17. And yet they did not listen to their judges; for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed down to them; they soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so.
Judges 2 reports Joshua's death and the followers' lack of leadership, leading the people to apostasy and idolatry. God will be wrained with the disobedience of the people and allows them to suffer in the hands of their enemies. In response to his prayers, God raises judges to free them from oppression.
Deuteronomy 31:16: "And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, you are to sleep with your parents; and this people will rise, and will prostitute themselves with the strange gods of the earth, where they go, in the midst of it; and leave me , and will nullify my pact, which I have done with it. " This verse portrays God's prediction that the people of Israel would move away from Him and turn to the strange gods, which is precisely what happens in judges 2.
Judges 2:11-12: "Then the children of Israel did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baalins. And they left the Lord, God of his parents, who had taken them out of the land of Egypt, and went after Other gods, among the gods of the peoples around them, and prostrate themselves to them, and caused the wrath of the Lord. " These verses are a direct description of the disobedience of the people of Israel to God and how they turned to other gods, which provoked the wrath of the Lord.
Judges 2:14: "Then the wrath of the Lord lit against Israel, and he handed them into the hands of the whitters who stripped them; and sold them into the hands of their enemies around, so they could no longer resist before their enemies anymore. . " Here we see God's answer to Israel's disobedience: He allows them to suffer in the hands of their enemies.
Judges 2:16: "And lifted the Lord who delivered them from the hand of those who stripped them." Here we see God's answer to Israel's prayers: He raises judges to free them from oppression.
1 Samuel 12:10: "And they cried to the Lord and said, We sin, for we leave the Lord and serve the Baalins and Astarotes, now therefore delivers us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you." This verse portrays the correct answer of the people of Israel to oppression: they cry to God and repent of their disobedience, promising to serve Him.
“O homem sem Deus é um ser mutilado”. São Padre Pio de Pietrelcina
