16. Staying on Higher Ground: Tola and Jair – Defenders of Israel

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Hymns: RHC 100 He Lifted Me 115 Constantly Abiding 116 Higher Ground 

Judges 10:1-18

1 And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim. 2 And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir. 3 And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years. 4 And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead. 5And Jair died, and was buried in Camon. 6 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him. 7 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon. 8 And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9 Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed. 10 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim. 11 And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? 12 The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand. 13 Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. 14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. 15 And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. 16 And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. 17 Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh. 18 And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

Tola and Jair – Defenders of Israel

OUTLINE

  • Peaceable Times (v1-5)
  • Sin and Oppression (v6-9)
  • Repentance and Humiliation for Sin (v10-18)

INTRODUCTION

The present interlude in the book of Judges shares all these characteristics. It is short, light in tone, bordering on farcical in its second half and acts as a transition between the Abimelech and Jephthah narratives.

In this chapter we have, the peaceable times Israel enjoyed under the government of two judges, Tola and Jair (v1-5). The troublesome times that ensued. Israel’s sin that brought them into trouble (v6). The trouble itself they were in (v7-9). Their repentance and humiliation for sin, their prayers and reformation, and the mercy they found with God thereupon (v10-16). Preparation made for their deliverance out of the hand of their oppressors (v17-18). [Matthew Henry]

  • Peaceable Times (v1-5)

1 And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim. 2 And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir. 3 And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years. 4 And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead. 5 And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.

The opening two words of this note bring Abimelech’s turbulent career into sharp focus as the backdrop to Tola’s contribution to Israel’s life in the judges period. The statement that “After Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola” (v. 1) can hardly mean that Tola arose to save Israel as Abimelech had done! That would be absurd after what has happened in chapter 9. Rather it simply means that after Abimelech Israel needed saving, and Tola arose to do this.

After Abimelech had debauched Israel by his wickedness, disquieted and disturbed them by his restless ambition, and, by the mischiefs he brought on them, exposed them to enemies from abroad, God animated this good man to appear for the reforming of abuses, the putting down of idolatry, the appeasing of tumults, and the healing of the wounds given to the state by Abimelech’s usurpation. [Matthew Henry]

“Shamir,” where he lived, is otherwise unknown, but since it has the same three consonants in Hebrew as the better known Samaria it was probably the same place under an earlier name. Certainly, the accompanying phrase, “in the hill country of Ephraim,” places it in the same general locality. But the fact that we’re forced to speculate about it is significant in itself. Of his father, “Puah, son of Dodo,” we know nothing at all. Tola is an obscure man from an obscure place and an obscure family. Nor does anything of much significance seem to have happened during his rule. Despite the use of the word “save,” no military action is attributed to Tola. There was apparently no military threat during his period of office, and he is not remembered for any acts of heroism. We are just told that he “dwelt or lived” (literally “sat”) in Shamir and “judged Israel twenty-three years” (v2). 

The language is reminiscent of the early career of Deborah, who used to “sit” under her palm tree in the hill country of Ephraim and “judge” Israel (4:4,5). The details of his activity are few, but those we are given, together with the reference to Abimelech and the similarity to Deborah, all suggest that he saved Israel from the disastrous effects of Abimelech’s rule by providing a period of stable administration. He saved it from disintegration by being a steady hand on the tiller to steer it out of troubled waters. He judged Israel for twenty-three years, and then “he died and was buried” (v. 2)—not a spectacular career perhaps, but he left Israel better than he found it, and that is a mighty good thing to be remembered for.

There was peace in Israel when God raised up two Judges – Tola, the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar who dwelt in Shamir in Mount Ephraim and Jair, the Gileadite who had thirty sons who together kept the peace in Israel. It can be observed that Jair was a man of wealth for he was able to provide his sons with their own personal donkeys. And each son had city under his authority.

Judges 5:10 (KJV) Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way.

Judges 12:13 (KJV) And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel.

Judges 12:14 (KJV) And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years.

