Judges Chapter 2
Verses
The “angel of the LORD” was God’s
Judges 2:1 "And an angel 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."
“Angel of the LORD”:
One of 3
This same Divine Messenger had earlier led Israel out of Egypt (compare Exodus 14:19; see note on Exodus 3:2).
“I will never break my covenant with you”:
God would be faithful until the end, but the people would forfeit blessing for trouble, due to their disobedience (compare verse 3).
We see in this chapter, a going back and
The penman is stating the fact again, that it was actually the LORD who had brought them out of Egypt to the Promised Land.
God had fulfilled His part of the covenant.
Judges 2:2 "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?"
This the LORD charged them not to do, when he covenanted with them, and assured them of bringing them into the land.
Yet they had done it, as some instances in the preceding chapter show.
Which were the occasion of the angel's coming to them to rebuke them (see Deut. 7:2).
"Ye shall throw down their altars":
This they should have done as soon as they were come into the land, and possessed the places where they were erected.
To show their detestation of idolatry, and to prevent the use of them to idolatrous purposes (see Deut. 7:5).
"But ye have not obeyed my voice":
The command of God.
But on the contrary, they made leagues and covenants with several inhabitants of the land, allowing them to dwell among them and paying a certain tax or tribute to them.
And had allowed their altars to continue, and them to sacrifice upon them to their idols, according to their former customs.
"Why have ye done this?":
Transgressed the commandment of God in the instances mentioned.
It showed the wickedness of their hearts and their ingratitude to God, who had done such great things for them, and their proneness to idolatry.
And the liking of it!
God had told them from the very beginning to make no league with these people.
The Israelites were to destroy everything in this land that was pertaining to false gods.
The sad thing is, that they have disobeyed God in this.
They have let the people live in harmony with them and they have even allowed the heathen false gods to remain.
Judges 2:3 "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."
Supposing, or on condition of their being guilty of the above things.
Which was foreseen they would.
"I will not drive them out from before you":
The seven nations of the Canaanites entirely, and which accounts for the various instances related in the preceding chapter.
Where it is observed that they could not, or did not, drive the old inhabitants out of such and such places.
Because they sinned against the LORD, and He forsook them, and would not assist them in their enterprises, or in their laziness and idleness.
"But they shall be as thorns in your sides":
Very troublesome and afflicting (see Num. 33:55).
Or for straits, as the Septuagint, or be such as would bring them into tribulation, and distress them, as the Targum; so they often did.
"And their gods shall be a snare unto you":
Which they suffered to continue, and did not destroy them, as they ought to have done.
They would be, as they proved, ensnaring to them.
And whereby they were drawn to forsake the worship of the true God.
And bow down to them, as we read in some following verses.
The name "Bochim" (in verse 1), means weeping.
We see now why they are weeping.
These people would remain as a thorn in their sides.
The evil false gods would not have been a snare, if they had destroyed them as God had commanded them to do.
God has graciously given them this Promised Land only if they obey Him.
Judges 2:4 "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."
This being either one of the three solemn feasts, when all the males appeared at the tabernacle of the LORD.
Or else here was now a solemn convention of all the tribes to inquire of the LORD the reason why they were not able to drive out the Canaanites in some places, and why they prevailed over them in many.
"That the people lifted up their voice, and wept":
Being affected with what the angel said, and convicted in their consciences of their sins, and so fearing the bad consequences thereof.
They wept because of the sins they had been guilty of, and because of the evils that were likely to befall them on account of them.
This message is the Word of God.
We have it in written form and we do not listen to the Words any better than these Israelites did. They weep because God is displeased with them, but they do nothing to try to make it right. They should repent and destroy these false gods.
Christians today are too tolerant with things we know for sure are against the will of God.
We might weep that God is displeased with us, but we must repent and change our way of life to please God.
Judges 2:5 "And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the LORD."
Which signifies "weepers", from the general lamentation of the people, which before had another name.
Very probably it was Shiloh itself since all Israel was gathered together.
The tabernacle being now at Shiloh, and also because sacrifices were offered up, as follows. "And they sacrificed there unto the LORD”.
To atone for the sins they had committed.
And if they did this in the faith of the great sacrifice of the Messiah, they did well. They did weep for a moment, and they did sacrifice unto the LORD.
The tabernacle was at Shiloh, so perhaps that is where they sacrificed.
It could have been in the same vicinity.
