Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 2:12
And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that [were] round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.
12. Each phrase of this verse is characteristic of the Deuteronomic school; thus they forsook the Lord Jdg 10:6; Jdg 10:10; Jdg 10:13, Deu 28:20, frequently in the Dtc. parts of Kings and in Jeremiah, see also the next verse; the God of their fathers Deu 1:11; Deu 1:21; Deu 4:1; Deu 6:3; Deu 12:1 etc.; followed other gods Jdg 2:19, Deu 8:19; Deu 11:28; Deu 13:2 etc., Jer 7:6; Jer 11:10 etc.; the peoples round about them i.e. not the Canaanites remaining in the midst of Israel, but the nations outside its frontiers, Deu 6:14; Deu 13:8; provoked the Lord to anger Deu 4:25; Deu 9:18 etc., and often in Dtc. passages in Kings, and in Jerem.
which brought them out of the land of Egypt ] Both in the Law (Exo 20:2; Deu 5:6) and in the Prophets (Amo 2:10; Hos 12:13; Hos 13:4; Mic 6:4), the appeal is to the Exodus, as the birth-day of Israel’s religious life, a signal manifestation of Jehovah’s special providence, which carried with it His claim on Israel’s allegiance.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Provoked the Lord to anger – A frequent expression in connection with idolatry, especially in Deuteronomy, in the Books of the Kings, and in Jeremiah.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 12. Which brought them out of the land of Egypt] This was one of the highest aggravations of their offense; they forsook the God who brought them out of Egypt; a place in which they endured the most grievous oppression and were subjected to the most degrading servitude, from which they never could have rescued themselves; and they were delivered by such a signal display of the power, justice, and mercy of God, as should never have been forgotten, because the most stupendous that had ever been exhibited. They forsook HIM, and served idols as destitute of real being as of influence and power.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers,…. The covenant God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and of their more immediate ancestors; his worship they forsook, neglected his tabernacle, and the service of it:
which brought them out of the land of Egypt; out of wretched misery and bondage there, with an high hand, and outstretched arm; and led them through the wilderness, and provided for them there, and brought them into the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey; but all these mercies were forgotten by them:
and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that [were] round about them: the gods of the Canaanites and Phoenicians, of the Egyptians, and of the Moabites, Amorites, and Edomites, that were round about them, on the borders of them; instead of one God they worshipped many, even all in or about the land of Canaan; so much given were they to idolatry:
and bowed themselves unto them; giving them all religious worship and honour they were capable of:
and provoked the Lord to anger; nothing is more provoking to him than idolatry; he being a jealous God, and will not bear any rival in worship, nor his glory to be given to another, to a strange god.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(12) Forsook the Lord God of their fathers.(Deu. 31:16-17.) It seems, however, that the sin of the Israelites was a breach rather of the second than of the first commandment. It was not so much a worshipping of other gods as a worshipping of Jehovah under false symbols adopted from the surrounding nations by a spurious syncretism. Similarly, the calf-worship of the northern tribes was originally intended to be an adoration of Jehovah, under the form of cherubic symbols, but naturally lapsed with dangerous facility into actual Baal-worship (Exo. 32:5; 1Ki. 22:6).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘ And they forsook Yahweh, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people who were round about them, and bowed themselves down to them. And they provoked Yahweh to anger.’
They ignored two things, God’s covenant with Abraham which alone gave them the right to inherit the land, and His great deliverance whereby He delivered them from Egypt by His mighty power.
Firstly they were ignoring the covenant, and the fact that their presence in the land was due to God Who had made unbreakable promises to their fathers. For they looked to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as their fathers even though they were largely not related to them by blood. Many were descended from servants and followers of Abraham, even more were of the mixed multitude that came out of Egypt with Moses (Exo 12:38), but all had taken ‘the fathers’ as their own, and now looked to them as their forefathers. And that was why they could inherit the land.
