Judges 2:1-5
The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.’ Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? 3 And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; they will become traps for you, and their gods will become snares to you.’”
4 When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud, 5 and they called that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.
In the following verses, the Israelites were reminded of the covenant God made with them. The mention of Gilgal is critical because this was the place where God’s people entered into a covenant with God (Joshua 5:9) When the angel was mentioned as coming from Gilgal, it was a reminder that God’s covenant of grace is there to rescue and forgive them. Under the covenant, they would experience God’s blessings, protection, and abundance. Yet they chose to disobey God (v2) by compromising and intermarrying with the Canaanites who were worshipping other gods. As a result, God did not drive out the people group that they chose to partner with. Instead of choosing God’s covenant, they chose to covenant with the Canaanites.
KEY POINT #1: Following Jesus means totally following Jesus.
KEY POINT #2: Half-hearted obedience is disobedience.
When the people heard this, they wept before the Lord yet there weeping would be short-lived as we would see in the next verses of Judges 2.
Talk it over:
- What does it mean for you to follow Jesus? What are some reasons why you have a hard time following Jesus?
- Are there any areas in your life where you are experiencing half-hearted obedience? What are those? Ask for prayer with your small group.