Judges · Chapter 2

V. 1. The angel-Christ the angel of the covenant, often called the angel of the Lord, to whom the conduct of Israel out of Egypt into Canaan, is frequently ascribed. He alone could speak the following words in his own name and person; whereas created angels and prophets universally usher in their message with, Thus saith the Lord, or some equivalent expression. And this angel having assumed the shape of a man, it is not strange that he imitates the motion of a man, and comes as it were from Gilgal to the place where now they were: by which motion he signified, that he was the person that brought them to Gilgal, the first place where they rested in Canaan, and there protected them so long, and from thence went with them to battle, and gave them success. Bochim-A place so called by anticipation; it seems to be no other than Shiloh, where it is probable, the people were met together upon some solemn festival. I said-That is, I promised upon condition of your keeping covenant with me.

Verse 1. An angel of the Lord] In the preceding chapter we have a summary of several things which took place shortly after the death of Joshua; especially during the time in which the elders lived (that is, the men who were contemporary with Joshua, but survived him,) and while the people continued faithful to the Lord. In this chapter, and some parts of the following, we have an account of the same people abandoned by their God and reduced to the heaviest calamities, because they had broken their covenant with their Maker. This chapter, and the first eight verses of the next, may be considered as an epitome of the whole book, in which we see, on one hand, the crimes of the Israelites; and on the other, the punishments inflicted on them by the Lord; their repentance, and return to their allegiance; and the long-suffering and mercy of God, shown in pardoning their backslidings, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies. The angel of the Lord, mentioned here, is variously interpreted; some think it was Phinehas, the high priest, which is possible; others, that it was a prophet, sent to the place where they were now assembled, with an extraordinary commission from God, to reprove them for their sins, and to show them the reason why God had not rooted out their enemies from the land; this is the opinion of the Chaldee paraphrast, consequently of the ancient Jews; others think that an angel, properly such, is intended; and several are of opinion that it was the Angel of the Covenant, the Captain of the Lord’s host, which had appeared unto Joshua, Judges 5:14, and no less than the Lord Jesus Christ himself. I think it more probable that some extraordinary human messenger is meant, as such messengers, and indeed prophets, apostles, &c., are frequently termed angels, that is, messengers of the Lord. The person here mentioned appears to have been a resident at Gilgal, and to have come to Bochim on this express errand. I will never break my covenant] Nor did God ever break it. A covenant is never broken but by him who violates the conditions of it: when any of the contracting parties violates any of the conditions, the covenant is then broken, and by that party alone; and the conditions on the other side are null and void.

Verse 1. An angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal — This, no doubt, was the Angel of the covenant, the same divine being that appeared to Joshua near Jericho, Joshua 5:13, 14; to whom the conduct of Israel out of Egypt into Canaan, and their conquests and success there, are frequently ascribed. He alone could speak the following words in his own name and person; whereas created angels and prophets universally usher in their message with, Thus saith the Lord, or some equivalent expression. And, having assumed the shape of a man, he imitates the motion of a man, and appears to come from Gilgal to the place where they now were, probably in order to remind the Israelites of his appearing to Joshua near that place, of the assurance he then gave them of his intended presence with them in the conquest of the country, and of the solemn covenant they made with him by the renewal of circumcision. This was a reproof to them for their base ingratitude to God, and their pusillanimous sloth in not endeavouring to expel the Canaanites. To Bochim — A word signifying weepers. This was not the name of the place before, but was given it on this occasion, on account of the lamentations of the children of Israel for what the angel said to them, verse 5. It seems to have been no other than Shiloh, where, it is probable, the people were met together upon some solemn festival occasion. And I said, I will never break my covenant with you — That is, upon condition of your keeping covenant with me.

Verse 1. An Angel of the Lord. Jewish writers in succession speak of this as a created angel: but no mere angel would dare to speak as Jehovah. It was therefore the Angel of the covenant, the same that had appeared to Moses and to Joshua. Exodus 3:2, 6. Joshua 5:13, 15. So the fathers with one consent expound his appearance at the bush, and on other occasions. This Angel was an ever-living Angel, clothed with omnipotence, and saying, “I will no more drive out these inhabitants from before you.” Theodoret however thinks, as some Jews have done, that this was Michael the archangel, and prince of the synagogues.

THE NATION REBUKED, 1-5.