And Gilead was a good place to live. It was the central and northern part of Israel’s territory east of the Jordan, spanning the old tribal allotments of Gad and east Manasseh. It was excellent grazing land that the Israelites had acquired on their way to Canaan after defeating the Amorite kings who lived there (Deuteronomy 2:26—3:22). It was so good that the tribes that had this territory allocated to them did not want to go on into Canaan proper and did so only after strong persuasion by Moses. Only after they had helped the other tribes conquer their territories west of the Jordan were they allowed to go back to Gilead and occupy what had been given to them there (Numbers 32). Gilead was a place that promised prosperity, and those that received it as their inheritance had good prospects.

The period of the judges was not all crisis and turmoil. We have been told repeatedly in the preceding chapters of times when the land had rest, ranging from forty to eighty years, but virtually no detail of what life was like during these peaceful interludes. Here at last we get a glimpse of how it was for one man living east of the Jordan; the book of Ruth will provide us with a much more extended look at what it was like for a family in Bethlehem, in Canaan proper. In Bethlehem the peace was interrupted for a time by famine, but there is no hint of any such trouble for Jair and his family in Gilead.

There is nothing wrong with peace and prosperity, of course. It is a blessing to be enjoyed with gratitude to God. However, it also has its dangers, and there are hints in what we are told here about Jair that he succumbed to some of them. His “thirty sons” implies that he had many wives, as Gideon did, and perhaps had the same secret desire to be a king, or at least to have the trappings of royalty. And following the account of what followed from Gideon’s straying in that direction, Jair’s flirtation with the same thing does not speak well of his character and judgment. Moreover, the fact that his sons rode on thirty donkeys and had thirty cities suggests that they too fancied themselves as at least princes and that Jair had groomed them as his successors—a kind of Jair dynasty—rather than leaving the decision of who should rule after him for others to determine in dependence on God. His placing all thirty of his sons in positions of authority, apparently regardless of their suitability for such high office, smacks too much of nepotism and abuse of power. In short, Jair seems to have used the wealth and prosperity that came his way more to advance the interests of his own family than to promote the welfare of the nation. And the style of his rule hints at the unpreparedness of Israel for the disaster about to fall on them (10:7). Jair’s pampered sons will be of little use when the Ammonites invade! Then the Gileadites will find themselves without any effective leadership at all and will seek desperately for a fighter. The places called “Havvoth-jair” (“the villages of Jair”) would stand as a testament to Jair’s folly rather than to his wisdom. [Barry G. Webb]

During this period of nearly half-century, Israel’s enemies were kept away from disturbing their peace. We may observe that these were faithful men whom God raised to direct the people to Him. 

The spiritual life of Israel was not nurtured during the time of these judges in that when they died, the nation openly went back to pursue their idols again.

Truly, as Wiersbe observed well, “The essence of idolatry is enjoying God’s gifts but no being grateful to the Giver, and Israel was guilty.”

Deuteronomy 8:10 (KJV) When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.

  • Sin and Oppression (v6-9)

6 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him. 7 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon. 8 And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9 Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.

While those two judges, Tola and Jair, presided in the affairs of Israel, things went well, but afterwards, Israel returned to their idolatry, that sin which did most easily beset them (v6): They did evil again in the sight of the Lord, from whom they were unaccountably bent to backslide, as a foolish people and unwise. They worshipped many gods; not only their old demons Baalim and Ashtaroth, which the Canaanites had worshipped, but, as if they would proclaim their folly to all their neighbours, they served the gods of Syria, Zidon, Moab, Ammon, and the Philistines. 

The Lord gave Israel victory over seven different nations (v11-12), but now Israel was worshipping seven different varities of pagan gods (v6). No wonder God’s anger was hot against Israel.

God renewed His judgments upon them, bringing them under the power of oppressing enemies. Had they fallen into the hands of the Lord immediately, they might have found that His mercies were great; but God let them fall into the hands of man, whose tender mercies are cruel.

By now Israel’s relapse into idolatry after deliverance and a period of respite has become all too familiar. It is part of the repeating pattern of this whole central part of the book. But this time the detailing of the gods that Israel turned to is especially elaborate. It includes not just the gods of the Canaanites (the Baals and Ashtaroth), but those of the surrounding nations as well—Syria and Sidon to the north, Moab and Ammon to the east, and the Philistines to the southwest (v. 6). The effect is to stress the gravity of Israel’s waywardness; they turn to any and every god other than the Lord. Their propensity for doing what is evil in his sight is going from bad to worse!

