Judges 2:2-3
and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The angel's sharp question, "What is this you have done?" isn't just about their disobedience; it's a profound challenge to their very identity in relation to God. He's not just pointing out a mistake, but asking them to consider the consequence of choosing their own way over His command – a path that will inevitably lead them astray.
An angel of the Lord has just appeared to the Israelites at Bochim, after they’ve begun to settle in the promised land. This divine messenger is rebuking them for failing to obey God's explicit commands to make no alliances with the Canaanites and to destroy their pagan altars. The angel is directly questioning their disastrous disobedience, which will soon lead to ongoing struggles.
Understand the original words
mizbeach · Hebrew Noun
A raised structure, usually of earth or stone, used for offering sacrifices and burnt offerings as an act of worship, atonement, or consecration to a deity. In the Old Testament, God commanded the destruction of foreign altars to prevent idolatry.
shama' qol · Hebrew Verb
To hear, listen, and pay attention with the intention of obedience. It implies not just cognitive reception but a responsive action following the expressed will of God.
moqesh · Hebrew Noun
A device for trapping animals, used metaphorically in Scripture to describe objects, practices, or people that lead the faithful into sin, idolatry, or destruction.
This rebuke from the Angel of the LORD at Bochim highlights a critical turning point. It reveals that Israel's failure wasn't just military weakness, but a deliberate religious compromise—breaking God's explicit commands to destroy the altars and avoid alliances with the Canaanites, which set the stage for future cycles of sin and hardship.
c. 1400 BC
Israel Enters the Promised Land
Following 40 years of wandering, the Israelites, under Joshua's leadership, cross the Jordan River and begin the conquest of Canaan, as promised by God.
c. 1400-1375 BC
Initial Conquest and Land Division
Significant portions of Canaan are conquered, and the land is divided among the twelve tribes. However, many Canaanite strongholds remain unconquered.
c. 1375 BC
Joshua's Farewell and Warning
As Joshua nears the end of his life, he gathers the elders and delivers final charges, including strong warnings against making covenants with the remaining Canaanites.
c. 1375 BC— this verse
Angel of the LORD Rebuke at Bochim
An angel of the LORD appears to the Israelites at Bochim (meaning 'weepers') to confront them about their disobedience in failing to drive out the Canaanites and making alliances with them.
This passage directly echoes the command given in Judges 2:2, highlighting God's clear instruction not to make covenants with the inhabitants of the land and setting the stage for the later disobedience.
Deuteronomy 7:2Similar to Judges 2:2, this verse reiterates the prohibition against making covenants and emphasizes the need to destroy the altars of the native peoples, underscoring the persistent nature of God's commands and Israel's failure to uphold them.
Romans 6:16This New Testament passage provides a theological parallel, warning against becoming slaves to sin just as the Israelites became entangled with the Canaanites. Both passages speak to the profound consequences of disobedience and forming alliances with that which God has deemed contrary to His will.
Genesis 3:13The question 'What is this you have done?' in Judges 2:2 echoes the woman's fearful response to God in Genesis 3:13 after her disobedience. Both instances reveal the shame and fear that accompany turning away from God's commands.
bensonJudges 2:2: "And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?"
Jdg 2:2-5 . Ye shall make no league, &c. — These express and frequently-repeated commands of God they had disobeyed. Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out, &c. — That is, I have now taken up this peremptory resolution. They shall be as thorns in your sides, &c. — This signifies what they were assuredly to expect in brea…
gillJudges 2:2: "And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?"
And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land,.... This the Lord charged them not to do, when he covenanted with them, and assured them of bringing them into the land; and yet they had done it, as some instances in the preceding chapter show, which were the occasion of the angel's coming to them to rebuke them, see…
The angel's sharp question, "What is this you have done?" isn't just about their disobedience; it's a profound challenge to their very identity in relation to God. He's not just pointing out a mistake, but asking them to consider the consequence of choosing their own way over His command – a path that will inevitably lead them astray.
An angel of the Lord has just appeared to the Israelites at Bochim, after they’ve begun to settle in the promised land. This divine messenger is rebuking them for failing to obey God's explicit commands to make no alliances with the Canaanites and to destroy their pagan altars. The angel is directly questioning their disastrous disobedience, which will soon lead to ongoing struggles.
An angel of the Lord has just appeared to the Israelites at Bochim, after they’ve begun to settle in the promised land. This divine messenger is rebuking them for failing to obey God's explicit commands to make no alliances with the Canaanites and to destroy their pagan altars. The angel is directly questioning their disastrous disobedience, which will soon lead to ongoing struggles.
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c. 1375-1075 BC
Period of the Judges Begins
Following Joshua's death and the dispersal of the Israelites, the nation enters a cycle of disobedience, oppression, and deliverance, marked by the rule of various judges.
"and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become t…" — The angel's sharp question, "What is this you have done?" isn't just about their disobedience; it's a profound challenge to their very identity in relation to God. He's not just pointing out a mistak…
