CHAPTER 10

(1206 B.C.)

TOLA AND JAIR

¹And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in Mount Ephraim.

²And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir (this is the only information we are given as it regards Tola).

³And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years.

⁴And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havoth-jair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.

⁵And Jair died, and was buried in Camon (this is the totality of information we have about this man, as well).

APOSTASY

⁶And the Children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not Him. (As is obvious, Israel had now sunk to an all-time low. This appears to be the lowest point of debasement that they touched at this period of their history.)

⁷And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon. (They seemed to forget, or else they didnt know, that the Lord, Whom they were supposed to serve, could bring about any situation He so desired. It is still the same presently. Everything that happens to a Child of God is either caused or allowed by the Lord. This we must never forget.)

⁸And that year they vexed and oppressed the Children of Israel: eighteen years, all the Children of Israel who were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.

⁹Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed. (The words of Verse 8 may be translated broke and crushed them. In earlier days, when serving one false god, they were oppressed but on one side, but now, serving a multitude of idols, they are oppressed on both sides. This fact is as true for men and nations presently as it was then.)

ISRAEL CRIES TO GOD

¹⁰And the Children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against You, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim. (Williams says, But there was sufficient energy of life in Israel to bring out the cry of confession. To be conscious of misery is a sign of life. Because of the deceitfulness of the heart, and because of the deceitfulness of sin, bondage is accepted after a slight struggle, and then, after a time, the slave becomes unconscious of the slavery.

The confession we have sinned against You showed true Repentance, for it showed a sense of injury done to God, and not merely sorrow because of the miseries that lay upon themselves. Remorse is not repentance mental distress because of the painful results of sin is not repentance; but a sense of the grief and dishonor occasioned to God, and sorrow because He has been sinned against, that is Repentance. David and Simon Magus illustrate true and false repentance. The one cried out, I have sinned against the Lord. His first thought was God and His Glory. The other said, Pray for me that none of these things come upon me. His first thought was himself and to secure exemption from punishment.)

¹¹And the LORD said unto the Children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?

¹²The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and you cried to Me, and I delivered you out of their hand. (All of this was a matter of record, and many alive at that time knew at least some of these deliverances.)

¹³Yet you have forsaken Me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.

¹⁴Go and cry unto the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. (Well, of course, these so-called gods were merely figments of mens imaginations. They didnt even exist! So why did Israel, who had the privilege of having relationship with Jehovah, the only True God, desire to submit themselves to such evil?

The problem was, and is, the sin nature. This is the nature of man that bends itself toward sin, and all because of the Fall. While they had no excuse, still, before the Cross, they did not have the Holy Spirit abiding within their lives on a permanent basis; therefore, they were, for all practical purposes, denied much of the help the Holy Spirit now gives.

And even presently, if the Believer doesnt understand that all victory is received and maintained by our Faith in Christ and the Cross, the sin nature will once again begin to dominate the person [Rom. 8:32; 6:12-13].)

GENUINE REPENTANCE

¹⁵And the Children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do Thou unto us whatsoever seems good unto You; deliver us only, we pray Thee, this day.

¹⁶And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. (The soul of the Lord being grieved means that He literally could not bear their suffering any longer. He would answer their prayer and deliver them.)

¹⁷Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the Children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh.

¹⁸And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he who will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.