Judges 10 QUIET BUT UNCHANGED After the turbulent times of Abimelech were past when he died, two men who seemed to be quite balanced, rose from two different parts of Israel and brought stability to the nation for forty-five years. For twenty-three years, Tola(worm) judged Israel from Shamir (thorn) in Ephraim even though he was from Issachar. Issachar as a tribe preferred peace and quietness to war and so had learned to live comfortably alongside of the world around, even though they were different. As far as doing anything that was dramatic or noteworthy, Tola didn't have a dramatic testimony. But he did work 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 following the terrible time of Abimelech.
A gentle, humble, lowly man with a quiet testimony was the person who was needed to bring peace to the people. He would have been a great contrast to Abimelech. A quiet, consistent man who has a good testimony is of great value among God's people today. Even though Tola moved from Issachar to Ephraim, he had an effective testimony on the touchy Ephraimites. To establish and maintain peace after troublesome times is no easy matter. It takes a steady hand, a quiet but firm voice, and God-given wisdom to keep a balance for twenty-three years. We need men like that who understand the times and are able to keep the direction of a local testimony in a straight, biblical, consistent course.
Apparently, Jair (enlighten), the judge who followed Tola, was an influential man of wealth. Each of his thirty sons had his own donkey (his own 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 with the support of his sons, maintained stability. Between these two judges, one from the west of Jordan and one from the east of Jordan, there was a stability and peace for forty-five years. In spite of the peaceful times, the hearts of the children of Israel were not changed. The outward lifestyle was apparently 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.
When Tola and Jair died evil was still in the hearts of the Israelites. We may not do anything worthy of note in our lives, but I would like to in some way affect the hearts of people in the sphere of our influence. The people of God went farther away in every cycle of departure. There were now seven different false gods they followed. Christendom is a false god that has hindered the Lord's people for generations. But now there are many more idols that attract. Materialism, pleasure, changing laws, technology, acceptance and tolerance of evil have joined Christendom and the Lord's people chase after these as much or more than the will and word of God. We will never see the seriousness of apostasy until we see the seriousness of sin. The stupidity of sin is spiritual insanity. People will continue in sin until there is nowhere else to go. Then they turn to God for help in desperation. The apostasy of Abimelech and the quiet leadership of Tola and Jair didn't bring Israel back to God.
When the Philistines to the west and the Ammonites to the east brought Israel into a crushing bitter slavery for eighteen years, the Israelites finally cried out to God. Even though Ammon and Moab were distant relatives, that didn't make them merciful. In their cries of remorse and regret to God, there was no evidence of repentance. So, the Lord's reply to their cries was to go to the things they had worshipped for their relief. People today will trust in their riches, their relationships, their religion for relief from the bondage of sin. But wealthy rehabilitation clinics, self-help classes, therapy sessions and counselors do not deal with the fundamental problem of sin.
"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 a difficulty. Remorse for wrong is a far-cry from the admission of guilt personally. Repentance changes the mind, will and direction. The result of repentance is not only and admission of guilt, but a reordering of life and a complete turn-around to go the opposite direction. When Christians realize the seriousness of sin and deal with it, the change is not a superficial response to regret. Discipline is necessary, either self-discipline or discipline imposed by others until we get to the end of ourselves. Then we will find that God, in love, mercy and grace works in a just way to bring about the blessing we seek.