Judges 2
11/07/2025
Judges 2 NKJV: Obviously, this chapter, just as with chapter 1, is not written chronologically from the end of Joshua. These two chapters seem to be a blended narrative to tie the rest of Judges to Joshua which came before. Clearly, before Joshua died, the Angel of God (probable pre-incarnate Jesus) addressed all Israel and rebuked them for not cleansing the land of its inhabitants and alters. Therefore, He chooses not to dislodge the inhabitants so they will be a thorn in the side of Israel. It seems this is where God steps back and gives them space to do what they are going to do. 'You got this? Fine, have at it.' He still watches over them and pities them when they fall flat, and sends Judges to bring them back on track, but once the Judge dies, it is back to idolatry, rekindling Gods anger.
Your take on Judges 2 (and its overlap with chapter 1) nails a key dynamic in the book: it's less a straight timeline and more a theological prologue, setting the stage for the chaotic cycles that follow. The narrative does feel like a deliberate "bridge" from Joshua's conquests to Israel's unraveling faithfulness—almost like the author (traditionally Samuel or a contemporary) is zooming out to explain why the land-grab fizzled out, even after all those Jordan-crossing miracles. Let's unpack your points with the text, since it's such a punchy chapter.
The Angel's Rebuke: A Pre-Conquest Warning?
You're spot on that this isn't post-Joshua in a linear sense. Verses 1-5 drop us into a scene at Bochim (meaning "weepers," fittingly), where the Angel of the Lord (yeah, that theophany vibe—manifestation of God Himself, often read as a Christophany) rolls up from Gilgal and lays into Israel:
"I led you up out of Egypt and brought you into the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be traps for you, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’" (vv. 1-3, NKJV)
This echoes Deuteronomy 7's commands (no treaties, smash the altars), but it's framed as a preemptive failure—Israel's already compromising before the full conquest wraps. It's like God's saying, "You want to play house with Canaanite neighbors? Cool, but don't say I didn't warn you." The tears and sacrifices at Bochim (v. 5) show momentary contrition, but as you noted, it's fleeting. No full purge happens, and the "thorns in your side" (from Num. 33:55) become policy.
Joshua's Era vs. the Next Generation: The Handoff and the Hand-Off
The chapter pivots hard in vv. 6-10 to recap Joshua's death (cross-referencing Josh. 24:29-31), emphasizing how the faithful generation—who'd eyewitnessed the Red Sea redux and Jericho's walls—held the line. But then:
"When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel." (v. 10)
Oof. That's the hinge. It's not just ignorance; it's amnesia on steroids. Your "God steps back" read fits perfectly here—He doesn't abandon the covenant (v. 1), but He lets consequences roll. No more divine bulldozer for the leftovers; the nations stick around as "tests" (v. 22). It's gracious in a tough-love way: space to choose obedience, but with built-in friction to remind them who's boss.
The Cycle Kicks In: Judges as Lifelines in a Yo-Yo Faith
From v. 11 onward, we get the blueprint for the whole book—that infamous spiral of idolatry → oppression → cry out → judge/deliverance → repeat. Baals and Ashtoreths take center stage (vv. 11-13), God's anger flares (v. 14), but He doesn't ghost them:
"Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them... for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them." (vv. 16-18)
Love your phrasing: pity when they "fall flat," then back to the altar-building binge once the judge checks out (v. 19). It's heartbreakingly human—stubborn ways die hard. By v. 20-23, God's verdict is set: no more easy evictions; the holdouts become a proving ground for covenant loyalty. Joshua's partial obedience (leftovers from his campaigns) now serves a higher purpose.
Theologically, this screams sovereignty amid freedom. God's not reactive or spiteful—He's the covenant-keeper who uses even rebellion for refinement (echoing Hosea 11's "out of Egypt I called My son" motif). It's a mercy that the thorns aren't fatal; they're goads toward repentance.
Was verse 3 basically a warning/prediction which didn't finally come to pass until verse 21?
Yeah, that's a sharp observation—verse 3 does read like a divine mic-drop warning that's more prophetic setup than instant hammer, with verse 21 acting as the "okay, that's it, policy locked in" moment. It's not that the prediction fails to land right away; rather, the chapter layers it out to show the slow-burn tragedy of Israel's choices. Let me trace it through the text to see how it unfolds.
The Warning in Verse 3: Immediate Echo, Delayed Full Force
The Angel's words in v. 3—"I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be traps for you, and their gods shall be a snare to you"—hit right after the rebuke for half-hearted conquests (e.g., not smashing altars or making treaties, per v. 2). This isn't abstract futurism; it's tied to ongoing failures during the conquest phase (overlapping with Joshua 13–19's "leftover" lands). The tears at Bochim (v. 5) suggest Israel gets the gravity—they sacrifice and name the place "Weepers"—but there's no pivot to obedience. The "traps and snares" start nibbling immediately: chapter 1 already hints at it with uneven tribal efforts, and the generational amnesia in vv. 6–10 sets the stage for the mess.