1. Angel of the Lord — This was not an inspired human messenger, because, (1) The name of such was usually prophet, or man of God; (2) The expression, angel of Jehovah, is never, in ordinary historical narrative, descriptive of a mere human being; (3) He speaks with a superhuman authority, and lays claim to the acts of Jehovah himself. He assumes to be the same Angel who led the Israelites from Egypt and went before them in the desert journey. Compare Exodus 23:20-25. We have here, therefore, an undoubted theophany. The occasion, the critical condition of the chosen nation, was worthy of such a manifestation of God. Godlike are his words. Gilgal — The first place of encampment in the Jordan valley, where this same angel appeared to Joshua and announced himself as captain of Jehovah’s host. Joshua 5:14, note. There the angel announced the capture of Jericho, and prepared Joshua for the work of conquest. Now he comes again — comes to rebuke the nation for their disobedience, and warn them of the certain punishment that shall follow their lack of faith. The words, came up from Gilgal, indicate that, in the mind of the sacred writer, this Angel was conceived of as having long lingered at the sacred spot of the old camp where he last revealed himself, and now comes from that spot to speak again to Israel. So in Judges 5:4, Jehovah is conceived of as marching out of Mount Seir and the fields of Edom, in the fearful thunder-storm that ruined the army of Sisera. See notes there. So in Judges 6:11, the Angel of the Lord “came and sat under an oak.” So, too, in Genesis 18:16, 22, 33, the three angels, one of whom was called Jehovah, passed from Mamre to Sodom. Bochim — The weepers; so called from the great weeping that occurred here when the people had heard the reproving words of the angel. Compare verses 4 and

5. It is impossible to identify this place, though it seems to have been in the vicinity of Shiloh, where the tabernacle then was, since all Israel were wont to assemble there. Fuerst suggests that it is identical with Allon-bacuth, the oak of weeping, beneath which Deborah was buried. Genesis 35:8. I made you to go up out of Egypt — No human being, not even Moses, could have used this language; nor could any angel, save the Angel of the Covenant, Jehovah of the Old Testament, (Isaiah 63:9,) and Jesus of the New. Malachi 3:1. Which I sware — Promised in connexion with the solemn covenant with Abraham, (Genesis 12:7; 17:7, 8,) and in substance repeated to Jacob and Moses. I will never break — Jehovah will assuredly meet his part of the covenant, so that if there is any failure in its perfect fulfilment it must be the fault of Israel, not of God.

V. 2. Done this-That is, disobeyed these express commands.

Verses 2-5. Ye shall make no league, &c. — These express and frequently-repeated commands of God they had disobeyed. Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out, &c. — That is, I have now taken up this peremptory resolution. They shall be as thorns in your sides, &c. — This signifies what they were assuredly to expect in breaking the covenant on their part; and the sentence here pronounced, or prediction uttered, soon began to take effect and be accomplished. The people lift up their voice and wept — Some of them, it is probable, from a true sense of their sins; others from a just apprehension of their approaching misery. They sacrificed there — For the expiation of their sins, by which they had provoked the Lord to this resolution, and in order to regain his compassion and favour.

2. Make no league — This command was given through Moses. See Deuteronomy 7:2. Throw down their altars — Compare Deuteronomy 12:2, 3. Why have ye done this? — This is an unanswerable question. To give a good reason for sin is to justify it. Sin is always unreasonable. Hence in the day of judgment every sinner will stand speechless.

V. 3. I said-With myself, I have now taken up this peremptory resolution.

Verse 3. I will not drive them out from before you] Their transgressions, and breach of the covenant, were the reasons why they were not put in entire possession of the promised land. See note at the end of this chapter. Clarke “Judges 2:23”.

Verses 2-5. Ye shall make no league, &c. — These express and frequently-repeated commands of God they had disobeyed. Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out, &c. — That is, I have now taken up this peremptory resolution. They shall be as thorns in your sides, &c. — This signifies what they were assuredly to expect in breaking the covenant on their part; and the sentence here pronounced, or prediction uttered, soon began to take effect and be accomplished. The people lift up their voice and wept — Some of them, it is probable, from a true sense of their sins; others from a just apprehension of their approaching misery. They sacrificed there — For the expiation of their sins, by which they had provoked the Lord to this resolution, and in order to regain his compassion and favour.

3. Wherefore I also said — By the lips of Moses (Numbers 33:55) and of Joshua (Joshua 23:12, 13) the declaration was made that if they clave unto the remnant of the nations, and had social and commercial intercourse with them. God would not drive out these nations. They had received a fair warning. As thorns — These words are not found in the Hebrew of this passage, but are here supplied by our translators from Numbers 33:55, and Joshua 23:13. Literally this text reads, They shall be to you to sides; but it is to be regarded as an abbreviation of the proverb, They shall be for thorns to your sides. “The figure is taken from rural life. Israel has acted like a slothful gardener. He has not thoroughly destroyed the thorns and thistles of his fields. The consequence will be that sowing and planting and other field labours will soon be rendered painful by the presence of spiteful thorns. The influence of habitual intercourse will make the Canaanites stinging weeds and snares for Israel.” — Cassel.

