In these first two introductory chapters today, we see that Israel had not fully placed their hope and trust in God to fully obey Him. They said they “could not.” But God essentially said, they “would not.” This is a question worth asking ourselves. Where have you made flimsy excuses to God because you’ve put your hope in yourself or someone or something else instead of in Him? That’s what started the downward descent of Israel. In the first two chapters of Judges, Israel failed to fully trust God’s promise and obey His word, so the Lord allowed their enemies to oppress them. Yet, God was moved by their suffering, so He raised up judges to save them. We can learn to fully trust and obey God.