Judges 10 – Study

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Jud 10:1-18

1 After the time of Abimelek, a man of Issachar named 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 for twenty-three years; then he died, and was buried in Shamir.

3 He was followed by Jair of Gilead, who led Israel for 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.

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 Ephraim; 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.

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 take the lead in attacking the Ammonites will be head over all who live in Gilead.’

A. Find Out:

1. What are we told about Tola and Jair? v.1-5
2. What happened after them? v.6
3. What did the Lord do? v.7-9
4. What did Israel do after how long? v.10
5. What was the Lord’s response? v.11-14
6. But what did Israel reply and what did they do, and why? v.15-18

B. Think:

1. How is ‘the cycle’ seen again here?
2. How is the Lord’s response different this time?
3. Why do you think that was? What result did it produce?

C. Comment:

     Large periods of time are covered by these accounts. The whole of this passage covers a period of sixty three years. Forty five years of that seem to have been uneventful under two leaders. After them the cycle starts all over again. Israel fall away from the Lord and so the Lord, either purposefully, or simply by lifting away His hand of protection, brings Israel under the oppression of their neighbours again. This lasts for eighteen years, until eventually they cry out to the Lord again for help. Help from God isn’t automatic; it is conditional upon repentance. Yes there are times when the Lord sees that simply His loving grace will bring about change of lifestyle, but mostly He calls for repentance first. His word to them in this case seems somewhat harsh at first sight, for He seems to refuse help and simply says go and get help from the gods you’ve been worshipping. But this is His way of further confronting His people with their need to repent of their wrongs.

     This they do. They come with a right attitude: we have sinned. They came with right actions: they got rid of their foreign gods. Attitude change is proved to be true by the actions that follow. The Lord then responds and (implied) stirs up Israel to rise up against the enemy. Whoever leads this revolt, they see, will be our next leader. We’ll have to see how that works out to see if that is wise.

D. Application:

1. Repentance means heart AND deeds.
2. Being sorry is not enough. God requires life change.