V. 4. Wept-Some of them from a true sense of their sins; others from a just apprehension of their approaching misery.

Verses 2-5. Ye shall make no league, &c. — These express and frequently-repeated commands of God they had disobeyed. Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out, &c. — That is, I have now taken up this peremptory resolution. They shall be as thorns in your sides, &c. — This signifies what they were assuredly to expect in breaking the covenant on their part; and the sentence here pronounced, or prediction uttered, soon began to take effect and be accomplished. The people lift up their voice and wept — Some of them, it is probable, from a true sense of their sins; others from a just apprehension of their approaching misery. They sacrificed there — For the expiation of their sins, by which they had provoked the Lord to this resolution, and in order to regain his compassion and favour.

4. Spake these words unto all the children of Israel — This is the only instance on record where the angel of the Lord addressed an assembly; and even if these words were spoken only to the heads and representatives of the people, such representatives would still have constituted an assembly. But this fact is insufficient to set aside the above mentioned reasons for believing that this was the Angel of Jehovah, and not merely a prophet. We see no reason why the covenant Angel might not have revealed himself, at times, to an assembly as well as to individuals. Lifted up their voice, and wept — Man is so constituted in his moral nature that conviction of sin arises when the sinner has a clear view of what he is in contrast with what he ought to be. These two views the Lord held up before all the people, till they could endure the sight no longer. Six hundred thousand sinners in tears of penitence! No wonder that Bochim, a monumental name, was given to the place of such national penitence.

V. 5. Bochim-That is, Weepers. They sacrificed-For the expiation of their sins, by which they had provoked God to this resolution.

Verse 5. They called the name of that place Bochim] The word בכים bochim signifies weepings or lamentations; and is translated by the Septuagint klauquwn or klauquwnev, bewailings; and it is supposed that the place derived its name from these lamentations of the people. Some think the place itself, where the people were now assembled, was Shiloh, now named Bochim because of the above circumstance. It should be observed, that the angel speaks here in the person of God, by whom he was sent; as the prophets frequently do.

Verses 2-5. Ye shall make no league, &c. — These express and frequently-repeated commands of God they had disobeyed. Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out, &c. — That is, I have now taken up this peremptory resolution. They shall be as thorns in your sides, &c. — This signifies what they were assuredly to expect in breaking the covenant on their part; and the sentence here pronounced, or prediction uttered, soon began to take effect and be accomplished. The people lift up their voice and wept — Some of them, it is probable, from a true sense of their sins; others from a just apprehension of their approaching misery. They sacrificed there — For the expiation of their sins, by which they had provoked the Lord to this resolution, and in order to regain his compassion and favour.

Ver. 5. Bochim; that is, in the plural, weepings, wailings, &c. Bochim was the camp near Shiloh.

5. They sacrificed there — Seeking by propitiatory offerings to turn away the wrath of God, and obtain mercy and forgiveness of their sins. Where the Lord appeared there was a place sufficiently holy for the offering of sacrifices.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TIMES OF THE JUDGES, 6-23.

This section, containing a general account of the period of the Judges, is naturally introduced by a connexion with the account of Joshua’s last labours and death, as recorded in Joshua 24:28-31. This introductory passage serves to show that while Joshua lived, and for some time after, the nation deserved no such rebuke as the Angel gave at Bochim, and hence this passage cannot be a direct continuation, chronologically, of the narrative which precedes, for here it is expressly declared that the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua and of the elders that survived him. The reader must bear in mind that this book is not so much a history in the chronological order of events, as a series of historical paintings for the illustration of a few great principles of the Divine administration. The fidelity of Israel during the days of Joshua and the elders is here presented as a notable contrast to their apostasy from God in the days immediately ensuing. The record of this apostasy is necessary to prove the fulfilment of Jehovah’s words in the third verse. The enormity of their disobedience is enhanced by the consideration that it took place in the Promised Land, into which they had been introduced by the miraculous interposition of Jehovah.

V. 6. Let the people go-When he had distributed their inheritances, and dismissed them severally to take possession of them. This was done before this time, whilst Joshua lived; but is now repeated to discover the time, and occasion of the peoples defection from God, and of God’s desertion of them.

Verse 6. When Joshua had let the people go] The author of this book is giving here a history of the people, from the division of the land by Joshua to the time in which the angel speaks. Joshua divided the land to them by lot; recommended obedience to God, which they solemnly promised: and they continued faithful during his life, and during the lives of those who had been his contemporaries, but who had survived him. When all that generation who had seen the wondrous works of God in their behalf had died, then the succeeding generation, who knew not the Lord-who had not seen his wondrous works-forsook his worship, and worshipped Baalim and Ashtaroth, the gods of the nations among whom they lived, and thus the Lord was provoked to anger; and this was the reason why they were delivered into the hands of their enemies. This is the sum of their history to the time in which the angel delivers his message.

