What is the meaning of Judges 2:11? And the Israelites did evil • This phrase puts the whole nation in view. The problem was not limited to a fringe group but represented a widespread heart-shift away from covenant faithfulness (Judges 2:10; Psalm 78:56-58). • “Did evil” is God’s own verdict, not merely human opinion. Earlier, Moses had warned, “You shall not do as we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes” (Deuteronomy 12:8). By Judges 2, that warning has been ignored. • The wording echoes a pattern that recurs throughout the book (Judges 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1), signaling a cycle: sin ⇒ oppression ⇒ crying out ⇒ deliverance ⇒ relapse. Each time the cycle restarts, the evil grows, underscoring the seriousness of straying from God’s commands. in the sight of the LORD • Sin is measured by what God sees, not by cultural norms. “The eyes of the LORD are in every place” (Proverbs 15:3). • God’s perspective is personal; He is not a distant observer. Acts of disobedience affront His holiness (Psalm 51:4). • Because the evil was “in the sight of the LORD,” discipline followed. The next verse explains that He “delivered them into the hands of raiders” (Judges 2:14), just as He had promised in Leviticus 26:14-17. and served the Baals • “Served” means more than casual participation; it implies devoted allegiance—time, offerings, rituals—redirected from the LORD to idols (Exodus 20:3). • Baal (“lord, master”) was a title for local Canaanite fertility deities. Each region had its own Baal, hence the plural form. By embracing them, Israel adopted the moral practices tied to Baal worship—sexual immorality, child sacrifice (2 Kings 17:16-17). • This was a direct violation of earlier vows: “The LORD our God we will serve” (Joshua 24:24). Turning to Baal signaled covenant treachery and spiritual adultery (Jeremiah 2:11-13). • The same wording returns later: “The Israelites again did evil…and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths” (Judges 10:6), showing that idolatry, once tolerated, quickly becomes entrenched. summary Judges 2:11 records a nationwide collapse of loyalty: Israel committed overt sin that God clearly saw and judged, shifting their worship from the living LORD to lifeless Baals. The verse introduces the repeating cycle of Judges and highlights the timeless truth that God’s people cannot mix covenant devotion with cultural idols without inviting divine discipline. |
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