Judges 2:16-23

Ministry of the Judges Judges 2:16-23

16 Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.
17 And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so.
18 And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.
19 And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.
20 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;
21 I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:
22 That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.
23 Therefore the Lord left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.

14.

Who were the ?Judges 2:16

Judges who governed Israel were not men who presided over courts of law. They did not go about attired in long, black robes sitting on what we call benches. They did not pound gavels to demand order in courtrooms. Rather, these men were men who were filled with the Spirit of God. In almost every instance, it is stated that the Spirit of God came upon these men. Aroused as they were, when they witnessed the depressed state of their country, they achieved deliverance. They continued in office as defenders of religion and avengers of crimes. The people, when they saw that God's Spirit was upon them, received them as God's men for the hour, They submitted to their sway, Such a condition resulted in the land having rest. It is stated, however, that in general the people were still rebellious, They would not hearken unto their judges (Judges 2:17). Conditions continued to deteriorate, and the people then asked for a king.

15.

Were the judges local magistrates? Judges 2:17-18

Edersheim in the work Israel in Canaan (p. 107) says that the judges ruled only over one or several of the tribes, to whom they brought special deliverance. Accordingly, he felt that the history of some of the judges overlaps others. Such a conclusion seems to fly in the face of the oft-repeated statement found in the account of several of the judges, such as these: Jephthah judged Israel six years (Judges 12:7). and after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel (Judges 12:8),. after him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years (Judges 12:11). Notice that in each case it is stated that the man judged Israel, not a particular tribe.

16.

In what sense did God repent? Judges 2:18

God was grieved in His heart when He saw the rebellious ways of the people of Israel. This same kind of statement was made in the days of Noah when we read, it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart (Genesis 6:6). God had not sinned. He was not repenting in the same way in which a man repents of his wickedness. This is an anthropomorphic statementthe putting of God's thoughts and actions in words which describe similar thoughts and actions on the part of man. God's repentance is similar to man's in the sense that it caused Him grief, but it is dissimilar inasmuch as God had no sin for which to grieve.

17.

What final judgment did God render on Israel? Judges 2:21-23

God decided not to drive out any more of the nations which were left in Israel at the time of the death of Joshua. He had been patient with the people. He had given them express commandments to obey, and they had failed to keep them. In a sense, His Spirit was no longer striving with them (see Genesis 6:3). Israel needed to learn how the king's business demanded haste. They should have fought with alacrity to drive out all the Canaanites so that the Promised Land might be theirs and theirs alone.

18.

Was the suspension of extermination a change of plan? Judges 2:20-23

The thought expressed here was that Jehovah would not exterminate the Canaanites before Israel any more, to try them whether they would keep His commandments. He had previously caused the people whom He brought out of Egypt to wander in the wilderness for forty years with the very same intention (Deuteronomy 8:2). Such action is not at variance with the design of God, expressed in Exodus 23:29-30, and Deuteronomy 7:22, not to exterminate all the Canaanites all at once, lest the land should become waste, and the wild beasts multiply therein, nor yet with the motive assigned in Judges 3:1-2. The determination not to exterminate the Canaanites in one single year was a different thing from the purpose of God to suspend their gradual extermination altogether. The former purpose had immediate regard to the well-being of Israel; the latter, on the contrary, was primarily intended as a chastisement for its transgression of the covenant. Even this chastisement, however, was intended to lead the rebellious nation to repentance and promote its prosperity by a true conversion to the Lord. Had Israel not forsaken the Lord its God so soon after Joshua's death the Lord would have exterminated the Canaanites who were left in the land much sooner than He did.