The Chosen Key Word in this Chapter is “Deliverer” it comes from the Hebrew Word “moshia” which means “savior, deliverer.”
An angel confronts Israel directly, and the book’s tragic pattern gets set in motion. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is Judges 2.
The angel of the Lord confronts Israel at Bochim, reminding them that God brought them out of Egypt and promised never to break His covenant with them, on the condition that they make no covenant with the land’s inhabitants and tear down their altars. Since Israel has disobeyed this command, God declares He will no longer drive out these nations before them, but will instead let them remain as thorns in Israel’s sides. Hearing this, the people lift up their voices and weep, “bakah” in Hebrew, naming that place Bochim, meaning weepers, and offering sacrifices there.
The text summarizes that Israel served the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and that of the elders who outlived him and had personally witnessed God’s great works, but after that entire generation died, “there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.” This new generation does evil in the Lord’s sight, serving Baal and abandoning the God of their fathers, provoking Him to anger.
This chapter introduces the tragic, repeating cycle that structures the entire book of Judges. God delivers Israel into the hands of raiders and surrounding enemies because of their sin, and though He is greatly distressed by their groaning under oppression, He raises up judges, “moshia” in Hebrew meaning deliverers or saviors, to rescue them. Yet after each judge dies, the people return to even more corrupt behavior than before, “they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way,” repeating this same devastating pattern of apostasy, oppression, crying out, and deliverance again and again throughout the rest of the book.
The observation that a new generation arose who did not know the Lord, nor the works He had done, is a haunting warning about how quickly faith can fade when it isn’t deliberately passed down. Joshua’s generation experienced God’s power firsthand, but without intentional effort, that same knowledge simply failed to reach their own children.
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