Judges 1:27-2:5 Study Guide: The Collapse
Community Group Study Guide — The Collapse
Judges 1:27-2:5
September 27, 2026
Study Information:
In our last study guide we explored the flawed faithfulness of the people of Israel and used the image that the foundation for the nation was laid, but there were cracks in it. In our passage for this study guide we see the total collapse. The beginning of Judges chapter 1 was like the firs few rounds of playing Jenga where you take a few blocks out of the tower but things are still standing and looking good enough. However, the end of chapter 1 is the equivalent of the entire Jenga tower collapsing because you pulled out all the blocks from the base. This foundational collapse happened because they rejected God and his covenant and became like the nations. How can God stay faithful to his people when they have rejected him like this?
Collapse
Judges 1:27-36
The Tribe of Judah showed a degree of faithfulness and success in following God’s command to drive out the nations, but as the author of Judges shifted focus to different tribes we see diminishing returns of faithfulness and success. Benjamin mingled with the Jebusites in Jerusalem, the house of Joseph defeated Bethel but made a covenant with the people of the land and then the tribes in Judges 1:27-36 have almost no success. Manaasa, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan all failed in driving out the nations. The tribe of Dan was probably the worst offender in that they never had the boldness to settle into any part of their land and by the end of the book of Judges they’re still wandering looking for a place to settle. Judges 1 tells us that the Amorites pressed Dan back into their hill country, when they were supposed to settle into the coastal region that was inhabited by the Philistines. This could be why the story of Samson, who was from the tribe of Dan, included a lot of conflict with the Philistines in particular.
We learn two notable things in these verses. First, even though Israel did not drive out the Canaanites Israel was still able to grow in their own strength. This implies that they had strength outside of the Lord and were trusting in that strength instead of God. They came to an uneasy peace with their situation. They had carved out some land for themselves and dealt with the Canaanites as needed whenever they became a problem. Second, they also started to act like the nation of Egypt, whom God had freed them, by forcing the Canaanites into slavery. Five times in these verses we’re told that they put the Canaanites to forced labor. Instead of driving them out or devoting them to destruction they put them into subjugation and slavery. This would be a foothold for idolatry to grow, likewise a hard heartedness to following God’s commands and ultimately a reversal of their identity as a freed people because they became like Pharaoh in their oppression as enslavers.
When it comes to this failure to drive out the Canaanites we have to ask the question was it that they “could not” or "would not” drive them out? They could find many excuses but what we see is a lack of will and a lack of trust in God’s ways. It would be easy for them to deceive themselves and think they were just being economically wise or fulfilling “enough” of God’s command. Yet, this is the erosion of their foundation led to the collapse of the “house” God was building for them. How does God respond?
God’s Covenant Faithfulness
Judges 2:1-5
The Angel of the LORD surveyed the land from Gilgal to Bochim and pronounced their failure to keep the covenant they made with God. The Angel of the LORD is often a manifestation of God himself and we can look for context clues for this like how the Angel of the LORD often spoke as if he was God and often received worship from people. The location of Gilgal and Bochim can be easy to skim over but they’re important locations. Gilgal is the area near where they crossed the Jordan river into the Promised Land and set up the stones of remembrance (ebenezers) to highlight God’s faithfulness to them (Joshua 4). Bochim means “weeping” which is how the Israelites responded in Judges 2:4, and the location was likely the city of Bethel which was destroyed in Judges 1:25. The idea here is that the Angel of the LORD surveyed all the land where they had conquered going even back to the place where they had commemorated God’s faithfulness and the Angel of the LORD declared where they had fallen short.
Israel fell short in two distinct ways and that had two specific consequences. First Israel fell short when they made covenants with people in the land, presumably in their forced labor and in acts like what we read in Judges 1:22-25. Second, they did not drive out the inhabitants but settled in with them.
The consequences for their lack of faithfulness included first, the people becoming a thorn in their sides. They would compete with Israel for power and strength and when the Canaanites were strong they’d harass and abuse Israel. The second consequence was the idols of the lands became a snare to Israel. They not only acted like the Canaanites but they worshipped like the Canaanites. They started to worship Baal, Ashtaroth and other local gods instead of Yahweh. Ultimately God gave them over to their desires and let them suffer the consequences that came with it. Turning our back on God brings thorns and snares. Following idols, false gods, makes us miserable and becomes a snare in that it leads to further and further sin. The people of God weep at this news and responded in sacrifice but as chapter 2 progressed we understand that this repentance was short lived (Judges 2:4).
Would God abandon his people? Notice God’s words to them at the beginning of his pronouncement, “I will never break my covenant with you…” Even when the Israelites failed to keep covenant, God would not fail. God did not abandon his people or turn his back on them. God cannot tolerate evil, but at the same time he covenanted himself to Israel to be loving and faithful. There is a tension there, how can those two things reconcile? Israel experienced consequences of a failure to follow God in that the nations and the idols became a hardship for them and yet God did not abandon them. First, he responded to them when they cried out for help and he did that by sending a ruler or judge to lead them to victory. Second, this pattern teaches us why Christ had to come. God is holy and cannot tolerate evil and sin but in order to be faithful to his convent promise he’d have to do something to resolves that tension and ultimately God sent his son. Jesus Christ is both the just and the justifier of our faith, meaning he is holy when we are not and is the one who can restore us to relationship with God (Romans 3:26). God can call his people to fulfill their covenant and at the same time make a way for them when they fail because he has promised to never break covenant with them.
What have we done to deserve this kind of commitment and faithfulness from God? It is his grace that saves. Again, this is not a free pass to live on our own terms or to ignore God’s commands or to be unfaithful to God. Yet, followers of Christ know more than most just how far short we fall of God’s glory and yet we can turn to him, repent and by his grace keep going because he is forever faithful.
At your community group:
Take 15-20 minutes to share about how God has been at work in your life, prayer concerns and pray for one another.
How did God speak to you through the scripture and the sermon this week?
Discussion Questions:
Read Judges 1:27-2:5
How did the Israelites disobey God’s command for them? How should we think about the Israelites putting the Canaanites into forced labor given the history of Isreal?
What was the significance of Gilgal and Bochim? Read Joshua 4:19-24 to hear about Gilgal
What did God commit to the Israelites in his covenant to them? Did their disobedience change God’s commitment?
How have you see God’s faithfulness to you when you did not deserve it? How can we develop a heart that is more and more responsive to seeking God when we fail?
