שופטים, פרק ג׳, פסוק ה׳

The shift from actively conquering the land to peacefully coexisting with the local Canaanite nations marks a profound spiritual and national turning point for the Israelites. Instead of completing the conquest, they settled into a mixed society that ultimately brought about destructive consequences. Faced with a critical test, the people failed. Rather than fighting to remove these nations, they chose to live directly among them and form treaties [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

A fundamental distinction exists regarding the different nations that remained. God intentionally left certain nations outside the borders to test and discipline the Israelites. However, the nations that remained within the land stayed purely by the Israelites' own choice. Because the people decided to leave the Canaanites in their midst, directly defying God's command, these local nations became a dangerous trap that eventually dragged them into idol worship [אלשיך].

The Israelites are inherently a holy and treasured people, yet the simple reality of living side by side with these nations was a direct violation of God's instruction. This initial failure triggered a devastating chain reaction where one sin naturally caused another. Living among the Canaanites guaranteed they would fail the subsequent test of avoiding intermarriage. That failure in turn led directly to idol worship and the complete forgetting of God. Their ultimate spiritual collapse was entirely rooted in those first compromises [מלבי״ם, חומת אנך].