Judges 2:1-23
1 And an angela of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.
2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.
4 And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
5 And they called the name of that place Bochim:b and they sacrificed there unto the LORD.
6 And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.
7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlivedc Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.
8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.
10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.
13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
15 Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.
16 Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which deliveredd 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 corruptede 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 leftf those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.
Life Without Law
Judges
Philip Smith
Chapter 2
v1 The *angel of the *Lord came from Gilgal to Bokim. He said ‘I brought you out of Egypt. And then I brought you into the country that I promised to your family. I said, “I will never stop doing what I agreed with you. v2 You must not make an agreement with the people in this country. You must destroy their stone tables where they offer *burnt offerings to their gods.” You have not done what I said. v3 So now I will not force them to leave. They will be your enemies and their gods will *capture you.’ v4 The *angel of the Lord said this to all the *Israelites. Then they wept aloud. v5 They called the place Bokim. They offered *sacrifices to the *Lord.
The phrase ‘the *angel of the Lord’ refers to God. It means that he appeared and he spoke to them there. Before that time, the central place where they praised God had been in Gilgal. (This was where *Israel’s people first lived in that country.) But now it was in Bokim (which means ‘weepers’).
Many Bible students think that Bokim was at Bethel. Here people buried Rachel’s nurse at the *oak where people wept (Genesis 35:8). That is why Bible students think that.
God had made an agreement with his people. And he had done what he agreed to do. But they had not done what they agreed to do. Now God said that he would allow their enemies to *capture them. They would praise other gods. The people wept and they offered sacrifices. (Sacrifices were gifts for God. They were asking him to forgive the things that they had done wrong.) They were probably not really sorry. Later, they did wrong things again.
v6 Joshua told the people to go. They each went to live in their own particular area in that country. God had given to them different parts. v7 The people served the *Lord during Joshua’s life. And they continued to do so during the lives of some other leaders. These were leaders that lived longer than Joshua did. And they had seen the great things that the *Lord had done for *Israel’s people. v8 Joshua died when he was 110 years old. v9 They buried him at the edge of his property. This was in Timnath Heres. It was in the hilly country where Ephraim’s *tribe lived, north from Mount Gaash.
This was the time when the Judges began to rule. There are some similar verses at the end of the book called Joshua. There, the writer tells us more about the great things that God had done for *Israel’s people. Joshua and some other leaders died, and a new *generation of *Israel’s people grew up. These people did not know what God had done. They did not obey God. They praised the *Baals and the Ashtoreth. *Baal was the false god of rain and good crops. ‘Ashtoreth’ is the plural of Astarte, who was the female god of war and good crops. She was the wife of the god *Baal. This was how people praised those gods. People had sex with the male and female priests in the *temple. They hoped that this would encourage the gods and female gods to do the same. This would make the land produce food. Sometimes the people even sacrificed their children. (They killed their children. In this way, they were making a gift to a god.)
v10 After that *generation died, the next *generation did not praise the *Lord. They did not know what he had done for *Israel’s people. v11 They did what God did not want. They praised the *Baals. v12 They left their ancestors’ God, who had brought their ancestors out of Egypt. (Their ancestors were their families that had lived before them.) They *worshipped other gods, which the nations near them *worshipped. That made God angry. v13 They left him and they served the *Baals and the *Ashtoreth. v14 God was angry. He let the people that attacked them steal their possessions. They could not oppose their enemies. Their enemies defeated them. v15 Whenever they went out to fight, the *Lord let people defeat them. He had said that he would do this. They were very unhappy. v16 Then the *Lord sent to them judges, who rescued them from their enemies. v17 Still they did not listen. They showed honour to other gods and praised them. They quickly stopped doing what God said. Their *ancestors had not been like that. Their *ancestors had obeyed God. v18 Whenever God gave a judge to them, he was with that judge. He saved them from their enemies as long as the judge lived. God was sorry for them. They suffered because some people controlled them. And those people were very cruel to them. That was why God gave them a judge. v19 But when the judge died, the people acted even worse than before. They *worshipped other gods and they served those gods. They refused to change what they were doing. They did not stop doing wrong things.
The writer then tells us what the book is about. The people left God. They did evil things and they praised the *Baals. Then God allowed their enemies to defeat them. And he allowed the enemies to divide them. The people cried out to the *Lord. He sent judges to rescue them. Even then, they only changed their behaviour for a short time. After the judge had died, they were worse than ever!
v20 The *Lord was very angry with *Israel’s people. He said, ‘These people have not obeyed my agreement. I made it with their family that lived before them. They have not listened to me. v21 So I will not force the other nations to leave. These nations were still in the land when Joshua died. v22 I will use them to test *Israel’s people. I will see whether they will obey the *Lord. Their *ancestors did obey the *Lord.’ v23 The *Lord had allowed these nations to remain. He did not force them to leave immediately. He did not allow Joshua to defeat them.
As a result, God did not force that country’s people to leave.
He left them there
1) to punish *Israel’s people,
2) to test whether they were loyal to God, and
3) to give them experience in battle, as we learn in chapter 3.
angel ~ a special servant of God. He lives where God lives and he brings messages from God.Lord ~ a name for God. It means that he is the master, the ruler over all. Also, people often use this word to translate Yahweh, a very special Hebrew name for God.
Yahweh ~ the name of God. It means ‘I am what I am’. Or it can mean ‘the same always’.
Hebrew ~ the Hebrew people were Abraham’s descendants; and they spoke a language called Hebrew.
descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
capture ~ take someone as a prisoner; take control of a place in war; or take an object in war.
Israelites ~ the people that belonged to the nation called Israel. God had chosen them as his own special people.
Israel ~ the nation that consisted of Jacob’s descendants; the country where they lived; another name for Jacob.
descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
sacrifice ~ something valuable (usually food or a dead animal) that people offer to God or to a false god.
Israel ~ the nation that consisted of Jacob’s descendants; the country where they lived; another name for Jacob.
descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
oak ~ a tree with hard wood. People often considered it as a holy thing.
tribe ~ a large group of people that are all relatives of each other.
generation ~ a period of time between a father’s birth and his child’s birth.
Baal ~ the false god of rain and good crops.
temple ~ a building where people praise a god.
worship ~ to show honour and respect to God or to a false god. To praise and serve God or a false god.
Ashtoreth ~ false female gods.
ancestors ~ people that lived before you in your family.