Moses Refuses the Angel and God Sends the Hornet Against the Amorites

(Exodus 23:21:) "FOR MY NAME IS WITHIN HIM." The name of the Holy One, blessed be He, is joined together with each and every angel. Moses said to Him: I do not ask that an angel go with us; if You Yourself do not go with us, we will not stir from our place. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: By your life, I will not even send an angel before you; rather, I will send the hornet before you, as it is said (Exodus 23:28): "AND I WILL SEND THE HORNET" etc. How did the Amorites die? Rabbi Levi said: He paired two hornets with each and every one, and each and every one would pour out its venom into his eyes, and he would die immediately. Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said: How did they die? A trembling would enter into them, and they would be seized with flux and would die before Israel. Rabbi Berekhyah said: The Holy One, blessed be He, would bind them before Israel, and they would come and kill them, as it is said (Deuteronomy 3:3): "AND THE LORD OUR GOD GAVE into our hand" etc.—like a man who binds his son's enemy and places him before his son. If you should say the Amorites were small, the Holy One, blessed be He, praises them: (Amos 2:9) "AND I DESTROYED THE AMORITE BEFORE THEM, WHOSE HEIGHT WAS LIKE THE HEIGHT OF THE CEDARS." And what did I do to them? (ibid.) "AND I DESTROYED HIS FRUIT ABOVE"—this is their prince; "AND HIS ROOTS BENEATH"—these are the Amorites. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: In this world I sent an angel before them, and he would cut off the nations of the world; but in the world to come, Elijah—may he be remembered for good—him I send to you, as it is said (Malachi 3:23): "BEHOLD, I SEND YOU ELIJAH THE PROPHET BEFORE THE COMING OF THE GREAT AND AWESOME DAY OF THE LORD."