Verse 6. And when Joshua — It should rather be rendered, Now when Joshua, &c. For it does not relate to the preceding story, but is a repetition of what was declared Joshua 24:28-31, and is here recorded by way of introduction to the following account of the people’s defection and punishment, contained in the subsequent parts of the book. Let the people go — When he had distributed their inheritances, and dismissed them severally to take possession of them. “The sacred writer,” says Dr. Dodd, “having just related the reproaches delivered by the angel of the Lord against the Israelites, would now show his readers how and when the nation had incurred those reproaches. To this end he carries the matter as far back as possible; and, first, he ascends to that happy period when, Joshua having finished the division of the conquered country of the Canaanites, the Israelites went each to his inheritance, and possessed it, and dwelt in the portion of the land which had fallen to his lot. This division was in fact the immediate work of Providence. Lots were cast before the Lord: he had presided over them, and without doubt Joshua, who had used such fine exhortations to the two tribes and a half beyond Jordan, when they set out to take possession of their territories, failed not strongly to recommend religion and obedience to the other tribes, in settling them in the lands that had been assigned to them; which he repeated before his death in the most affecting manner. See on Joshua 24. All of them, therefore, equally instructed, and impressed with gratitude, had entered upon their estates with intentions promising a constant fidelity. But the love of this world seduced them. They soon thought only of their private interest, how to extend and aggrandize themselves; and speedily losing sight of the public good, shamefully neglected the sacred duties of religion.”

Ver. 6. When Joshua had let the people go. The sacred writer here refers to the assembling of the people at Shechem, when Joshua delivered his dying charge.

7. The elders that outlived Joshua are here referred to as original witnesses of the miracles attendant upon the conquest of Canaan. Their presence and testimony kept the Hebrew nation from degeneracy and backsliding, as the presence of the apostles, eye-witnesses of Christ’s majesty, preserved the Christian Church from corruption and heresy. For notes on Joshua’s death and burial, see Joshua 24:30.

Verse 8. Joshua-died] See the notes on Joshua 24:29, 30.

V. 10. Knew not-Which had no experimental, nor serious and affectionate knowledge of God, or of his works.

Verse 10. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers — Not only those who had beheld the wonderful works of God in Egypt, and in the wilderness, but those also who had seen Jordan dried up, the walls of Jericho fall down, the sun stand still at the word of Joshua, and their enemies overwhelmed with hail-stones, &c., which had created such impressions in their hearts, that they generally continued in the service of God while they lived, and kept others in obedience to him. Another generation, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel — Which had no serious and affectionate knowledge of God or of his works.

Ver. 10. Another generation, which knew not the Lord. That was the fault chiefly of the priests, the levites, and the elders, who seem to have led the people into error. The poor durst not have set up an idol. Eight times in this book they publicly rebelled against the Lord, and eight times the bloody and galling yoke of contemptible heathen powers was thrown upon their necks.

10. Another generation… which knew not the Lord — That is, had no experience of his miracles, no proper respect for his law, nor love for his person and service. The new generation, by their indifference and indisposition to the effort requisite to sift testimony and apply its full force to their minds, wherein was their peculiar probation, fell into a culpable unbelief. The transition from that low faith grounded on the senses, to that higher faith grounded on testimony, is always a critical period.

V. 11. In the sight-Which notes the heinousness and impudence of their sins, above other peoples; because God’s presence was with them, and his eye upon them in a peculiar manner, which also they were not ignorant of, and therefore were guilty of more contempt of God than other people. Baalim-False gods. He useth the plural number, because the gods of the Canaanites, and adjoining nations, which Israel worshipped, were most of them called by the name of Baal.

Verse 11. Served Baalim] The word בעלים baalim signifies lords. Their false gods they considered supernatural rulers or governors, each having his peculiar district and office; but when they wished to express a particular בעל baal, they generally added some particular epithet, as Baal-zephon, Baal-peor, Baal-zehub, Baal-shamayim, &c., as Calmet has well observed. The two former were adored by the Moabites; Baal-zebub by the Ekronites. Baal-berith was honoured at Shechem; and Baal-shamayim, the lord or ruler of the heavens, was adored among the Phœnicians, Syrians, Chaldeans, &c. And whenever the word baal is used without an epithet, this is the god that is intended; and probably, among all these people, it meant the sun.

Verse 11. The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord — Which marks the heinousness and impudence of their sins, above other people’s; because God’s presence was with them, and his eye upon them in a peculiar manner, which also they were not ignorant of, and therefore were guilty of more contempt of God than other people. And served Baalim — False gods, which were called by this general name Baalim, which signifies lords. For among the pagans, as St. Paul observes, there were gods many and lords many, and the gods of the Canaanites and the neighbouring nations, which Israel worshipped, were most of them called by the name of Baal; as Baal of the Sidonians, and Baal of the Amorites, Moabites, Ammonites.