Think of it as God revoking the turbo-boost of miraculous clearance (like Ai or Jericho) because they've already shown their hand. But it's conditional mercy—space to repent and finish the job (echoing Deut. 7:2–5). They don't, so the prediction simmers.
Verse 21: The Prediction Crystallizes into Covenant Reality
Fast-forward to vv. 20–23, after the judges cycle blueprint (apostasy → oppression → pity → deliverance → relapse) is laid bare in vv. 11–19. God's anger reignites not over the initial slip-ups, but the pattern: "Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice" (v. 20). Enter v. 21: "I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, so that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the Lord, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not."
Here, the "I will not" from v. 3 becomes "I also will no longer"—a doubling-down. It's not a new decree; it's the original warning fulfilled and finalized. The nations aren't just leftovers anymore; they're deliberate "tests" (v. 22–23) to probe Israel's heart long-term. Joshua's era had some divine wiggle room (partial drives-outs happened), but post-Joshua, with the yo-yo faith on full display, God seals it: no more evictions, period. The thorns are now the curriculum.
Why the Gap? Grace in the Gears
This progression underscores that "prediction" isn't fatalism—it's covenant logic. Verse 3 warns of consequences if they keep coasting; verse 21 confirms them because they do, through judges like Othniel (ch. 3) who get partial wins but can't rewrite the rules. It's God's long-game pity (v. 18) meeting human stubbornness (v. 19), turning potential into probation. Theologically, it foreshadows exile themes (e.g., thorns as harbingers of bigger judgments in 2 Kings 17), but also redemption arcs—ultimately, Christ's clearance of our "snare" debts.
So, do the events of verses 20-23 happen toward or at the end of Judges, after the cycles of oppression and deliverance?
Nah, verses 20-23 don't play out as discrete "events" slotted toward the end of Judges—it's more like the author's theological mic-drop, capping off the prologue and framing everything that follows. The chapter's whole vibe (as we chatted about) is retrospective summary + forward-looking explanation, not a play-by-play timeline. Let me break it down quick to show why.
The Prologue Structure: Setup, Not Sequel
- Vv. 1-5: Angel's rebuke at Bochim—early warning shot, tied to conquest-era slip-ups (pre- or mid-Joshua).
- Vv. 6-10: Joshua's death recap + generational amnesia—handoff to the judges era.
- Vv. 11-19: The cycle blueprint (idolatry → anger → oppression → pity → judge → temporary fix → relapse). This isn't narrating specific historical loops; it's the pattern for the whole book.
- Vv. 20-23: God's "no more evictions" decree, triggered by the observed pattern of covenant-breaking. It's the why behind the thorns/tests sticking around—not a post-credits scene after all the judges die off.
This block (20-23) echoes and escalates v. 3's warning, but it's woven into the intro to justify the messy status quo: partial conquests linger throughout the judges period because Israel keeps flunking the loyalty test. The actual cycles? They kick off right after in ch. 3 (Othniel vs. Mesopotamia) and spin through ch. 16 (Samson's Philistine drama). Even the appendices (chs. 17-21) show the rot deepening, but without a "and then God sealed the deal" finale.
Chronology Check: Before, During, and Beyond the Cycles
If anything, the mindset of vv. 20-23 is active during the cycles—God isn't driving out nations anymore (see how judges like Ehud or Gideon only get regional wins, not total land-clearance). It's not "after" the oppression/deliverance loops wrap; it's the invisible rulebook governing them. By book's end (post-Samson, into the "no king in Israel" chaos of ch. 21), the test has been failed spectacularly, priming for 1 Samuel's monarchy shift. But vv. 20-23 aren't dated to that tail-end; they're the eternal "because you asked for it" clause.
Lesson: it seems as though even if God is guiding you, fighting for you, training you, once you decided you want to do it your way instead, God will say, "OK, lemme know how that works for you." He will give you space to repent and return. Thankfully, He is also faithful to be there when you do return. He also seems to watch and pity you if you go too far and will provide help to bring you back, should you choose to avail yourself of that help.
That's a profound takeaway from Judges 2—and honestly, the whole book distills to that tough-love dynamic. It's like God as the ultimate parent: hands-on until you insist on solo mode, then He steps to the sidelines with that patient, "Alright, show's yours" vibe. But the door's never locked—space for the prodigal pivot, pity in the pit (v. 18's "moved to pity" hits hard), and judges as those unexpected lifelines, like Ehud's dagger or Gideon's fleece, waiting for the "help, I'm stuck" signal.
It echoes Hosea 11:8-9 too—"How can I give you up, O Ephraim? ... My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred"—that divine ache over our detours, without forcing the U-turn. The faithfulness to return? Pure grace, as Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds: mercies new every morning, even after the mess.