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.
"After a chapter that summarizes the incomplete wars of occupation, the reader is introduced to the threatening wars of liberation that characterize the period of the judges. To explain how Israel fell prey to powerful oppressors, the author reviews events since the death of Joshua."40
"Here [2:10] we come to the heart of the second-generation syndrome. It is a lukewarmness, a complacency, an apathy about amazing biblical truths that we have heard from our childhood, or from our teachers. . . . It is a pattern which challenges churches and even nations, and nowhere does it work with more devastating effect than in Bible colleges and theological seminaries where, day after day, we come in contact with God's truth. . . . History tells us that not even the most vivid display of the life-transforming power of the Holy Spirit will prevent this problem.
"But why? Why did it happen then, and why does it happen to us? . . . We must realize two things about this kind of complacency. The first is something Erich Fromm once pointed out when he said, Hate is not the opposite of love. Apathy is.' To be complacent in the face of Calvary is the greatest possible rejection of God. The second is that complacency grows like a cancer. . . . Maybe part of the problem lay with the first [Joshua's] generation. Interestingly, however, the book of Judges puts none of the blame there. The second generation was held responsible for their failure, and God would not allow them to shift the blame."41
"People cannot thrive on the spiritual power of their parents; each generation must personally experience the reality of God."42
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 served idols (vv. 11-13).43The Lord then disciplined His people by allowing them to fall under the domination of their enemies (vv. 14-15).44God then raised up judges to deliver Israel (v. 16). The people apostatized again (v. 17). God raised up another judge in response to His people's distress (v. 18). When that judge died, they wandered away again (v. 19). This continual rebellion resulted in God not driving Israel's enemies out of their land (vv. 20-21) but leaving them in Canaan to test Israel (vv. 22-23).45
"This simple routine of events cannot be projected at will over all cultures and circumstances, yet it does provide some guidelines for the interpretation of history. No corrupt nation can presume upon the grace of God indefinitely; sooner or later its lawlessness will bring disaster, either from within or without."46
2:11 The writer used "Baals"here to describe all false gods, the "other gods"of verse 12.
2:12 "The greatest sin a human being can commit is not murder or rape or other despicable acts of atrocity. It is to turn his back on the living God to serve man-made gods."47
2:13 "Baal"was the sun-god. The Canaanites believed he was the source and communicator of physical life. They credited him with generating the reproductive powers of nature from his own being. This ability included human as well as animal and plant reproduction and fertility.
"Astarte"(Asherah) was the leading female Canaanite deity, a moon-goddess, whose symbol was originally an evergreen tree or grove. "Asherah"also denotes a cult object in the Hebrew Bible, specifically a wooden pole.48
She was "worshipped as the feminine principle of nature embodied in the pure moon-light, and its influence upon terrestrial life."49
"Essentially, the religion of Canaan was based on the assumption that the forces of nature are expressions of divine presence and activity and that the only way one could survive and prosper was to identify the gods responsible for each phenomenon and by proper ritual encourage them to bring to bear their respective powers. This is the mythological approach to reality. Ritual involves human enactments; particularly by cultic personnel such as priests, of the activity of the gods as described in the myths.
"Since Baal was not omnipresent in the strict sense, each cult center would have its own local Baal. Thus there could be Baal-Peor, Baal-Berith, Baal-Zebub, and so on. This explains why the gods of Canaan are sometimes called Baalim (the Baals') in the Old Testament. There was only one Baal theoretically, but he was lord of many places."50
The worship of these idols did not involve or necessitate the abandonment of Yahweh. The Israelites worshipped both the idols and the true God. This practice constituted forsaking Yahweh because He demanded exclusive allegiance. The Israelites became syncretistic rather than exclusive in their worship. It is easier to understand why the Israelites apostatized so quickly and so frequently when we appreciate the syncretistic nature of Baal worship.
2:14-15 "Sin produces servitude. That is the fact of Judges."51
"Few books portray so complete a picture of human depravity as does Judges."52
2:16 The structure of verses 11-23 points out the importance of verse 16.
AApostasy (vv. 11-13)
BWrath (vv. 14-15)
CGrace (v. 16)
A'Apostasy (vv.17-19)
"The narrator begins to speak of divine mercy without any hint of prior repentance. In this book Yahweh's actions will not typically be bound to any mechanical formula of blessing and or retribution, based upon what human beings earn by their actions. Rather he intervenes on Israel's behalf solely on the basis of his compassion; the scene of Israelite distress moves the divine patron to action."54
2:17-19 Each cycle of apostasy was worse than the former one.
"The Israelites were stiff-necked in the wilderness, but they were even more obstinate in the Promised Land. A new environment, alas, did not mean a new attitude."55
2:20-23 None of the Israelites' conflicts in the Book of Judges involved the conquest of new territory; they all simply concerned throwing off the yoke of an oppressor. The writer explained the type of test that the continuation of the Canaanites among the Israelites constituted more fully in the next section.
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; 3:4). He also wanted to give the new generation of Israelites experience in warfare (3:2), namely, how to conduct war (by depending on Yahweh), not just how to fight. Furthermore, God allowed some Canaanites to remain in the land so it would not become wild before the Israelites could subdue it completely (Deut. 7:20-24).
Even though the Israelites had defeated some of the Canaanites in various battles during Joshua's day, significant groups within the Canaanite tribes remained in the land (vv. 3, 5).56The Sidonians (v. 3) were the Phoenicians, Sidon being Phoenicia's chief port until about 1100 B.C. when Tyre began to eclipse it.57These enemies (v. 5) represented the whole of Canaan: the Philistines on the southwest, the Sidonians on the northwest, the Hivites on the northeast, and the Canaanites on the southeast. The Israelites then proceeded to marry and worship with them (v. 6). From "the people served the Lord"(2:7) they had degenerated to the point that they "served their gods"(3:6).
"In these two verses [5-6] the narrator announces the theme of the book: the Canaanization of Israelite society."58
"The Israelites descended three steps in their cultural accommodation to paganism: (a) they lived among the Canaanites, (b) they intermarried with them, and (c) they served their gods. Each step is a natural one leading on to the next."59
