“‘…you, for your part, are not to make any covenant with the inhabitants of this land but must tear down their altars.’ However, you have paid no attention to what I said. What is this you have done? This is why I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they will be on your flanks, and their gods will become a snare for you.’” When the angel of Adonai spoke these words to all the people of Israel, they began crying and wailing at the top of their voices. So they called the name of that place Bokhim [crying] and sacrificed there to Adonai.”-Judges 2:2-5
Let’s break down what the angel of the Lord told Israel in an easy-to-digest manner.
FIRST, the Lord reminds Israel the only reason they are at rest in the land is because He rescued them from Egypt and went ahead and defeated their enemies.
On the other hand, the Lord also makes it clear Israel’s rest is not complete.
Why?
Because Israel failed to completely drive the Canaanites out of the land.
In spite of this, God tells Israel He will NEVER break covenant with them.
Which, if you think about it, implies Israel deserved to have their covenant canceled.
Yet, because of God’s holy nature, that’s not gonna happen.
Even if Israel decides to walk away from the covenant and the covenant community, the terms and conditions of the covenant will remain alive and well.
SECOND, we are reminded the Mosaic Covenant is conditional.
In other words, if Israel was to live in peace and experience abundance and fruitfulness in the land, they had to be faithful and obedient to the God who brought them there in the first place.
Specifically, I’m referring to the Lord’s clear instructions that Israel must NOT enter into peace treaties with their gentile neighbors.
Nor should they tolerate the existence of the pagan idols and shrines that dotted the landscape.
The Canaanite altars were to be destroyed.
FINALLY, the Lord drives home the point that because Israel has disobeyed His instructions, they will no longer receive divine assistance in driving the Canaanites out.
This will be a far cry from the victories Israel experienced when under Joshua’s leadership.
God is giving Israel some tough news here.
He’s making it clear to them…
“Now you’re going to see how life is without my supernatural covering. As a result, the enemy who you didn’t drive out will stay planted in the land and become a thorn in your flesh.”
Israel broke out into tears at this harsh declaration and began weeping loudly.
They now understood they would have to pay the consequences for their disobedience both in the present and in the future.
They wept with such intensity, the place where this happened was called BOKHIM which means “weepers” in Hebrew.
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