Judges 2:16-Judges 3:6 - The Lord Raises Up Judges
16 Then the LORD raised up leaders, who delivered Israel from domination by their marauders. 17 But they didn't listen to their leaders, because they were committing spiritual immorality by following other gods and worshiping them. They quickly turned away from the road on which their ancestors had walked in obedience to the commands of the LORD. They didn't follow their example. 18 As a result, whenever the LORD raised up leaders for them, the LORD remained present with their leader, delivering Israel from the control of their enemies during the lifetime of that leader. The LORD was moved with compassion by their groaning that had been caused by those who were oppressing and persecuting them. 19 However, after the leader had died, they would relapse to a condition more corrupt than their ancestors, following other gods, serving them, and worshiping them. They would not abandon their activities or their obstinate lifestyles.
20 In his burning anger against Israel, the LORD said, "Because the people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their ancestors to keep, and because they haven't obeyed me, 21 I'm also going to stop expelling any of the nations that remained after Joshua died. 22 That way, I'll use them to demonstrate whether or not Israel will keep the LORD's lifestyle by walking on that road like their ancestors did." 23 So the LORD caused those nations to remain and did not expel them quickly. He did not give them into Joshua's control.
1 Here's a list of nations that the LORD caused to remain in order to test Israel (that is, everyone who had not gained any battle experience in Canaan) 2 only so that successive Israeli generations, who had not known war previously, might come to know it by experience. 3 These nations included the five lords of the Philistines, all of the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They remained there to test Israel, to reveal if they would obey the commands of the LORD that he issued to their ancestors through Moses. 5 The Israelis continued to live among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, 6 taking their daughters as wives for themselves, giving their own daughters to their sons, and serving their gods.