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Texts -- Judges 2:1-17 (NET)

Context
Confrontation and Repentance at Bokim
2:1 The Lord’s angelic messenger went up from Gilgal to Bokim . He said , “I brought you up from Egypt and led you into the land I had solemnly promised to give to your ancestors . I said , ‘I will never break my agreement with you, 2:2 but you must not make an agreement with the people who live in this land . You should tear down the altars where they worship.’ But you have disobeyed me . Why would you do such a thing ? 2:3 At that time I also warned you, ‘If you disobey, I will not drive out the Canaanites before you. They will ensnare you and their gods will lure you away .’” 2:4 When the Lord’s messenger finished speaking these words to all the Israelites , the people wept loudly . 2:5 They named that place Bokim and offered sacrifices to the Lord there .
The End of an Era
2:6 When Joshua dismissed the people , the Israelites went to their allotted portions of territory , intending to take possession of the land . 2:7 The people worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men who outlived him remained alive. These men had witnessed all the great things the Lord had done for Israel . 2:8 Joshua son of Nun , the Lord’s servant , died at the age of one hundred ten . 2:9 The people buried him in his allotted land in Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim , north of Mount Gaash . 2:10 That entire generation passed away ; a new generation grew up that had not personally experienced the Lord’s presence or seen what he had done for Israel .
A Monotonous Cycle
2:11 The Israelites did evil before the Lord by worshiping the Baals . 2:12 They abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors who brought them out of the land of Egypt . They followed other gods – the gods of the nations who lived around them. They worshiped them and made the Lord angry . 2:13 They abandoned the Lord and worshiped Baal and the Ashtars . 2:14 The Lord was furious with Israel and handed them over to robbers who plundered them. He turned them over to their enemies who lived around them. They could not withstand their enemies ’ attacks. 2:15 Whenever they went out to fight, the Lord did them harm , just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do. They suffered greatly . 2:16 The Lord raised up leaders who delivered them from these robbers . 2:17 But they did not obey their leaders . Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned aside from the path their ancestors had walked . Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands , but they did not .

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • As Caleb, Joshua received a city, Timnath-serah (called Timnath-heres in Judg. 2:9), within his tribal allotment of Ephraim for being faithful to God."Caleb and Joshua were the two faithful spies who believed God was able to ...
  • Joshua reveals that victory, success, and progress result when God's people trust and obey Him consistently. Judges shows that defeat, failure, and retrogression follow when they fail to trust and obey consistently. In this r...
  • I. The reason for Israel's apostasy 1:1-3:6A. Hostilities between the Israelites and the Canaanites after Joshua's death 1:1-2:51. Initial successes and failures ch. 12. The announcement of God's discipline 2:1-5B. Israel's c...
  • The first major section in the book (1:1-3:6) explains very clearly why the period of the judges was a dark chapter in Israel's history. God revealed the reasons for Israel's apostasy and consequent national problems in terms...
  • 1:1 The Book of Judges begins with a conjunction translated "now"or "and."God intended Judges to continue the narrative of Israel's history where the Book of Joshua ended (cf. Josh. 1:1). This verse provides a heading for the...
  • The events of this pericope tie in directly with those of the previous one. Israel's failure recorded there led to the discipline announced here."The narrator moves from chap. 1 to chap. 2 like a modern preacher moves from te...
  • This section of the book provides a theological introduction to the judges' deeds, whereas 1:1-2:5 is a historical introduction. It also explains further the presence of Canaanites in the Promised Land....
  • This paragraph is almost identical to the one in Joshua 24:28-31. Its purpose is to resume the history of Israel at this point, where the Book of Joshua ended, and to contrast the era of Joshua with the era of the judges."Aft...
  • Having revealed the roots of Israel's apostasy (vv. 6-10), the writer proceeded to examine its character. In this section a cyclical pattern of Israel's history during this era becomes clear. Israel departed from Yahweh and s...
  • The purposes for which God allowed the Canaanites to live among the Israelites were four. He wanted to punish Israel for her apostasy (2:3), and He wanted to test the Israelites' faithfulness to and love for Himself (2:22; 3:...
  • Israel's JudgesJudgeScriptureIsrael's OppressorsLength in YearsNation(s)King(s)OppressionJudgeshipPeaceOthniel3:7-11MesopotamiaCushan-rishathaim8(ca. 1358-1350 B.C.)40(ca. 1350-1310 B.C.)Ehud3:12-30Moab (with Ammon & Amal...
  • The writer of Judges structured this book so the story of Gideon would be its focal center."Within the main body of the book, seven major narrative blocks can be noted. Moreover, there are certain parallel features between th...
  • The Israelites felt the main influence of the Ammonites on the east side of the Jordan River that bordered Ammon (v. 8). However the Ammonites also attacked the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim west of the Jordan (v. 9)...
  • The following two extended incidents (ch. 17-21) differ from the records of the judges just completed (chs. 3-16). They are not accounts of the activities of any of Israel's judges. They are the record of events that took pla...
  • The Book of Joshua recorded Israel's victory over her enemies through trust in and obedience to God. The Book of Judges shows the defeat of the nation by its enemies from without and within due to refusal to trust and obey Go...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan. Land of the Bible. Phildelphia: Westminster Press, 1962.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell. The...
  • 106:6 The psalmist confessed that Israel had been unfaithful to God. This was true of his own generation as it had been true of former generations. This confession introduced a review of specific iniquities and wickedness.106...
  • The Lord turned from addressing His "wife"to her children. Both figures describe Israel, collectively and particularly. This pericope is transitional, but it is more of a conclusion to what has preceded than an introduction t...
  • 11:1 The Lord reminded His people that when Israel was in its early days as a nation, like a youth, He loved the nation (cf. Exod. 4:22-23). As often, loving refers to choosing (cf. Gen. 12:2-3). God chose Israel for special ...
  • 12:12 The Lord reminded the Israelites again of their humble origins. Jacob was a refugee who migrated to the land of Aram. There he had to work to pay for a wife, and he did so by tending sheep, a very humble occupation (cf....
  • 1:7 Zechariah received another revelation from the Lord three months after his previous one in Darius' second year, 520 B.C.35"On the same day (24 Shebat), five months earlier, the rebuilding of the temple had been resumed (c...
  • John had questioned Jesus' identity, and Jesus had defended John's identity. Jesus now warned his hearers who rejected John's identity and Jesus' identity.7:29 Verses 29 and 30 do not appear in the Matthew parallel. They reve...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Now I must turn to consider more briefly the glimpse of the joyful society beyond, which is given us in that other remarkable expression of our text: He was gathered to his people.'That phrase is only used in the earlier Old ...
  • Judges 2:1-10The Book of Judges begins a new era, the development of the nation in its land. Chapters 1 through chapter 3:6 contain two summaries: first, of the progress of the conquest; and second, of the history about to be...
  • We do not know how long the survivors of the conquering army lived in sufficient numbers to leaven opinion and practice. We may, however, roughly calculate that the youngest of these would be about twenty when the war began, ...
  • Judges 2:11-23This passage sums up the Book of Judges, and also the history of Israel for over four hundred years. Like the overture of an oratorio, it sounds the main themes of the story which follows. That story bas four ch...
  • The Revised Version has wisely substituted a simple and' for nevertheless' at the beginning of Judges 2:16. The latter word implies that the raising up of the judges was a reversal of what had gone before; and' implies that i...
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