11. Did evil — Practical infidelity follows swiftly upon the heels of speculative infidelity. Decay of morals inevitably follows decay of faith. A curious proof of this fact is imbedded in almost every language in those words whose primary signification implies unbelief, and whose secondary meaning is expressive of practical wickedness. For example, miscreant first signified a misbeliever, then a vile wretch; the word unprincipled first had reference to speculative religious opinions, then passed over into its more common signification of profligate and vicious. Served Baalim — Baal is a Hebrew common noun signifying master, or owner. With the article it becomes a proper name of the supreme male divinity of the Phenician and Canaanitish nations, having the peculiarity of being used in the plural, Baalim, signifying different modifications of the same god. This was not the first time that Israel was seduced to this worship — see Numbers 25:3-5 — nor was it the last, for this form of pagan cultus continued in Israel up to the time of Samuel, at whose rebuke it was renounced. 1 Samuel 7:4. It broke out again like a deadly contagion, and became the religion of the court and people under Ahab. It had the advantage of being a gorgeous ceremonial, dazzling the senses of the ignorant masses. It captivated many of the Hebrews during the reign of the Kings.

Verse 12. Which brought them out of the land of Egypt] This was one of the highest aggravations of their offense; they forsook the God who brought them out of Egypt; a place in which they endured the most grievous oppression and were subjected to the most degrading servitude, from which they never could have rescued themselves; and they were delivered by such a signal display of the power, justice, and mercy of God, as should never have been forgotten, because the most stupendous that had ever been exhibited. They forsook HIM, and served idols as destitute of real being as of influence and power.

V. 13. Baal and Ashtaroth-That is, the sun and moon, whom many Heathens worshipped, tho’ under divers names; and so they ran into that error which God had so expressly warned them against, Deuteronomy 4:19. Baalim signifies lords, and Ashtaroth, blessed ones, he-gods and she-gods. When they forsook Jehovah, they had gods many and lords many, as a luxuriant fancy pleased to multiply them.

Verse 13. Served Baal and Ashtaroth.] In a general way, probably, Baal and Ashtaroth mean the sun and moon; but in many cases Ashtaroth seems to have been the same among the Canaanites as Venus was among the Greeks and Romans, and to have been worshipped with the same obscene rites.

Verse 13. They served Baal and Ashtaroth — By Baal or lord here, it is probable, we are to understand the sun, and by Ashtaroth, the same, it seems, with Astarte, the moon, worshipped in different countries under the names Juno and Venus. So that they had he-gods and she-gods, and gods of all kinds, as many as a luxuriant fancy pleased to make and multiply them. It may not be improper to observe here, that “the reason why the Israelites so often lapsed into idolatry, may easily be deduced from the common notion of tutelary deities, which they had imbibed during their residence in Egypt, which was the fruitful parent of science and idolatry. One generally-received consequence of this opinion was, that the peculiar or tutelary deity of any country could not be neglected, even by the conquerors of that country, without impiety, and that their impiety would certainly meet with punishment from the deity whom they thus neglected. The Israelites, therefore, unwilling to expose themselves to the resentment which the tutelary deity was supposed to take on those who, inhabiting his land, yet slighted his worship; unwilling likewise to leave their paternal God, they incorporated the worship of both; and served not only the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but likewise the Baalim, or local tutelary deities of the countries wherein they were settled. In process of time this weakness increased to such a degree, that the rights of the tutelary deity of the country were acknowledged to be superior to those of the Gentilitial God of the conquerors. This might arise from the common opinion, that the favours of the local deity were particularly attached and confined to one certain spot; or from an apprehension of the strength of the inhabitants among whom they were settled, who would not have endured to have their god slighted, without vindicating his honour, and endeavouring to extirpate the offenders. This piece of complaisance and condescension the Israelites seem to have been guilty of, when they are said to have forsaken the Lord God of their fathers, and to have followed other gods, the gods of the people that were round about them. Their defection from the God of Israel did not, however, consist in rejecting him as a false god, or in renouncing the law of Moses as a false religion: but only in joining foreign worship and idolatrous ceremonies to the ritual of the true God.” Div. Leg., vol. 4. p. 44.

Ver. 13. Baal and Ashtaroth. See on Joshua 23:7.

13. Ashtaroth — This is the plural form of Ashtoreth, the Venus of Syria, whose rites were more filthy and abominable than even those of the Grecian Venus, whose temple, with its thousand female votaries, polluted Corinth, and on a smaller scale defiled every Grecian city. Ashtoreth was the female, as Baal was the male, divinity of the Zidonians. Her worship was very ancient and widespread. Another name was Asherah, rendered groves in our English version; though this name seems rather to have designated the idol images of the goddess than the goddess herself. See Judges 3:7, note.

