Judges 2–3

Ehud Delivers Israel

Following the pattern of the chart above, Judges 1 describes how the Israelites did drive out the Canaanites and then how they made treaties with them. Judges 2–3 describes how the children of Israel then fell into idolatry because of intermarriage with the Canaanites. The cycle continued, and they were eventually relieved with the help of a judge named Ehud.

Several times in Judges 2–3 we read that the Israelites “angered” the Lord. In fact, we learn that the Lord’s anger was “hot” (see Judges 2:14, 20; 3:8). While this may sound harsh, knowing a little about the gods Baal and Ashtaroth might help us understand why the Lord was so angry. Baal was the male god of fertility, and Ashtaroth was his female companion and goddess of fertility. “Worship” included base violations of the law of chastity. All violations of the law of chastity are serious sins and spiritually destructive, but to do them in the name of worship is especially abominable to Heavenly Father.