2:1-3
The previous chapter started off with a narrative of successes, but then ended with a litany of failures. It demonstrated that it was possible to fulfil the God given mandate, if the people dedicated themselves to the task. And they were able to succeed because “the Lord was with them”. But the people needed to dedicate themselves to the task. God had made many promises to give the Promised Land to them, and the promise is repeated at the start of this chapter, yet now significant parts remained unconquered. Had God failed? No, it was the people who had failed. They had “made a covenant with the people of the land”. They had not broken down their altars. This had two consequences. On the one hand God would not drive them out. And on the other hand the people and their gods would become a snare and a trap for Israel.
2:4,5
The words in 2:1-3 had been spoken by an angel of the Lord, and had been spoken to all the people. In response, the people wept and offered sacrifices to the Lord, seeking to avert the consequences of their failure. It is probably sorrow at the consequences, rather than sorrow about their failure, their sin, that was at the heart of their weeping, though we are not told this explicitly.
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