Stability Restored
10:1 After Abimelech’s death, Tola son of Puah, grandson of Dodo, from the tribe of Issachar, rose up to deliver Israel. He lived in Shamir in the Ephraimite hill country.
Tola means “worm." It was this worm that was crushed for the use of red dye. In Psalm 22, the Messiah was predicted to be crushed as a man just like this worm was to be crushed for red dye. Tola’s grandparents were mentioned, but not his parents. His grandparents must have had more of a godly influence upon him than his parents. He was from the tribe of Issachar. He rose up to deliver Israel, but the enemy of Israel was not mentioned.
10:2 He led Israel for twenty-three years, then died and was buried in Shamir.
Tola judged Israel for 23 years. During the days of David, the clan of Tola was known for their valor. There were no more details given about Tola.
10:3 Jair the Gileadite rose up after him; he led Israel for twenty-two years.
There was very little information given about Jair. The Gileadites were from the half-tribe of Manasseh who lived inside of the Transjordan. He was a judge for 22 years.
10:4 He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys and possessed thirty cities. To this day these towns are called Havvoth Jair – they are in the land of Gilead.
Jair gave birth to thirty sons, because he was a polygamist. Wealthy kings and nobles rode on donkeys. Jair possessed not thirty homes, or thirty businesses, but thirty cities. He was very wealthy and very powerful.
10:5 Jair died and was buried in Kamon.
Jair died and was buried. There was peace and prosperity in Israel during the 45 years of the combined reigns of Tola and Jair.
The Lord’s Patience Runs Short
10:6 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight. They worshiped the Baals and the Ashtars, as well as the gods of Syria, Sidon, Moab, the Ammonites, and the Philistines. They abandoned the Lord and did not worship him.
After the death of these two judges, and after 45 years of peace and prosperity, the downward cycle of Israel continued. Israel began to worship demons through seven different nations. The two main gods of Canaan were the husband and wife team of Baal and Asherah. Syria added the worship of Hadoth, Baal, Moath, and Anath. Sidon added the Phoenician Astarte. Sidon was also involved in syncretism, which mixed the worship of Jehovah with other pagan gods. Moab added the worship of Chemosh. Ammon added the worship of Moloch. The Philistines added the worship of Dagon. Israel was becoming more like the people that they refused to genocide. They were becoming a nation who was addicted to prostitution temples, alcohol, drugs, infant sacrifices, and demon worship.
When a nation allows multiculturalism to seep into their culture, then they are claiming that all cultures are equal to that of the Bible. All cultures derive from the satanic world system. The believer is not to compromise with the culture. He is to stand above and expose the evils of the culture. He is to follow the examples written in the Word of God. If a believer refuses to follow this biblical doctrine, then the satanic world system will engulf the individual, then the family, then the community, then the city, then the state, then the nation, and then the world. Eventually, the culture will reject Christ and follow the Antichrist, This is the end result of multiculturalism.
10:7 The Lord was furious with Israel and turned them over to the Philistines and Ammonites.
Canaanization was coming to a climax. God’s cup of wrath was about to be filled. This was the first time in the Book of Judges that God became furious with Israel. God allowed the Philistines and Ammonites to oppress Israel. The Philistines would oppress Israel on the west side of the Jordan. The Ammonites would oppress Israel on the east side of the Jordan. God would raise up Samson to deal with the Philistines in the west. He would raise up Jephthah to deal with the Ammonites in the east.
10:8 They ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites that eighteenth year – that is, all the Israelites living east of the Jordan in Amorite country in Gilead.
The Hebrew word for “ruthlessly oppressed” is actually two words in Hebrew. The first word is רָעַץ (raatz), meaning “shattered." The second word is רָצַץ (razatz), meaning “crushed." The second Hebrew word was used when Abimelech’s head was רָצַץ (razatz), or “crushed” by the woman’s millstone. Israel was “shattered and crushed” by these two nations for 18 years. God would first deal with the Israelites in Gilead, which was a Transjordan city on the east side, or the wrong side, of the Jordan.
10:9 The Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight with Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. Israel suffered greatly.
After the Ammonites shattered and crushed the Transjordan tribes, they crossed over the Jordan and began crushing the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. These were the three most powerful tribes of Israel.
10:10 The Israelites cried out for help to the Lord: “We have sinned against you. We abandoned our God and worshiped the Baals.”
The cycle continued. Israel confessed her sin.
10:11 The Lord said to the Israelites, “Did I not deliver you from Egypt, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, 10:12 the Sidonians, Amalek, and Midian when they oppressed you? You cried out for help to me, and I delivered you from their power.
Jehovah reminded Israel that He had already delivered them seven different times from seven different nations. Israel had given credit of these deliverances not to Jehovah, but to the false gods of these other nations.
10:13 But since you abandoned me and worshiped other gods, I will not deliver you again.
Jehovah issued a conditional threat, depending upon their response.
10:14 Go and cry for help to the gods you have chosen! Let them deliver you from trouble!”
Using sarcasm, God challenged Israel to go cry out to the other seven gods and see if they would deliver them. Sarcasm is a very powerful language skill that can burn a message into the minds of others. Satan shames societies into using this language skill against him, but he will definitely use sarcasm as a weapon against Christian ideas and beliefs.
10:15 But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. You do to us as you see fit, but deliver us today!”
Israel confessed their sin. Their action was to accept God’s judgment.
10:16 They threw away the foreign gods they owned and worshiped the Lord. Finally the Lord grew tired of seeing Israel suffer so much.
Israel responded with action. They threw away their foreign gods. They worshiped Jehovah. Jehovah felt compassion for their suffering.
An Outcast Becomes a General
10:17 The Ammonites assembled and camped in Gilead; the Israelites gathered together and camped in Mizpah.
The Ammonites and Israelites set up their camps and prepared for battle.
10:18 The leaders of Gilead said to one another, “Who is willing to lead the charge against the Ammonites? He will become the leader of all who live in Gilead!”
Gilead was without a leader. They promised that if a leader stepped up and led Israel to victory over the Ammonites, then they would offer him the possibility of becoming a king.