QUIET BUT UNCHANGED. Judges 10 After the turbulent times of Abimelech had passed when he died, two men who seemed quite balanced rose from different parts of Israel and brought stability to the nation for forty-five years. Tola was one of the “minor” judges not known for doing great things, like leading an army to deliver God’s people from their enemies. For twenty-three years, Tola (worm) defended and judged Israel from Shamir (thorn) in Ephraim, even though he was from Issachar. Issachar, as a tribe, preferred peace and quietness over war and had learned to live comfortably alongside the surrounding world, despite their differences. Tola didn't have a dramatic story of doing anything extraordinary or noteworthy. Instead, he kept them safe from the judgments that fall on idolaters, showing that he was quietly effective in serving the Lord. He worked to establish and maintain peace among God's people. He understood the times and what was needed. He must have been a man of wisdom to do what was required for God's people after the terrible time of Abimelech. What they were preserved from isn’t as important as what they were delivered for.
A gentle, humble, lowly man with a quiet testimony was the kind of person needed to bring peace to the people. He would have contrasted greatly with Abimelech. A quiet, consistent man with a good testimony is highly valuable among God's people today. Even though Tola moved from Issachar to Ephraim, he maintained an effective testimony among the sensitive Ephraimites. Restoring and preserving peace after difficult times is no easy task. It requires a steady hand, a quiet but firm voice, and God-given wisdom to keep a balanced course for twenty-three years. We need men like that who understand the times and can guide the local testimony in a steady, biblical, and consistent direction.
Apparently, Jair (enlighten), the judge who followed Tola, was an influential man of wealth. Perhaps he learned how to effectively judge the people from the example of Tola because he judged Israel for twenty-two years of normal living. Each of his thirty sons had his donkey (his car in today's terms). He also had thirty cities under his jurisdiction, perhaps through his sons. For twenty-two years, he was able to use his influence and maintain stability with the support of his sons. Between these two judges, one from the west of Jordan and one from the east of Jordan, there was stability and peace for forty-five years. Despite the peaceful times, the hearts of the children of Israel were not changed. The outward lifestyle was the way it should be, but then, as now, when the heart is not changed, all it takes is changing social practices and changing times, and God's people follow the crowd.
Another generation was intensely drawn to idolatry in its many forms during that time. When Tola and Jair died, evil still persisted in the hearts of the Israelites. The people of God drifted further away with each cycle of turning back. They worshiped seven different false gods. The apostasies of Abimelech and the quiet leadership of Tola and Jair did not bring Israel back to God. Evil practices continued and soon led people beyond what is morally acceptable. The allure of sin is never fully satisfied. The Israelites went beyond worshiping Canaanite gods and began worshiping deities from other groups as well.
We might not accomplish anything significant in our lives, but I want to somehow influence the hearts of people within our sphere of influence. Christendom is a false god that has hindered God's people for generations. Today, more idols attract the world—materialism, pleasure, changing laws, technology, acceptance, and tolerance of evil—joining Christendom, and God's people pursue these as much or more than His will and word. We will never grasp the gravity of apostasy until we understand the seriousness of sin. The foolishness of sin is spiritual insanity. People will continue in sin until they reach a point with nowhere else to turn. Then they turn to God for help in desperation.
Verses six through eighteen serve as a lengthy introduction to the story of Jephthah. Apostasy against God once again brought God's judgment, "hot against Israel.” The theme of verses fifteen and sixteen highlights the Israelites' confession and repentance. Their suffering points to the consequences of disobedience, which are always tragic. They weren’t oppressed because they were helpless, but because God allowed it due to their disobedience and open sin. When the Philistines to the west and the Ammonites to the east subjected Israel to a brutal, eighteen-year slavery, the Israelites finally cried out to God. Even though Ammon and Moab were distant relatives, that didn't make them merciful. There was no sign of true repentance in their cries of remorse and regret to God. The Lord's response to their pleas was to tell them to turn to the things they had worshiped for help.
Whenever God's children abandon their commitment to the Lord to pursue worldly things, defeat and misery will follow in some form. The spirit of a person suffers from a lack of fellowship with God. The soul suffers because sin can never satisfy the deep longing for meaning and purpose in life. The body suffers from the effects of various forms of abuse that come with a worldly lifestyle. Such individuals become their own worst enemies. Today, people try to rely on their wealth, relationships, and religion to escape the bondage of sin. However, wealthy rehab clinics, self-help classes, therapy sessions, and counselors do not address the core issue of sin.
When the Israelites cried out to God for mercy, He reminded them that they had brought the oppression upon themselves. By rejecting faith in God and engaging in the immoral practices of idolatry, they had invited the misery that comes with sin. God was deeply grieved because He is a God of mercy and compassion, who, despite His people's sins and backsliding, still loved them and was moved by their suffering.
We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please, rescue us now," indicated repentance instead of regret. Regret is an emotional response to difficulty. Remorse for wrongs is a far cry from admitting personal guilt. Repentance changes the mind, will, and direction. The result of repentance is not only an admission of guilt but also a restructuring of life and a complete turnaround to go the opposite way. When Christians recognize the seriousness of sin and address it, the change is not just a superficial response to regret. Discipline is necessary, whether through self-discipline or discipline imposed by others, until we reach the end of ourselves. Then, we will find that God, in love, mercy, and grace, works just to bring about the blessing we seek.
For some reason, I cannot fully understand why there is a strange quirk in sinful, fallen man. Each generation resists lessons learned by the previous one and reverts to, or even surpasses, the wages of sin they earned by adding more sins of their own to those of their ancestors. By refusing to learn about the consequences of past sins, the new generation must go back and experience what could have been avoided if only they had listened to those who learned through hard experience.
God does not ignore or overlook the willingness to depart from the truth. They forsook God to be like the surrounding world, thinking this way is more fun. They gave up their integrity, worship, and even their children to worship evil, licentiousness, and depravity. Instead of pursuing holiness, they believed they would miss out on something more pleasurable. They did not want restrictions, ignoring the consequences and how far they would fall once the fun was over and reality set in. They would have to repeatedly pay the wages of sin they earned because they refused to listen or heed what God said and what was learned by previous generations.
Stop what you're doing! Don't take another step! Remember that what you sow is what you will reap. You will harvest much more than you sowed, and the unfortunate results will follow because you ignored the lessons of past history.