Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

I think that this is summarized in Judges 2:6-22. The people obeyed God during the lives of Joshua and all the generation that had seen the miracles that God had performed on behalf of Israel in taking possession of the Promised Land.

However, after that generation died, and because the Israelites had not fully obeyed God, but had left some of the Canaanite peoples remaining in the land (as described in Judges 1:21-36), rather than destroying them completely, as God had commanded, the new generation that arose began to worship the idols of the heathen nations that remained in the land.

Although the Bible does not specifically say that it was intermarriage with those nations that caused this, I think that it can be inferred from the later case of Solomon (hundreds of years later) (1 Kings 11) who, despite his wisdom, and despite the fact that God had personally appeared to him twice admonishing him to always remain faithful to God, had many non-Israelite women among his hundreds of wives and concubines, whom he allowed to worship their own heathen gods (even building altars and shrines to those gods for his wives).

The Bible specifically says (1 Kings 11:4) that these foreign women were responsible for turning Solomon's heart away from God, and he was judged (along with all Israel) by God for it.

I think it is reasonable to conclude that it was intermarriage with the nations whom Israel did not eliminate, and whom God subsequently allowed to remain in the Promised Land (as a test of Israel's faithfulness), that produced the same effect, resulting in Israel's idolatry and God's judgment against it by allowing foreign nations to attack and periodically subjugate Israel all during the period of the judges, just as He later judged Solomon (along with Israel) for the same offense.

April 10 2016 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

John Anderson

A quick answer is, they started worshipping the other nations heathen falce gods and forgot about the true God. 
Eventually, after forgiving them many times, God scattered them to the 4 corners if the earth and dissolved the country Israel. 

But as promised, God restored their country.
This has never before happened in history, a country that vanished from the face of the earth being restored.

April 12 2016 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report