JUDGES 2 | Israel’s Failing, God’s Mercy

Judges 2 Israel's Failing God's Mercy
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Are you feeling distant in your walk with the Lord, remembering a time when your faith burned brightly but now seems lukewarm? The story of Israel in today’s daily devotional on Judges 2 is a sobering reminder of how quickly we can fall away from God. Despite starting strong in their covenant with the Lord, the Israelites soon turned to idol worship and disobedience. As you reflect on this chapter, consider your own spiritual journey. Have you allowed distractions to pull you away from God? This devotional invites you to revisit Judges 2 and examine your heart, seeking renewed direction and closeness with the Lord. Whether you’ve faced trials, changes in life circumstances, or spiritual drift, now is the time to return to a vibrant relationship with God. To learn what happened to the Israelites after Joshua’s death, read the daily devotional on Judges 1.

Judges 2 Commentary by Allen J. Huth

In Judges 2, Israel falls to idol worship and disobedience. Did you start strong in your Christian walk, but now find yourself lukewarm? Please read or listen to Judges 2.

In 1983, I wrote, “Israel falls to idol worship and disobedience. The Lord is faithful to His promises of punishment for disobedience and does not fight for faithless Israel anymore.”

In 1995, remember I shared yesterday I was being laid off from a job after thirteen years. I am going to share a little bit more than just my journal entry about Judges. I am going to share what I wrote this day concerning that issue. In my prayer to the Lord, I wrote, “For God’s specific direction in my life. No Hagars. Protect me by silencing the voice of the enemy. Let me hear clearly from You. A contract with International Bible Society. Maybe to create the Ezra Project. Maybe pieces of jobs. Things that will utilize my talents and abilities, i.e., speaking, presenting, and writing.” As you can see, I was praying for a specific direction for my new career path, obviously not knowing what it was going to be. 

What Is the Main Message of Judges?

Then I wrote about Judges 2 (NKJV), “‘the Angel of the Lord’ (v. 1). Capitalized (Angel), not named. Who was it?” Then I wrote, “I hope there are angels coming to me with the message now. His message was, ‘Why have you disobeyed My voice?’ When we disobey, we get ‘thorns in your side’ (v. 3). I continued, “We must pass on Jesus to the next generation, according to verse 10.” And I wrote, “God’s anger gets hot, according to verse 14. He delivers us into our enemy’s hand for calamity and distress, yet the Lord raises up those to deliver us. He leaves things in our path to test us whether we will keep the way of the Lord.”

In 2016, I wrote about Judges 2, “An angel, not Moses or Judges, spoke or communicated ‘to all the people of Israel’ (v. 4). Then I wrote, “God keeps His Covenant with Israel until ‘you have not obeyed my voice’ (v. 2). He stopped fighting for them when they disobeyed and stopped fighting for themselves, referring to verse 3. Israel stayed faithful under Judges and the generation that followed Judges but then ‘arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that He had done for Israel’ (v. 10). How did that happen?”

I continued, “The generation before did not pass on the Lord, the stories, the relationships. ‘And they abandoned the Lord, . . .They went after other gods . . . And they provoked the Lord to anger’ (v. 12). He gave them over. He sold them into the hand of their enemies. The hand of the Lord was against them for harm. Life without the Lord is defeating. But God. But God. He raises up judges to bring them back, save them, but they did not listen to them but went on whoring after other gods, according to verse 17. We kindle the anger of God against us, then He tests us to see if we will, ‘walk in the way of the Lord . . . or not’ (v. 22).” 

In the very opening of this chapter, God says, “I will never break my covenant with you”. But then He goes on to say, “But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you” (vv. 2-3).

What Does Joshua 2:7 Mean?

The heart of God is never to break His covenant with us. But we do not stay obedient to Him. There are consequences when we do this. The chapter goes on to say, “And the people served the Lord all the days of Judges, and all the days of the elders who outlived Judges, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel” (v. 7). But it did not take very long after when the scripture says, “And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel” (v. 10). 

I wrote in my journal, “Why? How did this happen?” It is because they did not pass on the works of the Lord from generation to generation. How are we doing with that? Are you passing on your Christian heritage to your children and your grandchildren? Are you sharing the great stories of where the Lord has met you in your life as a testimony for your children and grandchildren that they can see the great works of the Lord? 

What’s the Meaning of Judges 2:22?

Because this was not done then, they abandoned the Lord. They went after other gods. They provoked the Lord to anger. And the hand of the Lord was against them for harm. They were being defeated by their enemies. Even in all this, God is trying to keep His covenant. He sends judges to them to save “them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them” (vv. 16-17). And God puts them to the test. He says, “in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not” (v. 22).

What Do We Learn from Judges 2?

What is our application from Judges 2? Maybe it is time for a check-up on how serious your walk is with the Lord. Are you hearing His voice? Are you obeying His voice? Have you set God aside for other gods? What is on the pedestal of your life that is higher than the Lord right now? Are you provoking God to anger? Maybe everything in your life is not the way you think it ought to be. Maybe God is testing you to see if you are faithful to Him. He tested Israel. Is He testing you today?

Prayer

Lord, through the Book of Judges we see our relationship with You is very important. You desire a very close relationship with us. Do we desire the same with You? Through these words, Lord, convict our hearts to get closer to You, to not go whoring after other gods but to put You back on the pedestal as the first and most important person in our lives. 

Lord, if You are dragging us through a test right now, Holy Spirit, wake us up so the test can end, and we can bring our faith back in line with You. We thank You that You are a God of forgiveness. When we forsake You, repent, and come back to You, You receive us with open arms. May that be our prayer today. Receive us once again, Lord, with Your open arms, and we will thank You for it. In Jesus’ name, amen.

We invite you to watch the “Great News” video on this page and find out more about God’s love for you and how you can receive forgiveness and eternal life – today!

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The Prayer of Salvation

Jesus, I don't know You, and I don't know what Your plan is for me. But thank you for coming to die in my place. I'm sorry for anything I've ever done wrong in my life. I don't understand how You could ever forgive me, but if You really would, I would like to accept your free gift of grace and complete forgiveness. Please come into my life and take control, and help me trust You. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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