The Angel of the Lord Said...

 

Judges 2:1 Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 

Something significant is taking place here in Israel's history.  No longer do we find "The Lord spoke" or "The Lord Said" or God said, except in a few cases like His discussions with Gideon.  Now The angel of the Lord often speaks.  There is good reason for this.  Israel stopped listening and obeying God's command to enter the land.  Like in the Garden, when man chooses to stop obeying there are consequences: the land will no longer cooperate, and the people get themselves in thorny situations.  This was indeed a cause for weeping, and they would find themselves doing so repeatedly. How much weeping could we avoid if we would just listen and obey?