Judges 10:1-18 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Judges 10:1-18. Let’s go!
Judges 10:1-5 (NIV)
1 After the time of Abimelech a man of Issachar, Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim.
2 He led Israel twenty-three years; then he died, and was buried in Shamir.
3 He was followed by Jair of Gilead, who led Israel twenty-two years.
4 He had thirty sons, who rode thirty donkeys. They controlled thirty towns in Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth Jair.
5 When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.
On verses 1-5: Not much information is given about these next two judges, Tola (v1-2) and Jair (v3-5). We don’t read of any particular trouble or crisis that these judges had to deal with. In Jair’s case, there is mention of Jair leading 30 sons who rode 30 donkeys. Some commentators take all this to mean that the reigns of Tola and Jair were likely times of relative peace and stability for the people of Israel. If that is truly the case, then a lesson we can learn from this is: Better to be a stable, consistent, not-so-flashy leader who brings security and stability to the people around you than to be a charismatic leader like Abimelech whose weaknesses impact the people you lead much more than your strengths.
Judges 10:6-16 (NIV)
6 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the LORD and no longer served him,
7 he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites,
8 who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites.
9 The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin and the house of Ephraim; and Israel was in great distress.
10 Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.”
11 The LORD replied, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines,
12 the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands?
13 But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you.
14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!”
15 But the Israelites said to the LORD, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.”
16 Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the LORD. And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer.
On verses 6-16: God calls His people out for the unhealthy recurring pattern in their lives: how they would rebel against God and follow other gods, then when trouble came they would turn to God for rescue and God would rescue them, only for the Israelites to rebel against Him again and go back to worshiping other gods. As great as God’s wrath and anger were toward the Israelites for this, God’s love and compassion for them were greater still. As verse 16 says: “he could bear Israel’s misery no longer.”
That is our situation as well. As great as God’s wrath and anger were toward us because our persistent rebellion against Him, God’s love and compassion for us are greater still. Like a loving, concerned parent, God could bear our misery no longer. So God sent someone to save us from our mess: His name is Jesus.
Also, notice the order in verse 16: the Israelites “got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the LORD”, and then it says “God could bear Israel’s misery no longer”. Earlier in Judges it seems that the LORD would rescue the Israelites as soon as they would cry out to Him for help. But in this case, the author of Judges seems to suggest that God’s heart was becoming slower to rescue the Israelites only because the Israelites would keep going back to sinning and getting themselves in trouble after each rescue. So in this case God’s heart was moved not when the Israelites cried out for help but only after the Israelites got rid of their foreign gods and served the LORD.
While in initially God is happy to rescue us when we cry out to Him for help, over time God wants to see us engaging in real repentance and change, maturing and growing up, and not just us crying to God whenever we are in trouble.
Judges 10:17-18 (NIV)
17 When the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.
18 The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, “Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all those living in Gilead.”
On verses 17-18: These verses are setting the stage for the next judge that would rise up to rescue the Israelites. We’ll talk about him tomorrow when we look at Judges 11.
Father, I pray that I would mature and grow into the person You made me to be, and not just cry out to You whenever I am in trouble. I pray that I would be a stable, consistent leader who brings security and peace to those around me. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
