Judges 2:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they called the name of that place Bochim. And they sacrificed there to the Lord.

NIV: and they called that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.

NASB: So they named that place Bochim; and there they sacrificed to the Lord.

CSB: So they named that place Bochim and offered sacrifices there to the Lord.

NLT: So they called the place Bokim (which means 'weeping'), and they offered sacrifices there to the Lord.

KJV: And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the Lord.

NKJV: Then they called the name of that place Bochim; and they sacrificed there to the Lord.

The Lord has just appeared to Israel in some visible, human form (Judges 2:1). He has rebuked Israel for disobeying His voice by not driving the Canaanites from the land as He commanded them to. Instead, the Israelites have allowed many of the Canaanites to live among them (Judges 2:2–3). They have allowed the Canaanites to continue to worship their false gods instead of Israel tearing down their altars and utterly destroying the depraved people (Deuteronomy 9:4–5; 20:16–18).

The result will be exactly as God warned them it would be. He would no longer participate in driving their Canaanite enemies from the land. The inhabitants of the land and their false gods would become bitter enemies, oppressors, and spiritual poison to the Israelites for years to come.

The people assembled here are likely leaders of Israel's tribes. They have responded to the Lord with tears, lifting their voices in great mourning. In fact, the crying is so loud and pervasive that the place is called Bochim, which means "place of weeping." In addition, the people perform animal sacrifices. These are a sign of humble repentance and desire for God's forgiveness and restitution. However, their repentance before God seems to have been short-lived. This is the last time the book of Judges notes tears and sacrifices in response to the Lord's rebuke.

Most of the book of Judges is taken up describing a centuries-long cycle of sin, rescue, and disobedience. Despite repeated reminders of God's power and the danger of sin, Israel will persistently disobey and suffer as a result (Judges 2:11–15).

Judges 2:1–5 reveals the conclusion to the reports from chapter one: the tribes of Israel did not drive the Canaanites from the Promised Land. The angel of the Lord appears to the people, speaking as the Lord. He reminds them how He has done good for them, and empowered them, yet they have broken their covenant with Him. Now, the wicked and ungodly Canaanites will become thorns and their false gods will ensnare Israel. The people weep and make sacrifices to the Lord. However, as the rest of the book of Judges shows, their weeping doesn't lead to any meaningful change.

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).