The Hornets Of God

Dale Pollard

God not only told the Israelites that He would give them the land of Canaan, He also told them how He would do so. Moses records the very words of God as He explains what the initial steps of the conquest was going to look like and it’s as fascinating as it is strange. 

Angelic (Conditional) Assistance 

“Behold I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay close attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgressions, for my name is in him” (Ex. 23:20-21). 

We’re told that the angel would “go before them” and bring them to pagan armies and peoples such as the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and of course, the Canaanites— to name a few. (V.23). 

The Terror & The Hornet 

After this the reader is thrown a curve ball as two additional names are introduced. 

“I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come…” (v.27). 

“…I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, Cannanites, and the Hittites before you” (v.28). 

The angel, terror, and hornet are each different Hebrew words but share a commonality— they go before the Israelites. 

It sounds like these terms could describe three separate beings or forerunners that were meant to accomplish separate tasks. It’s an interesting idea so that’s reason enough to dive in and investigate. Hopefully by the time we come up for air it’ll make more sense. 

Hornets In The Bible 

First, let’s deal with “the hornets.” Only three other times in the Old Testament do we find passages with hornets. Exodus 23:28 is the first time it’s used and here Moses is quoting what God told him that He would do. 

The next occurrence is in Deuteronomy 7:20 where Moses reminds the Israelites just before they storm the Promise Land about those hornets God said he would send ahead of them. 

Finally, the last mention is the most elucidating. In Joshua 24:12 there’s a subtle hint found in most English translations. It says, “And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you…”. All three passages about hornets refer to the conquest event. More importantly, Joshua seems to recall a single hornet rather than multiple hornets. 

Make It Make Sense 

Joshua is the only passage in most translations that describes a singular hornet but the other two passages actually use the same Hebrew word. Meaning, the translators chose to make the hornets plural in two passages but chose to make it singular in Joshua’s account. 

Well, now it’s time to revisit Exodus. Here the angel is mentioned in the singular and then what the angel does to the Lord’s enemies. The angel will bring the Lord’s “terror” on the pagan people which will “throw them into confusion.” The terrified and confused people will “turn their backs” and run from the Israelites. Like a hornet, the angel will literally put the fear of God in them and chase them. Anybody who’s been chased by a hornet will know that fear and madness all too well. 

The guardian angel of the Israelites is mentioned several more times throughout the Old Testament but this particular event showcases the role that their angel played in the conquest of Canaan. It’s probably not talking about literal hornets or even just one nasty hornet that buzzed into battle. You could even argue that Exodus 33:2 further attests to this. It states, “I will send an angel before you and I will drive out the Cannanites, the Amorites, the Hittites…” God explains how He’s going to assist them and then what His assistant is going to do. God’s  angel is going to run off the bad guys like an angry hornet. 

Could God accomplish His will with just one little hornet? I think every believer knows the answer to that— absolutely.