Judges 2

Judges 2:1

2:1-5 The Angel of the Lord (the Lord Jesus) rebuked the people at Bochim (weepers) for their disobedience. Verse 1 says that He came up from Gilgal (the place of blessing) to Bochim (the place of weeping). Israel had gone from the place of victory to the place of mourning. They had failed to drive out the Canaanites and to destroy their idolatrous altars. Therefore the Lord would refuse to drive . . . out . . . the inhabitants of the land, but would instead allow them to harass the Israelites. Verses 1-5 thus give the underlying reason for the oppression which followed. No wonder the people . . . wept and called the . . . place Bochim! 2:6-10 Verses 6-10 review the close of Joshua’s life and the generation that outlived him. In Deuteronomy 6 the Lord gave some specific commands to His people. Failure to obey them led to the sad state of affairs described in verse 10, where a lack of spiritual leadership is seen to result in a corresponding lack of obedience on the part of God’s people. The previous generation had not taught their children to fear the LORD and to keep His commandments. The neglect of the fathers led to the apostasy of their sons.

Judges 2:11

B. Looking Forward (2:113:6)2:11-19 The remaining verses, on the other hand, give a preview of the entire period of the judges. They trace the fourfold cycle which characterized that time: Sin (vv. 11-13) Servitude (vv. 14, 15) Supplication (not stated here, but see Jdg_3:9; Jdg_3:15; Jdg_4:3; etc.) Salvation (vv. 16-18) This pattern of behavior has also been described as: Rebellion Retribution Repentance Rest This synopsis of Judges (vv. 11-19), as Jensen points out, brings into focus the two divergent truths evident throughout the book: (1) the desperate wickedness of the human heart, revealing its ingratitude, stubbornness, rebellion, and folly; (2) God’s longsuffering, patience, love and mercy. No book in the Bible brings these two truths into sharper contrastthe utter failure of Israel and the persistent grace of Jehovah! 2:20-23 Because Israel persisted in disobedience, God decided to allow the nations to remain in the land as chastisement upon His people (vv. 20-23). Punishment for disobedience was not the only reason the Lord did not drive out all the Canaanites. He left them to test Israel (v. 22; Jdg_3:4) and to train succeeding generations for war (Jdg_3:1-2). We can gain insight from this as to why the Lord allows believers to go through problems and trials. He wants to know if “they will keep the ways of the LORD . . . or not” (v. 22).