As God originally created man male and female, so Canaanitish mythology seems to have embodied these conceptions in its system of worship. The masculine life-giving force of nature was worshipped under the names of Baal, Lord; Chemosh, governor; Hadad, the only one; Moloch, king; or simply El, god; the feminine receptive faculty was adored as Ashtoreth, Baalith, or Atar-gath. Thus the chief deities consisted of an apotheosis of the generative forces and laws of nature; an adoration of the objects in which those forces were seen, and where they appeared most active. Such an origin was, it may easily be seen, the source of the grossest sensuality. Debauchery was consecrated by religion. Thus, too, Baal was lord of the sun and god of fire; and as the sun calls into being and growth things evil as well as good, he was also called god of flies, (Baal-zebub.) And many a State gave a local name of its own to the deity. Hence Baal-gad, Baal-peor, Baal-hermon.

Side by side with these varying conceptions of Baal were corresponding ones of his consort Ashtoreth. Where he is sun-god, she is goddess of the moon; where he is Priapus, she is Venus; where he is Zeus, she is his royal partner Hera. And from these multiform representations of the two chief deities they came to be spoken of often in the plural, and instead of Baal and Ashtoreth we have Baalim and Ashtaroth.

V. 14. Sold them-That is, delivered them up, as the seller doth his commodities unto the buyer.

Verse 14. The hands of spoilers] Probably marauding parties of the Canaanites, making frequent incursions in their lands, carrying away cattle, spoiling their crops, &c.

Verses 14, 15. Sold them — That is, delivered them up, as the seller doth his commodities, unto the buyer. Whithersoever they went out — That is, whatsoever expedition or business they undertook, which is equally signified by going out and coming in; the hand of the Lord was against them for evil — Disappointing their expectations, opposing and thwarting their designs, and blasting all their prospects. They were greatly distressed — Thus is sin uniformly followed by suffering.

14. The anger of the Lord was hot — Anger and love are feelings of the Divine as well as of the human mind, but not irregular and misdirected, as they so often appear in men. They are not evil in themselves, and can only become so by becoming uncontrolled or directed towards wrong objects. Infinite Wisdom never errs in either of these ways, and God’s essential antagonism against sin and sinners is one of the perfections of his holy nature. And such righteous indignation the Scriptures properly call anger. Our God is a consuming fire to all the workers of iniquity, and his holy wrath burns with greater or less intensity according to the sinfulness of the sinner. See note on Romans 1:18. Spoilers — Predatory hordes, ruthless robbers, and hostile armies, who plundered their possessions and made merchandise of their persons. And he sold them — This term sell is used in a broad sense for renouncing ownership, and delivering over into the hands of an enemy. The punishment involved in being sold was a payment to the divine justice. They failed to render due service to their only true Lord, and he, their rightful owner, sold them into a miserable slavery. Thus he vindicated the righteousness of his government, and for lack of service enforced a penalty.

V. 15. Whithersoever they went-That is, Whatsoever expedition or business they undertook; which is usually signified by going out, and coming in.

Verse 15. The hand of the Lord was against them] The power which before protected them when obedient, was now turned against them because of their disobedience. They not only had not God with them, but they had God against them.

Verses 14, 15. Sold them — That is, delivered them up, as the seller doth his commodities, unto the buyer. Whithersoever they went out — That is, whatsoever expedition or business they undertook, which is equally signified by going out and coming in; the hand of the Lord was against them for evil — Disappointing their expectations, opposing and thwarting their designs, and blasting all their prospects. They were greatly distressed — Thus is sin uniformly followed by suffering.

15. Whithersoever they went out — Whether in the avocations of peace or to the field of war. Sad indeed is the condition of that nation with which the Almighty wages a constant war. The hand of the Lord was against them for evil — Providence worked against them, so that all manner of misfortunes befell them. Now they were scourged by famine, now by war and oppression.

V. 16. Raised up-By inward inspiration and excitation of their hearts, and by outward designation testified by some extra-ordinary action. Judges-Supreme magistrates, whose office it was, under God, and by his particular direction, to govern the commonwealth of Israel by God’s laws, and to protect and save them from their enemies, to preserve and purge religion, and to maintain the liberties of the people against all oppressors.

Verse 16. The Lord raised up judges] That is, leaders, generals, and governors, raised up by an especial appointment of the Lord, to deliver them from, and avenge them on, their adversaries. See the preface.

Verses 16, 17. Nevertheless the Lord raised up — By inward inspiration and excitement of their hearts, and by outward designation, testified by some extraordinary action. Judges — Supreme magistrates, whose office it was, under God, and by his particular direction, to govern the commonwealth of Israel by God’s laws, and to protect and save them from their enemies, to preserve and purge religion, and to maintain the liberties of the people against all oppressors. Yet they would not hearken to their judges — Who admonished them of their sin and folly, and of the danger and misery which would certainly befall them.

