Judges 2:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.

NIV: Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.

NASB: Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had spoken and just as the Lord had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.

CSB: Whenever the Israelites went out, the Lord was against them and brought disaster on them, just as he had promised and sworn to them. So they suffered greatly.

NLT: Every time Israel went out to battle, the Lord fought against them, causing them to be defeated, just as he had warned. And the people were in great distress.

KJV: Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.

NKJV: Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed.

When Israel first entered the land of Canaan, the "Promised Land" meant for Israel, the hand of God was with them. God's plan and purpose was to purge the depravity of Canaanite culture from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4–5). When they attacked other peoples, they often won easily, even against overwhelming odds, because the Lord fought for them.

Now the exact opposite has come to pass. It's not that the Lord has stopped fighting for Israel against her enemies. It's that the hand of the Lord is against His chosen people to harm them. He batters Israel with her enemies, just as He promised to do if the people broke their covenant with Him by worshiping other gods. The Lord was true to His word.

The final sentence of this verse may be an understatement: As a direct result of abandoning the Lord and participating in the wicked worship practices of other gods, the Israelites were in terrible distress at the Lord's hand.

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).