Gilgal was a place of great spiritual and symbolic significance. It was the Israelites' first encampment across the Jordan River (Joshua 4-5), where the Lord had commanded them to repent and to keep the terms of His covenant with Abraham by renewing the practice of circumcision and observing the Passover. It was also there that the Lord appeared to Joshua and promised that He would lead Israel into victory. Gilgal was the place of victory and blessing, of covenant renewal.

The Abrahamic covenant is extremely important because it is the key to God's programme throughout human history, and it gives Christ-followers the great assurance that God always keeps His promises.

But covenant grace involves reciprocal obligations. Worshipping God meant that the Israelites were to make no treaty alliance with the people of Canaan. Also, the sin of the Canaanites was a deadly cancer, and they were to remove it surgically from the land before it infected them (Exodus 23:32-33). Covenant faithfulness and covenant exclusivity were non-negotiables.

At the same time, God didn't issue a challenge and then leave Israel to do the best they could. When He gives us a responsibility, He provides the resources to carry it out (Deuteronomy 28:2, 7-8). With the responsibility of unwavering obedience to the Lord comes the resource of unlimited power from Him to make it possible.

But what happened? The angel of the Lord puts it very simply: ″Yet you have disobeyed me . . .″ (Judges 2:2). The angel confronts the Israelites with their covenant unfaithfulness, and spells out the consequences they will encounter.

Despite their sin and unbelief, God did not turn His back on His people. He was not terminating His covenant. His coming was an act of grace, designed to bring the nation to radical repentance.

When the people realise what God is saying, they begin to weep in grief, shame, and repentance (v. 4). As a result, the place receives a new name, ″Bokim″, or ″weeping″ (v. 5). Among the greatest truths of spiritual experience is that the path of partial obedience only leads to Bokim. There is no joy in half-hearted spiritual experience.

The most miserable people in the world are professing believers who will not commit themselves to the Lord. Rather than experiencing the best of both worlds, they have the worst. If we try to walk the tightrope of compromise and partial obedience, we will not know spiritual victory and God's blessing, only the bitterness of defeat and frustration.

But even there the grace of God is not finished. He does not just abandon His people to suffer the consequences of sin-He calls them back to wholehearted obedience and commitment to Him.