Judges
Summary
Judges Chapter 2 introduces the cyclical pattern of the entire book. After the death of the generation that had seen God's great works, a new generation arose that did not know the LORD. They turned to the gods of the Canaanites, leading God to deliver them into the hands of their enemies. When they cried out in distress, God raised up "judges" to deliver them, but they would eventually fall back into idolatry after the judge’s death. This chapter highlights the tragedy of spiritual amnesia and the persistent mercy of God in response to His people’s affliction.
The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you,
and you shall not make a treaty with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.' Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this?
And now I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will become snares in your sides and their gods will be a trap to you."
When the angel of the LORD had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud,
They called that place Bochim [1] and offered sacrifices there to the LORD.
After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to their own inheritance.
The people served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the LORD had done for Israel.
Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten.
And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.
Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals.
They forsook the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshipped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the LORD’s anger
Because they forsook the LORD and served Baals and Ashtoreths [2],
In his anger against Israel the LORD gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.
Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the LORD was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.
Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders.
Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the LORD’s commands.
Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them.
But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshipping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and said, "Because this nation has violated the covenant I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me,
I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died.
I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the LORD and walk in it as their ancestors did."
The LORD had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.