College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Judges 10 - Introduction
A DIGEST OF CHAPTER 10
The judgeship of Tola. The career of Tola is described very briefly. He was of the tribe of Issachar. His era was one of twenty-three years in length. Nothing much is recorded about him except for the unusual fact of his dwelling in Shamir which was in Mount Ephraim although he was from a different tribe.
The judgeship of Jair. Jair was a Gileadite. This kind of identification indicates he lived east of the Jordan, His judgeship was one of twenty-two years in length, and his family was deemed worthy of special notice. His thirty sons each had an ass colt upon which he rode, and their jurisdiction was over thirty cities. For that reason, this area was known as Havoth-jair even until the time of the writing of the book.
Apostasy and servitude. The children of Israel continued on the course which they had followed throughout the preceding years. God was good to them and gave them leaders, but they rejected His mercies. They turned away to serve pagan gods. As a result, the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and the Philistines were allowed to dominate them. In addition, the Ammonites invaded their territory, and Israel was sore distressed (Judges 10:9).
The repentance of Israel. In their sore distress Israelites turned back to God. God reminded them of their past history, the times when He had delivered them from those who oppressed them. The children of Israel realized this and made a confession of their sin. They brought forth fruit meet for repentance, as John the Baptist urged people in his day to do (Matthew 3:8), and began to search for a man who could lead them to fight against their oppressors.
LESSONS FOR LEARNING
1.
Evil companions corrupt good manners. Pagan nations on every side presented temptations to Israel. The Philistines on the west were worshipers of a god called Dagon as we learn in the history recorded in the Books of Samuel. The Ammonites, the Moabites, the Assyrians, and the Zidonians all had different gods to whom they gave worship. These are all lumped together into the two words, Baalim and Ashtaroth. Some of these gods are known by different names in later periods; Chemosh was the god of the Moabites; Molech was known as the god of the Ammonites. All of these were an abomination to the children of Israel and a violation of the First Commandment given to Israel whereby they were enjoined to have no other gods before them, It was because of this sore temptation which these people would pose to Israel that God had ordered their extermination. The cup of iniquity of the Amorite was full, and they were to be driven out of the land. Christians today find temptations befall them when they continue to live in an exceedingly sinful environment without the strength which fellowship with other Christians brings.
2.
We have sinned! These are perhaps the hardest words for a man to utter. It is easy to blame others for sins which we have committed. In the Garden of Eden, Eve said the serpent had beguiled her; Adam said that the woman whom God had given to be with him had encouraged him to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:12-13). From the beginning of man's history he has always found excuses for his sinful ways. Only when the person cries out in a full confession of faith, I have sinned, is he in a position to receive fully God's forgiving grace. The people of Israel came to this realization and cried out, We have sinned (Judges 10:15).
3.
Fruit meet for repentance. John the Baptist called for the Jews of his day to bring forth fruit meet for repentance (Matthew 3:8). The repeated cries of Israel as they said they were sinful may leave the reader with the impression they only talked about their repentance. In this case, however, they put away the strange gods from among them. They did something about their sin: they got rid of the images which they had set up as objects of worship. Whenever a man repents, he should not only express sorrow for his sin but should manifest such a reformation of character as to make clear his sincerity.
TEN QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 10
1.
Who was the seventh judge?
2.
Of what tribe was he a member?
3.
How long did he judge Israel?
4.
Who was the eighth judge?
5.
Where did he live?
6.
What five countries or cities had false gods whom Israel worshiped?
7.
Into whose hands did God sell Israel?
8.
What three tribes were attacked by Israel's enemies?
9.
From what seven groups of people had God already delivered Israel?
10.
What people brought the oppression to its height in the days after Jair?