10 After Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, and he lived at Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. And he judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried at Shamir.
After him arose Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years. And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities, called Havvoth-jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead. And Jair died and was buried in Kamon.
The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the LORD and did not serve him. So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites, and they crushed and oppressed the people of Israel that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the people of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. And the Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed.
And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, saying, “We have sinned against you, because we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.” And the LORD said to the people of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines? The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I saved you out of their hand. Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” And the people of Israel said to the LORD, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.” So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel.
Then the Ammonites were called to arms, and they encamped in Gilead. And the people of Israel came together, and they encamped at Mizpah. And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said one to another, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
(ESV)
In Judges 10, Tola from the tribe of Issachar led Israel for 23 years and was buried at Shamir. Jair from Gilead then led Israel for 22 years, having 30 sons who each rode a donkey and controlled 30 cities in Gilead, known as the villages of Jair.
After Jair’s death, Israel abandoned the Lord by worshiping Baal, Astarte, and the gods of neighboring nations. In response, the Lord allowed the Philistines and Ammonites to oppress Israel for 18 years. The attacks extended to the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. In their distress, Israel cried out to the Lord, confessing their sin. The Lord reminded them of previous deliverances but refused to rescue them again, telling them to cry to their chosen gods.
Israel repented, discarded their foreign gods, and worshiped the Lord, who became troubled by their distress. The Ammonite army camped in Gilead, and the leaders of Israel gathered at Mizpah, asking who would lead the fight against the Ammonites, with the promise that the leader would be the ruler of Gilead.
Here we go again. If you have been following along throughout Judges, you know this is not the first time that Israel has sinned against the Lord and turned to false gods. In fact, it has been explicitly stated six times since the beginning of Judges (Jdg 2:11-13; Jdg 3:7; Jdg 4:1-2; Jdg 6:1-10; Jdg 8:33-34; Jdg 10:6).
This particular moment (in Judges 10) feels different. If you are a parent, you can probably relate to this feeling with your children. Every time they sinned, the Lord rescued them and every time He rescued them, they forgot about His mighty works. God is tired of the lip service. He is exhausted by their wandering eye.
Why is it that we do not read that Israel forsakes their false gods? It is Yahweh who is consistently forsaken. Despite having the true and living God who is the “fountain of living water”, Israel continually returns to broken cisterns that cannot hold a single drop. Is this not the same phenomenon we experience as parents, leaders, teachers, and mentors?
This is revealing on many levels. The cold reality is that the path of sin is the default direction that our hearts will travel. Following the Lord is like swimming upstream against the current. It takes effort and intentionality. The natural flow of the water is like the natural flow of sin. It slowly and subtly pulls you in one direction. Just 10 minutes of casual relaxation will take you a mile downstream. Because of the fall in the garden, this is how our hearts are wired. It is impossible to avoid what the text is communicating to us in the book of Judges. Without divine intervention, the human heart will always drift toward sin!
God isn’t cool with open relationships. He isn’t excited about letting you jump from relationship to relationship and then coming back to Him as soon as your life falls apart. We know this by reading about Israel’s example and that’s why the Bible exists – to warn us of the wrong path and lead us down the right path. We cannot walk in two directions at the same time.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. [14] How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.
Matthew 7:13-14 CSB
There is a point when God says, “Enough is enough,” and that is a frightening thought. So far in Judges, we have seen immeasurable grace from the Lord. We have seen Him continually love and care for Israel despite her folly. But there is a point when He says “Enough.”
“The LORD said to the Israelites, “When the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines, [12] Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, did I not deliver you from them? [13] But you have abandoned me and worshiped other gods. Therefore, I will not deliver you again. [14] Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them deliver you whenever you are oppressed.””
Judges 10:11-14 CSB
Where else do we see this in Scripture?
“For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn cow. Can the LORD now shepherd them like a lamb in an open meadow? [17] Ephraim is attached to idols; leave him alone! [18] When their drinking is over, they turn to promiscuity. Israel’s leaders fervently love disgrace. [19] A wind with its wings will carry them off, and they will be ashamed of their sacrifices.”
Hosea 4:16-19 CSB
“When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will refuse to look at you; even if you offer countless prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. [16] “Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from my sight. Stop doing evil.”
Isaiah 1:15-16 CSB
And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right.
Romans 1:28 CSB
There is a theme in Scripture that we cannot ignore. God will “hand people over” to their pursuit of sin. This doesn’t mean that His grace is unavailable. It means that when people consistently and decisively reject God and reject His counsel, they suffer the natural consequences of their sinful desires. Their sin leads to further sin, creating a cycle that worsens over time as they become numb to God’s voice.
This process is self-perpetuating (continuing and escalating on its own) and self-avenging (bringing harm back upon the person committing the sin). In other words, the sin itself becomes its own punishment, as it leads to increasing moral corruption, personal suffering, and separation from God. This is what it means when God “hands people over” and this is exactly what we see happening in Judges 10.
The hope in allowing someone to run headlong into their sin is that they will come to recognize their error and genuinely return to God – not just in words, but through true repentance and changed actions. This is the whole idea of Judges 10. The people are continuing to give God lip service while actively going back to their idols. Like the father who awaits the return of the prodigal son, God’s grace is available for anyone who turns back to Him.
“All these things were written for our example and instruction. Israel did not forsake God more often than we have done. Life has been full of fits and starts, of backsliding and recommencement, of sin and repentance. We have nothing to say against Israel; let us look at home, and search our hearts, and thank the Lord that His mercy endureth forever, Psa 136:1-26.”
F.B. Meyer