Judges 2:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger.

NIV: They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the Lord’s anger

NASB: and they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they followed other gods from the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them; so they provoked the Lord to anger.

CSB: and abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed other gods from the surrounding peoples and bowed down to them. They angered the Lord,

NLT: They abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the Lord.

KJV: And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger.

NKJV: and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger.

Before Israel came to the Promised Land of Canaan, God gave them both instruction and a warning. The Lord made it clear that Israel was to entirely purge the depraved, evil Canaanite culture from the region. Israel was not to tolerate, absorb, or accept them. A major reason for this was the danger of Israel learning to imitate the Canaanite's evil practices (Deuteronomy 20:16–18). Another further reason was that God's judgment on Canaanite sin was meant to come through conquest by Israel (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4–5).

Instead, Israel abandoned the Lord. The God of their Fathers dramatically and miraculously rescued them from slavery in Egypt (Judges 2:10). He was far and above more powerful, of course, than the false gods of the people of the land they would choose who worship, instead. Rather than worship God, the people worshiped Canaanite idols. This passage twice uses the term "abandoned," implying the Israelites did not slowly drift into idolatry. They jumped into it, deliberately choosing the gods of Canaan over the God of Abraham. These false deities are referred to using names such as Baal and Ashtaroth.

The result of these choices is a phrase that should be terrifying: "…they provoked the LORD to anger." Joshua had warned the people about this before he died, putting it in the harshest terms possible, "If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good" (Joshua 24:20). At that time, the people had claimed they would "serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:21). Instead, they will see what God will do when they reject Him.

Judges 2:11–15 summarizes the source of Israel's troubles in the book of Judges. This passage describes the rebellion of Israel against Yahweh after the time of Joshua. They abandon faithfulness to God and worship the gods of the Canaanites. Names associated with those false gods include Baal and Ashtaroth. As He promised, the Lord allows the faithless Israelites to be attacked and plundered. They suffer until they are in terrible distress. As the following passage describes, this is followed by God sending a rescuer—referred to as a "judge." Yet, when that rescuer is gone, Israel returns to their sin (Judges 2:16–19). This cycle will continue for centuries.

The tribes of Israel committed great sin when they failed to drive the depraved, wicked Canaanites from the land. God rebukes them harshly, warning them of the consequences to follow. The people weep and offer sacrifices. And yet, the generations after Joshua abandon God. They worship false gods and perform heinous sins. The Lord burns with anger and uses Israel's enemies as punishment. When the suffering becomes intense, God rescues Israel through a human "judge." When the judge dies, the people return to their sin, deeper even than before.

Judges 2 follows reports about the failure of Israel to drive the Canaanites from each tribes' territories. Despite being rebuked by God, the generations after Joshua eventually abandon the Lord to worship the gods of the Canaanites: the Baals and the Ashtaroth. This establishes a pattern to be repeated in the chapters to come. Israel will worship Canaan's gods. God punishes the people through their enemies. God saves the people through a human judge. When the judge dies, the people return to their sin. This cycle continues throughout the rest of the book of Judges.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).