Under Gods Command
Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites
Judges 2:1-3 The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, I will never break my covenant with you, 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? Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.
This event marks a significant change in Israel’s relationship with God. At Mount Sinai, God made a sacred and binding agreement with the Israelites called a covenant (Exodus 19:5-8).
Because they rejected and disobeyed God, the agreement to protect them was no longer in effect. But God wasn’t going to abandon his people. They would receive wonderful blessings if they asked God to forgive them and sincerely followed him again.
Although God’s agreement to help Israel conquer the land was no longer in effect, his promise to make Israel a nation through whom the whole world would be blessed (fulfilled in the Messiah’s coming) remained valid. God still wanted the Israelites to be a holy people (just as he wants us to be holy), and he often used oppression to bring them back to him, just as he warned he would (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28).
The book of Judges records a number of instances where God allowed his people to be oppressed so that they would repent of their sins and return to him.
Too often people want God to fulfill his promises, while excusing themselves from their responsibilities. Before you claim God’s promises, ask, “Have I done my part?”
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Under Gods command 