After Joshua’s death, the Israelites asked God, "Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?" (verse 1). God chose Judah to do battle and promised, "I have given the land into their hands" (verse 2). Judah may have shown a lack of faith by relying on Simeon for additional support (verse 3).

"The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem also and took it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire" (Judges 1:8).

Although Judah conquered several areas in the Negev and western foothills, as well as cities such as Hebron and Debir, their victory was incomplete. Jerusalem, for example, was either not taken completely, or later recaptured by its inhabitants (verses 8, 21). In fact, the Jebusite fortress was not effectively defeated until the time of David (2 Samuel 5:6-7).

Nor did the other tribes completely drive out the Canaanites. Israel’s failure to destroy this immoral people inevitably led to her spiritual decline in the period of the judges.

The Israelites had broken their covenant with God. This infraction was so serious that God sent an angel to communicate the dire consequences: "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.’ Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you" (Judges 2:1-3).

This event marked a fundamental change in Israel’s relationship with God. God had made a sacred covenant with the Israelites at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19:5-8; 24:1-8). He had wanted to make Israel a holy nation. For their part, the Israelites were to love God and obey his law (Deuteronomy 6:5; 30:16; Joshua 22:5). They were to follow God’s command not to make any treaties with the peoples of the land (Exodus 34:11-16; Deuteronomy 7:1-5).

Now that Israel had rejected and disobeyed God, his agreement to help them conquer the land was no longer binding. However, his promise to make Israel a nation through whom the whole world would be blessed would yet be fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

When the elders who had outlived Joshua also died, the people began to turn aside from God. This younger generation of Israelites abandoned the faith of their fathers and began to worship the gods of the Canaanites (Judges 2:10-15). Indeed, the major cause of this period of decline in Israel’s history was idolatry — turning away from God to follow other gods.

In the Bible, God forcefully condemns the sin of idolatry, as is witnessed by the first two commandments: "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them" (Exodus 20:3-5).

The remainder of this section (Judges 2:10–3:6) describes the organization of the book of Judges as a whole. The people’s behavior followed a ruinous cycle of sin, repentance and sin again. Israel disobeyed God and worshiped the local pagan gods; God punished them at the hands of their idolatrous oppressors; Israel cried out to God for help; God sent a judge to deliver them; Israel obeyed God until the judge died; and, finally, Israel’s old pattern of sin and idolatry reasserted itself, thus starting the cycle again.

As we progress through the book of Judges, we will see that the cycle of sin was a downward spiral. This recurrent cycle should serve as a warning for Christians today who may be lulled into the same pattern of spiritual decline.

Six judges played a significant role during this turbulent period in Israel’s history.

As listed above, six so-called minor judges are also mentioned in the book, although very little is said about them.

As we study the book of Judges, we will learn that our immediate environment can affect our relationship with God. The Israelites did not set out to be idolaters. But when they intermarried with the people of the surrounding nations, against God’s specific command, they began to accept the pagan Canaanite gods — and the immoral practices associated with them — into their homes.

Christians living in today’s society face a similar danger. We should not become entangled in the sinful practices of this world. The apostle John warned: "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever" (1 John 2:15-17).

Continuation of the commentary

Copyright 2002