Judges 2:6 "And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land."
This is not to be connected with what goes before, as if that was done in Joshua's lifetime.
For during that, as is after testified, the people of Israel served the LORD.
Whereas the angel, in the speech to them before related, charges them with disobeying the voice of the LORD.
Making leagues with the inhabitants of the land, and not demolishing their altars, all which was after the death of Joshua.
But this refers to a meeting of them with him before his death, and his dismissal of them.
Which was either when he had divided the land by lot unto them, or when he had given them his last charge before his death (see Joshua 24:28).
And this, and what follows, are repeated, and introduced here, to connect the history of Israel, and to show them how they fell into idolatry.
And so under the divine displeasure, which brought them into distress.
From which they were delivered at various times by judges of his own raising up, which is the subject matter of this book.
"The children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land":
As it was divided to the several tribes and their families.
Which seems to confirm the first sense given, that this refers to the dismissal of the people upon the division of the land among them.
It was Joshua who had actually separated the land by lot to each tribe.
After it was divided, each family had to go in and take their land.
It would have been no trouble at all if they had stayed loyal to God.
God fought for them, and they won.
Judges 2:7 "And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel."
Echoing Joshua 24:31, this verse highlights the importance of solid spiritual leadership and reinforces how quickly spiritual complacency and apostasy can take over.
The people were loyal to God as long as Joshua was alive to guide them.
Those who remembered the great miracles, like the crossing of the Jordan River on dry land and the sun standing still for the battle, would all be loyal and help the others stay loyal.
With their guidance, Israel served the LORD.
Judges 2:8 "And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, [being] a hundred and ten years old."
See the note on Joshua
The term used here of Israel’s great leader is simple, yet the key of his greatness; he was “the servant of the LORD”.
Joshua went the way of all men.
He died at the old age of 110.
Judges 2:9 "And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in
In (Joshua 24:30); it is called
And therefore, some observe, that the whole name signifies the figure of the sun, which the Jews say was put on his monument, in commemoration of the miracle of the sun standing still at his request.
And had this inscription on it, "this is he that caused the sun to stand still''.
But this is not very probable, since it might have had a tendency to idolatry, the sun being the first object of idolatrous worship among the Heathens, and had the greatest show of reason for it.
"In the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash":
See note on Joshua 24:30.
Joshua was of the tribe of Ephraim and was buried in that tribe's territory.
Means portion of the sun.
Judges 2:10 "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."
That generation … which knew not”:
The first people in the Land had vivid recollections of all the miracles and judgments and were devoted to faith, duty and purity.
The new generation were ignorant of the experiences of their parents and yielded more easily to corruption.
To a marked degree, the people of this new generation were not true believers, and were not tuned to the God of miracles and victory.
Still, many of the judges did genuinely know the LORD, and some who did not live by faith eventually threw themselves on God’s mercy during oppressions.
This is saying that, the generation that came after Joshua, and the elders, did not know the LORD.
Perhaps their parents had not been diligent in training them, or perhaps they did not believe their parents.
They were not eyewitness to the wonders the LORD had done previously, and did not believe.
It is important for each generation to make the next fully aware of the LORD.
Christians are told every time they take communion, to do it in remembrance of Jesus.
Some children grow up taking communion and never know exactly why they are taking it.
People should be taught about communion at a very early age.
Verses
“Baal” was the dominant deity of ancient Canaan.
His exploits and licentious worship practices are well documented in the literature of ancient Ugarit.
The son of El, Baal was both a heroic figure as a storm god, and a fertility deity who was worshiped in many cult centers under various forms and emphases, hence, “Balaam” (is plural of Baal).
“Ashtaroth” (or (Ashtoreth, 1 Kings 11:5), known also from the literature of Ugarit and of Phoenicia, was a goddess of erotic love and war.
She was known elsewhere in the ancient Near East as Ishtar or Astarte (compare 1 Kings 11:5, 33; 2 Kings 23:13).
The veneration of this goddess entered the Mediterranean world under the name Astarte, and the practices associated with her cult became associated with the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite.
She was called Ataraxis at Ashkelon.
The Canaanite worship rites were carried out not only in temples (2 Kings
These rites were accompanied by such things as frenzied dances (1 Kings
Israel’s attraction to the debased fertility rites and idolatrous worship practices, as well as the loathsome lifestyle of Canaan, was to be a long one, despite repeated divine warnings and chastisements (compare Lev. Chapter 20; Num.