Ver. 16. The Lord raised up judges, having some resemblance to the arkontev, archontes among the Athenians; martial dukes who retained their civil and military powers for life, and were the special gifts of heaven to save and preserve their country.

16. The Lord raised up judges — The advent of national deliverers at various periods is like a burst of sunshine now and then during a day of clouds and storms. The great military leaders who, by their courage and abilities came into the ascendency, arose not by chance; they were the especial gift of God. The term judges, which occurs here for the first time, does not signify a mere judicial officer, whose functions are limited to the exposition and application of the law. It is used in a broad sense for a succession of executive officers who, by the inspiration of the Spirit of God, combined with great natural qualities, assumed the supreme control, unified the energies of a loose confederation of States, and aroused them to throw off the yoke of foreign oppression. See Introduction.

V. 17. Their Judges-Who admonished them of their sin and folly, and of the danger and misery which would certainly befall them.

Verse 17. Went a whoring after other gods] Idolatry, or the worship of strange gods, is frequently termed adultery, fornication, and whoredom, in the sacred writings. As many of their idolatrous practices were accompanied with impure rites, the term was not only metaphorically but literally proper.

Verses 16, 17. Nevertheless the Lord raised up — By inward inspiration and excitement of their hearts, and by outward designation, testified by some extraordinary action. Judges — Supreme magistrates, whose office it was, under God, and by his particular direction, to govern the commonwealth of Israel by God’s laws, and to protect and save them from their enemies, to preserve and purge religion, and to maintain the liberties of the people against all oppressors. Yet they would not hearken to their judges — Who admonished them of their sin and folly, and of the danger and misery which would certainly befall them.

17. And yet they would not hearken unto their judges — It is natural that they who have redeemed a nation should be its first rulers. Against the commands of these, the ungrateful people ran headlong into those idolatries for which they had just been suffering punishment. Went a whoring after other gods — The covenant of God is regarded as sacred as the marriage tie. To break that covenant, and worship another god, corresponds to an act of infidelity on the part of a wife. Hence idolatry is spiritual adultery. They turned quickly out of the way — The leaven of idolatry, with its moral abominations, was brought into contact with the people at so many points that the whole commonwealth was quickly pervaded with the dreadful abomination. Worship is a powerful assimilator. Men become like their gods.

V. 18. It repented the Lord-That is, the Lord changed his course and dealings with them, as penitent men use to do; removed his judgments, and returned to them in mercy.

Verse 18. The Lord was with the judge] God himself was king, and the judge was his representative.

It repented the Lord] He changed his purpose towards them: he purposed to destroy them because of their sin; they repented and turned to him, and he changed this purpose. The purpose was to destroy them if they did not repent; when they did repent, his not destroying them was quite consistent with his purpose.

Verses 18, 19. For it repented the Lord — That is, the Lord changed his course and dealings with them, as penitent men use to do; removed his judgments, and returned to them in mercy. When the judge was dead they returned — To their former and usual course. More than their fathers — In Egypt, or in the wilderness. Their own doings — That is, from their evil practices, which he calls their own, because they were agreeable to their own natures, which in all mankind are deeply and universally corrupted, and because they were familiar and customary to them.

18. It repented the Lord — Render, Jehovah was grieved by their wailings on account of their oppressors and persecutors. Grief, anger, and love are emotions frequently, in the Scriptures, attributed to the divine nature. Judges 10:16; Psalm 7:2; Hosea 11:8; John 3:16; Ephesians 4:30; Hebrews 3:10. Being absolutely perfect and pure in God, these emotions cannot, of course, be associated in the divine nature with any of the errors or evils with which they are often associated in the operations of the human soul. And when this Hebrew word (µjn) bears the sense of repented, (as our translators have rendered it here, but which it more clearly bears in Genesis 6:6, and Jonah 3:10,) it must never be understood as involving changeableness or inconsistency in God. “God is not a man, that he should lie: neither the son of man, that he should repent.” Numbers 23:19. Yet when men change, God may change his method of dealing with them. God is angry with the wicked every day. But when a man passes over from the class of the wicked to that of the righteous, he comes into the range of the Divine complacency. The man has changed, not God. Yet the change may, humanly speaking, be ascribed to God.

V. 19. Returned-To their former, and usual course. Their fathers-In Egypt, or in the wilderness. Their own doings-That is, from their evil practices, which he calls their own, because they were agreeable to their own natures, which in all mankind are deeply and universally corrupted, and because they were familiar and customary to them.

Verse 19. When the judge was dead] It appears that in general the office of the judge was for life.

Their stubborn way.] Their hard or difficult way. Most sinners go through great tribulation, in order to get to eternal perdition; they would have had less pain in their way to heaven.

