant obedience (23:25–26) is a microcosm of those articulated in Leviticus 26:1–13 and Deuteronomy 28:1–14. The Hebrew word tsirah (“hornet”) is used only two o…