Judges 2:11 "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:"
Openly and publicly, boldly and impudently.
In the very face of God, and amidst all the good things they received from him.
Which were aggravating circumstances of their sins.
What the evil was they did is next observed.
"And served Baalim":
The idol Baal, as the Arabic version, of which there were many, and therefore a plural word is used.
To which the apostle refers (1 Cor. 8:5); for the word signifies "lords".
And there were
And who seem to have their name from Bal, Bel, or Belus, a king of Babylon after Nimrod, and who was the first monarch that was deified, the Jupiter of the Heathens.
Men have a part of them that demands to worship something or someone, that is not fallible like themselves.
If they do not know of the One True God, they will seek another.
That is when they find a false god to worship.
It is no different now.
Children get into Satan worship looking for God.
The church must wake up and minister to our youth.
They must be taught of the Lord Jesus Christ so they will not look elsewhere.
Judges 2:12 "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."
“They … followed other gods”:
Idol worship, such as the golden calf in the wilderness (Exodus chapter 32), flared up again.
Spurious gods of Canaan were plentiful.
El was the supreme Canaanite deity, a god of uncontrolled lust and a bloody tyrant, as shown in writings found at Ras Shamra in north Syria.
His name means “strong, powerful”.
Baal, son and successor of El, was lord of heaven”, a farm god of rain and storm, his name meaning “lord, possessor”.
His cult at Phoenicia included animal sacrifices, ritual meals, and licentious dances.
Chambers catered to sacred prostitution by men and women (compare 1 Kings
Anath,
Many other gods besides these also attracted worship.
This is just the same as saying, they conformed to the world around them.
Everyone else was doing it, so they did, too.
They wanted to be like everyone else.
God had separated them out as a holy people.
They have gone back with the world to unholy living.
They have broken the first commandment.
Exodus 20:3 "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
Judges 2:13 "And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth."
Idolatry is a perpetual struggle for God’s people.
In the days of the judges, Israel was attracted to the Canaanite gods. “Baal” was the storm god who controlled rain, fire and lightning. Ashtoreth, Baal’s spouse, was the goddess of love, war, and fertility.
The worship of these false gods included temple prostitution and child sacrifice. Ashtaroth, was the false goddess of the Zidonians.
Baal, a false god, was worshipped many times in conjunction with Ashtaroth. These Canaanites worshipped Baal above all other false male gods. Ashtaroth was the number one female false god.
She was associated with the star Venus.
Judges 2:14 "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."
“The anger of the LORD was hot”:
Calamities designed as chastisement brought discipline intended to lead the people to repentance. In the physical sense, these Canaanites were more powerful than Israel.
They had many chariots and weapons of war which the Israelites did not have.
When they sinned, and God did not help them, they were at the mercy of the Canaanites.
The Israelites could not win without the LORD.
Judges 2:15 "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."
They prospered not in any business they undertook, or put their hands unto. Or in any expedition they went upon, or when they went out to war.
As Kimchi, Ben Melech, and Abarbanel explain the phrase: the battle went against them, because God was against them.
His hand was against them, and there was no resisting and turning that back. And this sense seems to agree with what goes before and follows after.
Though in some Jewish writings it is explained of those that went out of the land to escape the calamities of it.
And particularly of Elimelech and his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion (Ruth 1:2). "As the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them”:
Having ratified and confirmed his threatening with an oath, that if they served other gods, he would surely bring upon them all the curses of the law (see Deut. 29:12).
"And they were greatly distressed":
By the Canaanites they suffered to dwell among them, who were pricks in their eyes, and thorns in their sides, as had been threatened them.
And by the nations round about them, who came in upon them, and plundered them, and carried them captive.
The anger of the LORD brings His wrath.
He will not help them because they have been unfaithful to Him.
In fact, He will fight against them.
The covenant God had made with them was conditional on their keeping His commandments.
Verses
This book is the unvarnished history of the 14 men and women God “raised up” as “judges” in times of national distress to deliver Israel from her oppressors.
Judges 2:16 "Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them."
“The LORD raised up judges”:
A “judge” or deliverer was distinct from a judge in the English world today.
Such a leader guided military expeditions against foes as here and arbitrated judicial matters (compare 4:5).
There was no succession or national rule.