Verses 18, 19. For it repented the Lord — That is, the Lord changed his course and dealings with them, as penitent men use to do; removed his judgments, and returned to them in mercy. When the judge was dead they returned — To their former and usual course. More than their fathers — In Egypt, or in the wilderness. Their own doings — That is, from their evil practices, which he calls their own, because they were agreeable to their own natures, which in all mankind are deeply and universally corrupted, and because they were familiar and customary to them.

19. When the judge was dead — A God-fearing ruler can, by his example and authority, arrest the moral degeneracy of a nation. The removal of such a ruler, whether by death or otherwise, is often the disastrous turning-point in a nation’s history. More than their fathers — A disobedient and corrupt nation, when the fear of God has been completely thrown off, gravitates towards ruin with an ever-accelerating velocity.

Verse 20. The anger of the Lord was hot] They were as fuel by their transgressions; and the displeasure of the Lord was as a fire about to kindle and consume that fuel.

20. Anger… hot — Compare verse 14, note. He said — Repeatedly, by Joshua (Joshua 23:13) and the angel at Bochim. Verse 3.

Verse 21. I will not henceforth drive out] As a people, they never had personal courage, discipline, or hardihood, sufficient to stand before their enemies: the advantages they gained were by the peculiar interference of God. This they had while obedient; when they ceased to obey, his strong arm was no longer stretched out in their behalf; therefore their enemies continued to possess the land which God purposed to give them as their inheritance for ever.

V. 22. May prove-That I may try and see whether Israel will be true and faithful to me, or whether they will suffer themselves to be corrupted by the counsels and examples of their bad neighbours.

Verse 22. That through them I may prove Israel] There appeared to be no other way to induce this people to acknowledge the true God, but by permitting them to fall into straits from which they could not be delivered but by his especial providence. These words are spoken after the manner of men; and the metaphor is taken from the case of a master or father, who distrusts the fidelity or obedience of his servant or son, and places him in such circumstances that, by his good or evil conduct, he may justify his suspicions, or give him proofs of his fidelity.

Verse 22. That through them I may prove Israel — That I may try and see whether Israel will be true and faithful to me, or whether they will suffer themselves to be corrupted by the counsels and examples of their bad neighbours.

22. That through them I may prove Israel — The presence of wicked men in society constitutes a part of the trial of the good. The Hebrews, by sparing their idolatrous enemies, multiplied and intensified their own temptations to sin. Jehovah used the heathen tribes that were left in the land to chastise the Israelites when the latter went out of the way. Of these chastisements and the deliverances wrought upon Israel’s repentance, the Book of Judges is largely the history.

Verse 23. Without driving them out hastily] Had God expelled all the ancient inhabitants at once, we plainly see, from the subsequent conduct of the people, that they would soon have abandoned his worship, and in their prosperity forgotten their deliverer. He drove out at first as many as were necessary in order to afford the people, as they were then, a sufficiency of room to settle in; as the tribes increased in population, they were to extend themselves to the uttermost of their assigned borders, and expel all the remaining inhabitants. On these accounts God did not expel the aboriginal inhabitants hastily or at once; and thus gave the Israelites time to increase; and by continuing the ancient inhabitants, prevented the land from running into waste, and the wild beasts from multiplying; both of which must have infallibly taken place had God driven out all the old inhabitants at once, before the Israelites were sufficiently numerous to occupy the whole of the land.

THESE observations are important, as they contain the reason why God did not expel the Canaanites. God gave the Israelites a grant of the whole land, and promised to drive out their enemies from before them if they continued faithful. While they continued faithful, God did continue to fulfil his promise; their borders were enlarged, and their enemies fled before them. When they rebelled against the Lord, he abandoned them, and their enemies prevailed against them. Of this, their frequent lapses and miscarriages, with God’s repeated interpositions in their behalf, are ample evidence. One or two solitary instances might not be considered as sufficient proof; but by these numerous instances the fact is established. Each rebellion against God produced a consequent disaster in their affairs; each true humiliation was invariably followed by an especial Divine interposition in their behalf. These afforded continual proof of God’s being, providence, and grace. The whole economy is wondrous; and its effects, impressive and convincing. The people were not hastily put in possession of the promised land, because of their infidelity. Can the infidels controvert this statement? If not then their argument against Divine revelation, from “the failure of positive promises and oaths,” falls to the ground. They have not only in this, but in all other respects, lost all their props.

“Helpless and prostrate all their system lies

Cursing its fate, and, as it curses, dies.”

JUDGES

23. Therefore — In Deuteronomy 7:22, another reason is assigned for leaving the Canaanites in the land, namely, “lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.” But that passage contemplates the destruction of the idolaters, “little by little,” through an uncompromising aggression upon them, while in this the Israelites are rebuked and punished for giving up the contest as hopeless, and for making covenants with those whom God had doomed to a gradual extermination.