Judges 2:1-5--Israel's Disobedience

Judges 2:1-5
English Standard Version

Israel's Disobedience
2 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim. And they sacrificed there to the LORD.

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We've mentioned this before, but recall that when we see "the angel of the LORD" with the definite article "the" in the Old Testament, that this is a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ, the second person of the Trinity.  The angel of the LORD speaks in the first person when speaking God's message and accepts (and sometimes even requires) worship that only God deserves that no other angel of heaven would require or accept.  An angel is one who is a messenger and Jesus is the ultimate messenger sent from the Father because He is the Word of God.

So, now that we have it clear who this visitor is that is going from Gilgal to Bochim, the angel of the LORD correctly states that He is the one that brought them up from Egypt and brought them into the Land that He swore to give to their fathers, for the angel of the LORD went out front of the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire.  The pillar of cloud and pillar of fire kept the people from seeing the angel of the LORD, but they knew He was there going ahead of them and fighting their battles before them and leading the way.

The angel of the LORD repeats the covenant that the LORD swore to the people, "I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars."  Notice how the LORD's end of this covenant is unconditional even though there is something expected and required from the people.  The LORD said that He will never break His covenant with them.  However, there are consequences for the people refusing to drive the people out and refusing to tear down the altars to the false gods and goddesses.

The angel of the LORD is there to investigate for Himself even though He knows the truth of the situation, and here is His judgement.  "But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you."  Notice that just like in the Garden, the LORD likes to ask a question that He already knows the answer to.  However, He doesn't wait for an answer this time.  There will be no blame-game here.  The LORD will execute His judgment by withdrawing the protection that He had given to them for obedience to the Law, and they will begin to experience the curses of the Law for disobedience.  The people that they were supposed to drive out and did not will be a thorn in their side and will ensnare them as the Israelites will get wrapped up in their evil ways and start worshiping the gods of the Canaanites.  It is for this reason that the LORD wanted the people to kill and drive out all the Canaanites, because He knew they would bring nothing but trouble to His people.

As is typical of children caught in disobedience, the Israelites cry (because they got caught...maybe some are genuinely sorry for what they did) and that make attempts to do something that will change the mind of the Father so that He will not bring about the promised judgment, but no amount of sacrifice with placate Him if they are not willing to obey, and they show no indication of repenting and obeying the command of the LORD.  They simply want to continue to live in disobedience and not incur punishment for their disobedience.


1 Samuel 15:22
English Standard Version
22 And Samuel said,

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
    as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
    and to listen than the fat of rams.
We will see that the people of this time will do much like King Saul (who takes the throne in the book of 1 Samuel after the book of Judges finishes) and they will "do what is right in their own eyes."  They will even find a way to justify their disobedience by claiming that it is someone in line with their version of what they believe the LORD wants from them.  God desires obedience first, then holy and acceptable sacrifice will naturally follow from that.