Judges 2:1-5

The Angel of the LORD Warns Israel

1 The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim. There he spoke to the people of Israel. "I brought you up out of Egypt," he said. "I led you into this land. It is the land I promised with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I said, 'I will never break the covenant I made with you.

2 So you must not make a covenant with the people of this land. Instead, you must tear down their altars.' "But you have disobeyed me. Why did you do it?

3 I have something to tell you. I will not drive those people out to make room for you. They will be like thorns in your sides. Their gods will be a trap to you."

4 The angel of the LORD spoke those things to all of the people of Israel. Then the people began to sob out loud.

5 So that place was called Bokim. The people offered sacrifices to the LORD there.

Judges 2:1-5 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 2

This chapter gives an account of an angel of the Lord appearing and rebuking the children of Israel for their present misconduct, Jud 2:1-5; of their good behaviour under Joshua, and the elders that outlived him, Jud 2:6-10; and of their idolatries they fell into afterwards, which greatly provoked the Lord to anger, Jud 2:11-15; and of the goodness of God to them nevertheless, in raising up judges to deliver them out of the hands of their enemies, of which there are many instances in the following chapter, Jud 2:16-18; and yet that how, upon the demise of such persons, they relapsed into idolatry which caused the anger of God to be hot against them, and to determine not to drive out the Canaanites utterly from them, but to leave them among them to try them, Jud 2:19-23.