Judges 2:12

12 1And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. 2They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and 3bowed down to them. 4And they provoked the LORD to anger.

Judges 2:12 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 2:12

And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers
The covenant God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and of their more immediate ancestors; his worship they forsook, neglected his tabernacle, and the service of it:

which brought them out of the land of Egypt;
out of wretched misery and bondage there, with an high hand, and outstretched arm; and led them through the wilderness, and provided for them there, and brought them into the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey; but all these mercies were forgotten by them:

and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that [were] round
about them:
the gods of the Canaanites and Phoenicians, of the Egyptians, and of the Moabites, Amorites, and Edomites, that were round about them, on the borders of them; instead of one God they worshipped many, even all in or about the land of Canaan; so much given were they to idolatry:

and bowed themselves unto them;
giving them all religious worship and honour they were capable of:

and provoked the Lord to anger;
nothing is more provoking to him than idolatry; he being a jealous God, and will not bear any rival in worship, nor his glory to be given to another, to a strange god.

Judges 2:12 In-Context

10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel.
11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals.
12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger.
13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth.
14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.

Cross References 4

  • 1. Deuteronomy 31:16
  • 2. [Deuteronomy 6:14]
  • 3. ver. 17, 19; [Exodus 20:5]
  • 4. Deuteronomy 31:29
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.