They were local deliverers, lifted up to leadership by God when the deplorable condition of Israel in the region around them prompted God to rescue the people.
The “judges” were God’s men who served as leaders of the people, not only militarily, but in matters of civil administration and legal matters.
Although it was said specifically of four men (Othniel,
Although some are given brief notice, perhaps because their influence was purely local (e.g. Shamgar, 3:31; Tola and Jair,
Eli and Samuel are likewise considered judges, even though their stories are contained (in 1 Samuel).
This is what the book of Judges is about.
God raised them up one at a time to judge the people.
God would bless the people while the judges were judging.
The judges kept them informed more clearly of their errors.
God wants to bless them.
He is forgiving.
His compassion for them is shown in the numerous times He forgives them.
Verses
The recurring cycle of Israel’s apostasy, oppression, repentance, and deliverance by
It was a period of repeated spiritual apostasy, growing immorality, social degradation, and political instability.
Israel’s “second generation” had forgotten the spiritual victories of the generation of the conquest.
Only the mercy of a gracious God kept Israel from disappearing as a nation.
Judges 2:17 "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."
Afterwards, or not always.
But when they admonished them of their sins, and advised them to walk in the good ways of God, and serve him only; they turned a deaf ear to them, and went on in their own ways.
Which is a sad aggravation of their iniquities.
"But they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them":
Committing spiritual adultery, for such idolatry is, and is often so represented in Scripture.
For by it they broke the covenant God made with them.
Which had the nature of a matrimonial contract, and in which God was a husband to them.
And therefore serving other gods was rejecting him as such, and committing whoredom with others.
Which nothing was more provoking to God, jealous of his honor and glory.
"They turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in":
As soon as even Joshua and the elders were dead, they departed from the God of their fathers, and the way in which they worshipped him.
And so likewise quickly after they had been delivered by the judges, or however as soon as they were dead.
"Obeying the commandments of the LORD":
Serving him at his tabernacle, according to the laws, commands, and ordinances he gave to Moses, which is to be understood of their fathers.
"But they did not so":
Did not walk in the same way, nor serve the LORD, and obey his commands, as their fathers did.
But all the reverse.
It appears from this, that even the judges had very little impact upon them.
They did not stop worshipping these false gods, even when the judges were reminding them how sinful that was.
To be blessed, they must keep God's commandments.
Judges 2:18 "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."
Every one of them that he raised up.
As he stirred up their spirits for such service, to judge his people, and qualified them for it.
He assisted and strengthened them, and abode by them, and succeeded them in whatsoever they engaged for the welfare of the people.
The Targum is, "the Word of the LORD was for the help of the judge:"
"And delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge”:
So long as a judge lived, or continued to be their judge, they were protected by him, and preserved from falling into the hands of their enemies.
"For it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them":
The LORD being merciful had compassion upon them, when they groaned under their oppressions, and cried unto him.
Then he received their prayer.
As the Targum, and sent them a deliverer; and so did what men do when they repent of a thing, change their conduct.
Thus, the LORD changed the outward dispensation of his providence towards them, according to his unchangeable will.
For otherwise repentance, properly speaking, does not belong unto God.
The Targum is, “he turned from the word he spake;” the threatening he had denounced. God loved them.
He did not want their enemies ruling over them.
Over and over God tried to cause them to realize what they were doing, and repent of their unfaithfulness.
They did not deserve it, but God blessed them during the days of the judges. It seemed the more He blessed them, the more they sinned.
The corrections one judge would make did not seem to last, and another would come and take his place.
Judges 2:19 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.
Any one of them, the first and all succeeding ones.
"That they returned.
To their evil ways and idolatrous practices, from which they reformed, and for which they showed outward repentance during the life of the judge.
But after his dying, they returned again to their old ways.
"And corrupted themselves more than their fathers":
In Egypt and in the wilderness.
Or rather than their fathers that lived in the generation after the death of Joshua.
And so, in every generation that lived before a judge was raised up to deliver them out of the evils brought upon them; the children of those in every age successively grew worse than their fathers.
"In following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them":
Not content with the idols their fathers served, they sought after and found out others. And were more constant and frequent in their worship and service of them.
And increased their sacrifices and acts of devotion to them. "They ceased not from their own doings":
Or, "did not let them fall"; but retained them.
And continued in the practice of them, being what they were naturally inclined unto and delighted in.
