JUDGES 2:16-3:6--The LORD Raises Up Judges

Judges 2:16-3:6
English Standard Version

The LORD Raises Up Judges
16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

3 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.

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The LORD is faithful even when the people have been unfaithful because the story is about how the LORD is faithful to keep His covenant even more than being about the covenant people of Israel.  It is because He chose to make the covenant of the coming Messiah through Adam and Eve that all of the human race was important at first, but then the LORD narrowed that down to the sons of Seth, and then to the Noah and those that got on the Ark with him, and then to the descendants of Shem, and then to Abram (who would become Abraham) and Isaac and Jacob (who would become Israel).  The Promise was passed specifically to the tribe of Judah (though many promises and blessings were given to the other tribes of Israel) and from there we've been following the story as God reveals more about Himself and His plan of salvation through the Passover, the crossing of the Red, Sea, His leading them through the Wilderness to the Promised Land, His provision of manna, the Tabernacle, and His clearing the way for them and fighting their battles for them so that they could enter and rest in the Land that He had prepared for them, just like Jesus has promised that He has gone to prepare a place for us that where He is, there we might be also.  However, when we enter into our final resting place, there will be no more enemies to fight, as Jesus will have destroyed all of them and everyone will have come into submission to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  We look forward to that coming Day.

Now though, the nation of Israel is suffering the consequences of their rebellion that we've read about in the last couple of passages we've studied.  The LORD would raise up "judges" (those to bring judgment on the enemy) to bring salvation to His people, but the people would refuse to listen to the judges and would not repent and return to the LORD.  They LORD uses some strong language here and says that the people continued to whore after their false gods and this passage is a summary of the cycle that we will see throughout the book of Judges.

First, the people will rebel against the LORD and turn to idolatry and all kind of wickedness.  Second, the LORD will raise up one of the nations living among the Israelites that they should have destroyed if they were obedient to His command to judge them.  Next, the people cry out to the LORD for salvation from their circumstances (however, we've seen that they really have no intent of repenting and turning back to the LORD, and every time the LORD saves them, they feel more and more comfortable with becoming more and more wicked because they feel like the LORD will always come to their rescue no matter how disobedient they become), and shortly after that, the people will once again "do what is right in their own eyes" and return to their rebellion, usually a rebellion and wickedness even worse than before, and the whole cycle will start over again.  I'll post an image of this cycle to go along with today's blog so that you can get an idea what the author (probably Samuel) is summarizing for us about everything he's about to say about the specific judges and events.

This is not just a pattern that Israel follows in the time of the judges, but this is the pattern of many so-called children of God today.  If we were honest about it though, their lives are not marked by obedience to the LORD's commandments, but disobedience.  Their attitude is one of "how much can I get away with?" or that they have a free-pass and license to sin because they "walked the aisle" or "said a prayer."  Paul speaks to this specifically in Romans 6 and also rebukes the Corinthian church that their conduct was worse than the pagan Gentiles around them.  To be the people of God is to be made in Him image (as we saw from the very beginning) and a reflection of His invisible attributes, and to be His ambassadors that are about His business.  That is the position that nation of Israel (that is those that were truly the people of God) were supposed to hold in the Old Testament and that what we call the Church holds in the New Testament, yet they are the same Vine and the same Body.  We've talked about that already though.

The LORD was angry with Israel continuing to break and transgress the covenant, so He withdrew the blessings and protections He had given to the generation that was mostly obedient.  He stopped driving out the nations before them and He stopped giving Israel success in battle, and even as early as the time of Joshua, the disobedience (for partial obedience and delayed obedience is disobedience) of the people led to the people not getting the fullness of what God wanted to give them for they received the Land before all the enemies had been driving out and many of the tribes chose to live among the Canaanites instead of destroying them and driving them out.

God would use these very people groups that were not driven out by the disobedience of the people to test and correct them:  "​The five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath."  The people also chose to live among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites which they were commanded through Moses to completely and totally destroy, and they failed to do so.  These remaining nations that were not destroyed would lead to much trouble throughout the rest of the Old Testament yet God would use even some of these people to accomplish His perfect plan like Rahab and Ruth.  We will also see Hittites and Jebusites that seem to have a better relationship with God than the leaders of the kingdom like King David when we get to studying the books of Samuel.  The hearts of the Israelites were inclined towards rebellion and wickedness just like all of us, and they would have found ways to invent and do the evil they desired to do, but it would have been much harder for them if these pagan people were not all around them and if they were surrounded instead by a culture that focused on being "Holy unto the LORD."  You don't tell and addict that wants to get clean to live in the house of their dealer and supplier.  You tell them to get as far away as they can from anyone and anything that had to do with that old life and to "put it to death."  It doesn't mean they never struggle with it, but the LORD knows that living among those who lived in idolatry and immorality would just make it all the easier for His people to fall into the same sins, and it could put His covenant promise in jeopardy (at least, that was Satan's hope in all this, but the LORD is able to work all things together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.  He is even able to use bad and unfaithful people to in the end accomplish His good and faithful plans).

The last statement made in today's passage is important.  It is kind of the "last straw" where the Israelites choose to no longer be separate from the pagan people around them, but they choose to intermarry with them and be unequally yoked to them.  The two became one flesh and they were united in wickedness and all kinds of perversion and idolatry so that it would seem an entire generation would neither know the LORD nor His commandments, and would definitely not obey them.