Judges 2:1-5
1 Now the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you,
2 and as for you, you shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed Me; what is this thing that you have done?
3 Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out from you; but they will become like thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.’ ”
4 Now when the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people raised their voices and wept.
5 So they named that place Bochim; and there they sacrificed to the Lord.
God’s Judgement Against Israel’s Unfaithfulness
The angel of the Lord
Giving the land of Canaan to the people of Israel was the promise (covenant) of the Lord. However, the recipients of this promise, the Israelites, failed to drive out the Canaanites (the pagan people) from the land, and on top of it, they began making covenants with them. It is unacceptable for the covenant people of the Lord to enter into covenants with idolatrous people. Faced with this dilemma, the Lord took the following action: (1) the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. The angel of the Lord is the second person of the triune God. The angel of the Lord is God Himself. Gilgal was the place where Joshua circumcised the people and celebrated the Passover immediately after crossing the Jordan River. Bochim refers to Bethel (ref. Gen. 35:8). (2) The angel of the Lord rebuked the Israelites for not demolishing the altars of the inhabitants of this land and for making covenants with them, despite having a covenant with the Lord.
Result of unfaithfulness
After this, changes occur in the relationship between the Lord and the Israelites. (1) The Lord will no longer participate in the battles to drive out the Canaanites. In other words, the people of Israel are left without the help of the Lord. (2) The Canaanites will become enemies of the Israelites, and their idols will become a snare to the Israelites. (3) All of this fulfills the prophecy of Moses (Ex. 23:20-33, 34:1-11). The content of the prophecy was that if they were not faithful to the Lord, they would not be able to drive out the inhabitants of the land. Upon hearing the words of the angel of the Lord, the Israelites raised their voices and wept. However, their response fell far short of genuine repentance. After this, there are two more instances where the Lord directly speaks to the Israelites (6:7-10, 10:10-16), and on both occasions, the spiritual condition of the Israelites was in decline. If we continue to harden our hearts, we will no longer receive blessings from the Lord. Let us remember the following words: “Behold, now is ‘a favorable time,’ behold, now is ‘a day of salvation’” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Today's prayer
Heavenly Father, grant me a tender and contrite heart. Enable me to walk in a way that allows me to receive Your help. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.