1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it:

2 And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:

3 Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.

Some of the idolatrous had been slain, presumably the most rebellious, and others had been visited with a plague. Now the Lord assures the Israelites that He will, in fact, continue to guide them to the Promised Land. The potential destruction had been averted, and they would have a chance to still obtain their promised blessing.

But even as God reassures them, it is clear that things are not the same as they were before. Originally, God had expressed His intention to live in the midst of His people, with the tabernacle pitched in the center of the camp. Now, though, he rescinds that, choosing instead to lead them indirectly, via an angel. He explains that if He were to come in their midst now the people would be destroyed.

I believe it misses the mark to read this as God having a grudge and that He would smite the people out of any sort of petty indignation. Rather, it is a recognition of how the glory of God has both a glorifying and consuming power. We are kept at a distance for our own good, because being in God’s presence before we are ready would destroy us, like a moth in the flame. Israel had shown that they were not able to abide God’s closeness, and so they would be led from a distance until they were ready to draw nearer. So, too, we tend to follow God tentatively, following what simple principles we have the capacity to adhere to, gradually increasing in our ability to live a higher law.