Judges 2 "And What Is a Judge?"

1. The Mal'ak Yahweh (2:1-6)

2:1-5 is the hinge between the two introductions to Judges.

If chapter 1 is the "historical" introduction to the book,

then chapter 2 is the "theological" introduction.

Chapter 1 sets the historical context of a conquest that started out well (Judah),

but then flopped (everyone else).

(That is not to say that chapter 1 is not theological-already you see that the LORD was with Judah, and also, to a certain extent, with Joseph-but not with anyone else)

The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim.

There are three times in Judges that God speaks to the people.

2:1-5 where the angel of the LORD speaks to the people

6:7-10 where a prophet of the LORD speaks to the people

10:10-16 where the LORD himself speaks to the people

And in all three cases, Yahweh rebukes the people for their failure to serve him.

Who is the angel of the LORD?

The word for angel (mal'ak) means messenger or envoy.

Later in Judges Gideon will send mal'akim (messengers) to the northern tribes.

This is God's messenger.

Is it what we would call an "angel" or is it something akin to a prophet?

The mal'ak Yahweh speaks in 5:23 (in the song of Deborah),

and appears to Gideon in Judges 6 and Manoah and his wife in Judges 13.

He is plainly a divinely appointed envoy of the heavenly court.

He speaks for God with full divine authority.

But to understand the mal'ak Yahweh, we must go back to Exodus 23.

In Exodus 23:20-21 God promised to send his "mal'ak" before Israel:

"Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way

and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.

Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice;

do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgressions,

for my name is in him."

We have seen before that God's Spirit was sent to dwell with Israel

in the glory-cloud that led them through the wilderness,

and which descended upon the tabernacle and filled the Holy of Holies.

But we have not previously considered the messenger of Yahweh.

God's presence with his people was guaranteed not only by the Spirit's dwelling,

but also by the Messenger's speaking.

Word and Spirit.

That's not a NT invention.

God's Word and Spirit dwelt with Israel in the conquest!

And God warned his people to heed this messenger.

We usually translate it "angel" forgetting that "angel" means "messenger."

The Angel of the LORD, then, is no one else but the second person of the Trinity.

He is God's messenger who went before Israel to guard them and to guide them.

He is the one who spoke to Israel, calling them to repentance and faith.

But the Messenger of Yahweh comes up from Gilgal to Bochim.

You have to watch the geography in Judges.

Gilgal was the place where Israel crossed the Jordan and entered the Promised Land.

Gilgal was the place where Israel had been circumcised and kept the Passover,

when they first entered the land.

Gilgal was the place where God "rolled away the reproach of Egypt." (Josh 5:9)

The ark has since settled at its new home in Shiloh,

but the Messenger of Yahweh does not come from Shiloh.

He comes from Gilgal.

He was last heard from at Gilgal.

It was at Gilgal that Joshua encountered the commander of the LORD's army

(Josh 5).

It was at Gilgal that the conquest of the land was planned.

And the Messenger of the LORD has been watching from Gilgal

as Israel turns away from its divine mission.

But now he comes to Bochim.

Bochim, which means "weepers" is not named until verse 5,

after the weeping of the people of God.

But the place name signifies the movement of the angel of the LORD

from the place of Israel's glory to the place of Israel's humiliation.

And he declares to Israel the word of the LORD:

(Read 1b-3)

Israel has failed to do what God has said,

therefore God will no longer go before them against their enemies.

2. The Death of Joshua (2:6-10)

2:6 brings us back to the beginning.

"When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance

to take possession of the land."

And at first, as the book of Joshua tells us, all went well.

And so Joshua died and was buried at the age of 110 in the hill country of Ephraim.

But then arose a generation

"who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel." (2:10)

This raises all sorts of questions.

Why did they not know the LORD?

If their parents were so faithful, why did they not teach their children adequately?

And perhaps most importantly:

Do you have to see it with your own eyes in order for it to be "real" to you?

If so, then our children are in trouble.

Then again, so are we-because it has been nearly 2,000 years

since God acted in history to redeem his people!

As we go through the pattern of the judges we will discover that while presenting a tale of woe,

Judges is not about despair.

We are not left in this cycle of rebellion and judgment.

There is hope for the future.

And this is why I spoke of the book of Judges as being all about Christmas.

Because it is all about the coming of the Son of David!

Let us look at the pattern of the judges to see why.

3. The Pattern of the Judges (2:11-23)

A. Rebellion (2:11-13)

The very heart of rebellion is idolatry-

worshiping the gods of the nations around you, instead of the LORD.

It is called the first commandment for a reason!

What is the first commandment?

B. Judgment (2:14-15)

And just as Deuteronomy warned,

when Israel rebelled, judgment fell.

Dt. 28:15-68

God is faithful to his covenant-both in blessing and in cursing.

C. Deliverance (2:16-18)

Here is the first mention of "judges" in this book.

"What is a judge?"

What do the judges do?

Do they try cases?

Not that we know of.

(But then again, the elders and priests were called to do that)

None of the individuals in the book are called "judges"

but instead the verb is used: "they judged Israel."

"Judge" should not be thought of as a judicial term,

but as "deliverers."

2:16-"Then the LORD raised up judges,

who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them."

The verb "to judge" can either have a judicial sense

(with respect to leading in internal affairs)

or a more general sense of "deliver"

(with respect to leading in external affairs).

So "governors" or "deliverers" might be a more accurate title for the book.

And of course, that fits very nicely the theme of the book.

There is no king in Israel.

This is the age of the judges-the tribal rulers.

But notice WHY God raised up judges!

"The LORD was moved to pity by their groaning

because of those who afflicted and oppressed them."

God had mercy on his people-not because they repented.

Judges does not have a works-based approach to salvation!

God had mercy because of their groaning,

so he sent a deliverer.

D. Relapse (2:19)

What is the problem?

The judge dies, and the people return to their sins.

THIS is why we are not in the same situation as Israel.

We have a king who never dies!

E. Judgment (2:20-23)

4. Conclusion (3:1-6)