Judges 2:15-23

15 When the Israelites went out to fight, they always lost, because the Lord was not with them. The Lord had sworn to them this would happen. So the Israelites suffered very much.

16 Then the Lord chose leaders called judges,nwho saved the Israelites from the robbers.

17 But the Israelites did not listen to their judges. They were not faithful to God but worshiped other gods instead. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord's commands, but they quickly turned away and did not obey.

18 When their enemies hurt them, the Israelites cried for help. So the Lord felt sorry for them and sent judges to save them from their enemies. The Lord was with those judges all their lives.

19 But when the judges died, the Israelites again sinned and worshiped other gods. They became worse than their ancestors. The Israelites were very stubborn and refused to change their evil ways.

20 So the Lord became angry with the Israelites. He said, "These people have broken the agreement I made with their ancestors. They have not listened to me.

21 I will no longer defeat the nations who were left when Joshua died.

22 I will use them to test Israel, to see if Israel will keep the Lord's commands as their ancestors did."

23 In the past the Lord had permitted those nations to stay in the land. He did not quickly force them out or help Joshua's army defeat them.

Judges 2:15-23 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.