But now they were forsaking the One Who had made it all possible, the One Who in order to bring them to this land had delivered them with great power from the power and gods of Egypt, even from Pharaoh himself. The One Who had made His great covenant with them at Sinai. What ingratitude, and how foolish. And that was why they would need to learn their lesson. That there was only One Who was able to deliver.
“And followed other gods, of the gods of the people who were round about them, and bowed themselves down to them. And they provoked Yahweh to anger.” There were many such gods. Thus there were the gods of the Canaanites, and the Amorites, of the Phoenicians and the Hittites, of the Jebusites and the Hivites, who were round about them because they had not driven the peoples out from the places where it was possible.
God’s purpose was that they remain totally separate from the Canaanites. But they had ignored Him. And thus the purity of their relationship with Yahweh was being destroyed, and they were bowing down to idols, even while they sought to manipulate them. How great was the contrast between Yahweh the invisible, the omnipotent, the omniscient, and these toys of men. The One powerful to act, the other so-called gods trapped in the cycle of nature, as much doomed to sin and the vagaries of nature as men were themselves.
“And they provoked Yahweh to anger.” Yahweh was angry because of their ingratitude, because of their folly and blindness, because of their disobedience, and because of what they were losing by their foolishness. And because they had taken their eyes off Him and had forgotten the covenant. They were trading the living God, the One Who could act, for those who were powerless to achieve anything, for idols made of clay, wood and stone. And they did not realise it. For they maintained the cult at the central sanctuary and thought that that must be sufficient. Just as many of us today trade the living God for prosperity, and success, and fame, and luxuries, making men our gods because of their influence or power or music, or even having a transcendental relationship with our pets, or with nature, because we must worship something, and treat God as peripheral to our lives and worship Him on the sidelines.
But note the other side. God was ‘provoked to anger’. The One Who could act, would act. And He would bring on them the circumstances that would result in suffering and humiliation, and would make them rethink and turn back to Him. That is the danger of serving the living God, he takes notice of what we do and how we behave. ‘Anger’ is an anthropomorphism reflecting human reaction. But for God, anger was a reaction to what was harmful, evil and debasing for those Who were His by covenant. It spoke of His antipathy to, and hatred of, sin. And He was concerned for what they were losing, and causing others to lose, not for what He was losing. But it included judgment, for by their behaviour they were preventing others, especially their children, from enjoying their full covenant relationship with God.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jdg 2:12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that [were] round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.
Ver. 12. And they forsook. ] By a detestable apostasy: such as heaven and earth had cause to he ashamed of. Jer 2:12-13 There is a commendable apostasy, sc., when men fall off from a false religion to that which is true. Thus the Papists called Luther, as they do all of us, an apostate. Confitur se esse apostatam sed beatum et sanctum, qui fidem diabolo datam non servavit; he confessed himself an apostate, but a holy and blessed apostate; one that had fallen off from the devil; and should therefore have been sainted rather than stigmatised.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
forsook. Religion is not a gradual evolution to what is higher, but a declension to what is lower. See note on Jos 24:14.
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4.
people = peoples.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
forsook: Deu 13:5, Deu 29:18, Deu 29:25, Deu 31:16, Deu 31:17, Deu 32:15, Deu 33:17
other gods: Jdg 5:8, Deu 6:14, Deu 6:15
bowed: Exo 20:5, Deu 5:9
Reciprocal: Deu 7:16 – for that will Deu 29:26 – they went Jdg 10:13 – General 2Ki 22:17 – have forsaken 1Ch 5:25 – after the gods 2Ch 7:22 – Because they forsook Neh 9:26 – they were Psa 78:56 – General Psa 78:58 – moved Psa 106:36 – And Jer 16:11 – Because Eze 16:15 – and playedst Eze 16:29 – in the land
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
"The greatest sin a human being can commit is not murder or rape or other despicable acts of atrocity. It is to turn his back on the living God to serve man-made gods." [Note: Inrig, p. 37.]