Principle
As Israel’s idolatrous rebellion increased, so also did God’s discipline of Israel.
Explanation
Once the Israelites had conquered Canaan, and Joshua’s generation had died, the people quickly broke their covenant with GOD and began to serve the Canaanite gods, beginning with Baal and the Ashtoreths.
10 And when all that generation were laid with their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord, nor the work He had done for Israel.
11 Then the sons of Israel did evil before the Lord and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; they followed other gods from among the gods of the nations all around them, and they bowed down to them. They provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.
Judges 2:10-13 OSB
This is precisely what Moses prophesied on multiple occasions, as well as what was written in the Law. But remember: this was a new generation who didn’t know GOD and therefore didn’t know the Law.
And GOD does what He says.
So, following Joshua’s death began the downward death spiral of the earthly descendants of Israel (Jacob). First came spiritual decay in their abandonment of the GOD of Jacob, Yahweh.
Second came the resulting moral decay from the loss of GOD’s light, relationship, and blessing, to guide their path. Without GOD’s guidance, man does stupid things.
Stupid games win stupid prizes, as the saying goes.
In GOD’s goodness, He allowed time for Israel to repent, but eventually sent an adversary to discipline Israel.
As we have previously established, GOD’s motive for disciplining His children is to bring them back to Himself, to correct a behavior, or to grow them.
With Israel, it was to humble them to recognize that prosperity, fulfillment, blessings, and their relationship with their God was not in the Canaanite gods, but in Yahweh, who alone was with them from the days of their forefather Abraham.
GOD’s discipline brought decay phases 3-6:
- Economic suffering (ex: loss of food, freedom, individual property)
- Physical suffering (Canaanite neighbors, fear, enemy attacks, raiders, war, slavery)
- Scattering from territory
- Death
Judges 2 summarizes the beginning of this downward spiral:
14 And the Lord was enraged with anger at Israel. So He delivered them into the hands of plunderers, who ravaged them and sold them into the hands of their enemies all around. As a result they could no longer stand before their enemies. 15 Whenever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity, as the Lord had spoken, and as the Lord had sworn to them. He greatly distressed them.
16 Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges and the Lord saved them from the hand of those who plundered them. 17 But even so, they would not listen to their judges, but instead they played the harlot with other gods and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do so. 18 And the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved by their groaning because of those who besieged them and harassed them. 19 And when the judge was dead, they went back to their former ways and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods, serving them, and bowing down to them. They did not reject their pursuits nor their stubborn ways. 20 Then the Lord was enraged with anger at Israel; and He said, “Because this nation set aside My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice, 21 therefore I will not drive away from your presence any more of the men Joshua the son of Nun left in the land.” And the Lord left them, 22 to test Israel by them, to see whether they would keep the ways of the Lord, to walk in them and keep them as their fathers did. 23 Therefore the Lord left those nations without driving them out immediately; and He did not deliver them into the hand of Joshua.
Joshua 2:14-23 OSB
Thus, Israel’s death spiral sequence was:
- Israel did more evil than ever before.
- GOD saw their stubborn rebellious idolatry and it provoked Him to anger.
- GOD sent a punishment, typically a nearby Canaanite people Israel failed to eliminate, to discipline and correct Israel.
- Israel eventually cried out to GOD in their oppression, pleading for help.
- In His mercy, because He loved His people, GOD raised up a judge to deliver Israel from their oppressors.
- Israel remained faithful to GOD during the remainder of the judge’s lifetime, and then the cycle restarted.
The cycle appears to have continued in this manner until we reach the beginning of the account of Samson, who was certainly a unique person in many ways. Prior to the conclusion of Samson’s life, when we read of the beginning of the account of the next judge, we read how the Israelites did evil in the sight of GOD.
However, when Samson died, as recorded in Judges 16:31, the next passage, beginning in Judges 17:1, makes no mention of Israel again doing evil. In fact, the only statements we have about Israel’s condition in the context are:
6 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Judges 17:6 OSB
That statement is repeated multiple times in Judges.
The point is that once we reach the timeframe of Samson’s life, Israel’s decay had reached a milestone where they appear to have no longer had hearts to return to GOD with the oppression of the nations around them.
As time moved from the period of judges into the kings, Israel’s decline continued, and so did GOD’s discipline. Thankfully, there were a few good kings, as well as periods of repentance under what had been evil kings, which temporarily slowed the decay. But it was not enough to turn things around. The heart of this people was too hard and their necks too stiff.
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