"Nor from their stubborn way":
Which they were bent upon, and determined to continue in.
Or "their hard way"; which their hard hearts had chosen, and they obstinately persisted in, being obdurate and stiff necked.
And which, in the issue, they would find hard, troublesome, and distressing to them. Though at present soft and agreeable, and in which they went on smoothly.
But in time would find it rough and rugged, offensive, stumbling, and ruinous.
Or it may signify a hard beaten path, a broad road which multitudes trod in, as is the way of sin.
It appears from this that they would slow their false worship down while the judge was actively judging them.
As soon as he died, they were back to worshipping false gods again.
This stubbornness is like rebellion.
Rebellion is compared to witchcraft.
They did whatever their fleshly desires were.
Judges 2:20 "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;"
As at first, so whenever they fell into idolatry (see Judges 2:14).
"And he said, Because that this people have transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers":
The covenant made at Sinai, in which they were enjoined to have no other gods before him. "And have not hearkened unto my voice":
In his commands, and particularly what related to his worship and against idolatry.
Judges 2:21 "I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:"
God had warned the Israelites in Joshua 23:13 that if they forsook Him and followed other gods, He would no longer fight for them. He kept that promise here.
God hates their sins.
He is jealous with a Godly jealousy.
God had been with them driving their enemies out before them, but they have broken God's commandments.
They have taken up the way of the flesh, instead of the spirit.
They have broken the Ten Commandments.
God will not help them until they repent and turn back to Him.
Judges 2:22 "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."
Afflict them by them, and so prove or try them.
Their faith and patience, which are tried by afflictions.
And such were the Canaanites to them, as afflictions and temptations are to the spiritual Israel of God.
Or rather, whether they would keep in the ways of God, or walk in those the Canaanites did, as follows.
"Whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not":
Whether they would worship the true God their fathers did, or the gods of the Canaanites.
Not that the LORD was ignorant of what they would do, and so made the experiment.
But that the sincerity and faithfulness, or insincerity and unfaithfulness of their hearts, might appear to themselves and others.
Judges 2:23 "Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua."
Left them unsubdued, or suffered them to continue among the Israelites, and did not drive them out as he could have done.
Which was permitted, either that it might be seen or known whether Israel would give into the idolatry of these nations or not (Judges 2:22).
Of which there could have been no trial if they and their idols had been utterly destroyed.
Or because the children of Israel had transgressed the covenant of the LORD, therefore he would drive no more of them out.
But leave them to afflict and distress them, and thereby prove and try them (Judges 2:20).
Both senses may very well stand, but the former seems rather to agree with what follows.
"Neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua":
Having an end to be answered by them, before suggested, namely, to prove and try Israel.
And, for a like reason, the indwelling sin and corruptions of God's people are suffered to remain in them.
For the trial of their graces, and that the power of God in the support and deliverance of them might appear the more manifest.
If they had kept the commandments of God, He would have driven all of their enemies out for them.
Their unfaithfulness to Him has caused Him to draw back from them.
The LORD must know for sure if they are following Him, because they love Him and believe in Him.
Judges Chapter 2 Questions
1.Who had the angel of the LORD spoken to at Gilgal?
2.God had fulfilled His part of the __________.
3.Who had they been warned not to make league with?
4.What were they to do with the inhabitants' altars?
5.What were they going to be like to the Israelites, because of their sins?
6.Their gods will be a _______ to you.
7.What does "Bochim" mean?
8.Who did the angel of the LORD speak this to?
9.What same mistake do we, Christians, make?
10.What should they do, to put them in right standing with God?
11.What did they do, besides weep at Bochim?
12.Where was the tabernacle at the time this happened?
13.Who did the physical dividing of the land?
14.What did each family have to do, after they received their allotment?
15.How long did the people serve the LORD?
16.How old was Joshua, when he died?
17.Where was he buried?
18.
19.What did the next generation after Joshua do?
20.What are Christians to do, when they take communion?
21.Verse 11 says, they served _________.
22.What fact must the church wake up to?
23.What effect did their worship of false gods have on God?
24.What were two of the false gods named, that they worshipped?
25.What did God do to Israel in His anger?
26.Who did the LORD raise up, that delivered them from their spoilers?
27.Why did God help them through the judges?
28.What is their stubbornness like?
29.God is jealous with a _________ jealousy.
30.What did God do to Israel for their unfaithfulness?