Judges 2:1-23

     The Central Idea of the Text is that God judged Israel for their failure to take the land after Joshua’s death; and Israel then began a progressive cycle of downward decline as they served pagan gods.

     Judges 2:1-5 presents the angel of the Lord (theophany – bodily appearance of God the Son), who renders judgment upon Israel for their failure to perform His will.  The angel of the Lord speaks as God (Judg. 2:1-3; cf. Gen. 22:15-18), and is recognized as God (Ex. 3:2-6; Judg. 13:21-22). 

     Judges 2:6-10 is a retelling of Joshua’s death in order to show a spiritual contrast between the generation of Joshua and that which followed.  The generation that came after Joshua collectively ignored (passive rejection) God’s commands and promises and turned to spiritual idolatry.  Idolatry is the worship of an imaginary substitute in place of the Creator.  Pagan gods do not really exist, except in the minds of their worshippers.  Though a generation may work to provide a spiritual heritage, there are no guarantees the following generation will accept it.  Once people choose sin and turn to that which is worthless and self-serving, it eventually darkens any memory of God’s promises and works. 

     Israel served the Baals when life was going well, but turned to the Lord when He brought discipline.  This suggests a form of syncretism in which the Israelites served both God and pagan idols.  Today we see Christians who go to church on Sunday, pray and worship God, and then read their astrological horoscopes on Monday, believing their life is dictated by impersonal stars.

     Under the Mosaic Covenant, Israel was obligated to engage in military campaigns to defeat their enemies and claim the physical land promised to Abraham.  There was to be no tolerance.  In the Church age, the battle is not physical, but spiritual (Eph. 6:12).  The Christian has no authority to bear the sword, to put dissenters to death, as that is given to governments (Rom. 13:1-4).  Our responsibility is to keep ourselves unstained by the world (2 Cor. 6:14-18; Jam. 1:27), to pray for our enemies (Matt. 5:44), and witness for Christ that others might believe the gospel and be saved (1 Cor. 15:3-4; 2 Cor. 5:18-20).  The Bible is our sword by which we destroy spiritual and intellectual strongholds, within ourselves and others (2 Cor. 10:3-6).  The Christian is to get along with others, showing tolerance (Rom. 12:17-18), except when it comes to something that harms our walk with God, and then we are to be intolerant (Rom. 13:13-14; 1 John 2:15-17).