Served their Gods . .. forgat the Lord, and served Baalim and the groves.
The downward course of sin
I. The form of their sin. One of omission (Judges 2:2).
1. No sin of omission is ever small.
(1) It slights God’s authority.
(2) It implies alienation of heart from God.
(3) There is no fear of God before the eyes.
2. Sins of omission may become indefinitely great.
II. The tendency of sin to multiply itself.
1. No sin stands alone.
2. The root-sin here was failure to exterminate the Canaanites.
3. It led to their dwelling among the idolators.
4. Their intermarrying with the ungodly.
5. Their worship of false gods.
6. The facility with which they made the change.
III. The deplorable end to which their evil course led.
1. There was entire abandonment of God as their God. Sin is a great--
(1) Spoiler;
(2) madness.
2. There was sinking down to the level of heathen worship and heathen practices. (J. P. Millar.)