Judges 2:7-12

Judges 2:7

And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.

 

While Joshua was alive, the people were obedient and had served the Lord and that obedience went further during the lives of all the elders which lived beyond Joshua.  A verse like this teaches us a great principle.  When the Bible refers to us as sheep, it couldn’t be a more true statement.  Joshua and the elders ruled the people just as a shepherd guides and guards the sheep.  As long as the shepherd is alive and watching the flock, there will be order and contentment.  As soon as the sheep are without a shepherd, then they get into all kinds of trouble which leads some of them to eternal death.  The Lord Jesus Christ even saw this dilemma in the nation of Israel when He was here on earth.  Matthew 9:36 (KJV)   But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.  Another principle emerges here.

 

The people of Israel had the Sanhedrin as their leaders but here Jesus sees them as sheep having no shepherd.  This was because the Jewish leaders were corrupt and their theology did not show the true way of salvation.  Just because someone holds a leadership position does not mean they are a shepherd.  Ezekiel prophesied against the false shepherds of Israel.  Ezekiel 34:10 (KJV)   Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.  The day would come when the Lord would remove his people from under these false shepherds and they would no longer be chattel but a living body in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Judges 2:8

And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.

 

Finally Joshua the son of Nun had died at the age of 110 years old.  Joseph also died at the age of 110.  (Gen. 50:26)  What a great description the Scriptures give Joshua calling him “the servant of the Lord.”  This was the end of a great era reaching back to the time of the Exodus.  Once Joshua had died it was also the beginning of the death of obedience especially after all the elders had died and Israel had begun to start giving in to the false religions which surrounded them.  The thorn was about to get much sharper.

 

Judges 2:9

And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.

 

Joshua 24:30 (KJV)   And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.  Timnath-serah was located about 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Jerusalem.  2 Samuel 23:30 (KJV)   Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash,  The brook mentioned here may have been at the foot of the hill of Gaash.

 

Judges 2:10

And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

 

The time came when all the generation of true leadership that ruled with Joshua had died.  Here is the result of not passing down or of not training the next generation.  A new generation had arisen who did not know the Lord nor did they know of His mighty works in dealing with Israel, especially the exodus from Egypt.  When parents do not train their children properly, the result is what follows.  This is why it is so important for Christian parents to train their children in the things of the Lord and not leave it to the church since the majority of churches have become apostate and don’t know the truth themselves.  The children of Israel should have been quick to recognize this scenario as it happened to their fathers when Joseph died.  Exodus 1:8 (KJV)   Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.  The new Pharaoh did not know Joseph or of him and that began the slavery of Israel.  Now in the land of Canaan Israel was about to enter into slavery again.  This time it would be voluntary as they started to mix with the false religions surrounding them.  They went into religious slavery which also led them into physical slavery as they became servants of conquering heathen people groups.

 

Judges 2:11

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:

 

And so it begins, the evil routine which will be theirs for the next 400 years.  The word “Baalim” is in the plural.  In Hebrew when you see the “im” at the end of the word it means it is plural.  Just from that one word, they must have been worshipping multiple deities since the tribes which were spread out over the whole land had made pacts with the inhabitants of the various areas and each had local gods which Israel would have been involved with as they began to forsake the true God who brought them out of slavery in Egypt.

 

Judges 2:12

And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

 

The word “forsook” in the Hebrew carries with it the meaning of “abandoned.”  They literally made a conscious decision to forsake or abandon the true God and to take up the worship of the false gods.  Wherever a certain tribe was located that made a league with the local inhabitants, whatever their false god was, that was the false god they were worshipping.  This is why God told them to drive out the inhabitants because as we see it did not take long for the people to start prostituting themselves with the false gods.  Their worship of the false gods included them bowing to them.  The word “bowing” in the Hebrew carries with it the meaning of “to prostrate, to pay homage, to reverence, and do obeisance.”  So these people were not just paying lip service or just physically bowing to these false gods but were very involved in the worship and service to them.  It is like the adherents to the cults we see today like Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses which require full involvement.  The Israelites were dedicated to the service of these false gods.

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