This time they are punished by being given over to the Ammonites, who will feature in the Jephthah story, and the Philistines, who will feature in the Samson story that follows (v7). There is special appropriateness to this. Israel chose to serve the gods of these nations (v7); now they will pay for it by being oppressed by these nations. And there will be no quick fix. 

Jephthah will bring them a brief period of respite by defeating the Ammonites (12:7), but the Philistines will prove a much harder foe to deal with. They will harass Israel, on and off, right through to the time of David. There’s always a price to pay for sinning against the Lord, and in this case the cost will be very high indeed. The people of Gilead were the first to feel the impact of Ammonite aggression. The first year was terrible; they were crushed and oppressed. But then that terrible year lengthened into eighteen without any relief (v8), until finally the invaders crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim as well, bringing the whole of Israel to its knees (v8-9). [Barry Webb]

  • Repentance and Humiliation for Sin (v10-16)

10 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim. 11 And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? 12 The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand. 13Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. 14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. 15 And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. 16 And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.

A humble confession which Israel make to God in their distress (v10). Now they own themselves guilty, like a malefactor upon the rack, and promise reformation, like a child under the rod. 

They not only complain of the distress, but acknowledge it is their own sin that has brought them into the distress; therefore, God is righteous, and they have no reason to repine. They confess their omissions, for in them their sin began – “We have forsaken our God,” and their commissions “We have served Baalim, and herein have done foolishly, treacherously, and very wickedly.”

A humbling message which God thereupon sends to Israel, whether by an angel (2:1) or by a prophet (6:8) is not certain. 

It was kind that God took notice of their cry, and did not turn a deaf ear to it and send them no answer at all; it was kind likewise that when they began to repent he sent them such a message as was proper to increase their repentance, that they might be qualified and prepared for deliverance. 

Now in this message, He upbraids them with their great ingratitude, reminds them of the great things He had done for them, delivering them from such and such enemies, the Egyptians first, out of whose land they were rescued, the Amorites whom they conquered and into whose land they entered, and since their settlement there, when the Ammonites had joined with the Moabites to oppress them (3:13), when the Philistines were vexatious in the days of Shamgar, and afterwards other enemies had given them trouble, upon their petition God had wrought many a great salvation for them (v11-12). 

Of their being oppressed by the Zidonians and the Maonites we read not elsewhere. God had in justice corrected them, and in mercy delivered them, and therefore might reasonably expect that either through fear or through love they would adhere to Him and His service. Well therefore might the word cut them to the heart (v13), “Yet you have forsaken me that have brought you out of your troubles and served other gods that brought you into your troubles.” Thus, did they forsake their own mercies for their own delusions.

He shows them how justly he might now abandon them to ruin, by abandoning them to the gods that they had served.To awaken them to a thorough repentance and reformation, he lets them see, their folly in serving Baalim. They had been at a vast expense to obtain the favour of such gods as could not help them when they had most need of their help: “Go, and cry unto the gods which you have chosen (v14), try what they can do for you now. You have worshipped them as gods – try if they have now either a divine power or a divine goodness to be employed for you. You paid your homage to them as your kings and lords – try if they will now protect you. You brought your sacrifices of praise to their altars as your benefactors, imagining that they gave you your corn, and wine, and oil, but a friend indeed will be a friend in need; what stead will their favour stand you in now?” 

It is necessary, in true repentance, that there be a full conviction of the utter insufficiency of all those things to help us and do us any kindness which we have idolized and set upon the throne in our hearts in competition with God. We must be convinced that the pleasures of sense on which we have doted cannot be our satisfaction, nor the wealth of the world which we have coveted be our portion, that we cannot be happy or easy any where but in God. 

Their misery and danger in forsaking God. “See what a pass you have brought yourselves to; now you can expect no other than that I should say, I will deliver you no more, and what will become of you then?” (v13). This he tells them, not only as what he might do, but as what he would do if they rested in a confession of what they had done amiss, and did not put away their idols and amend for the future.

A humble submission which Israel hereupon made to God’s justice, with a humble application to his mercy (v15). The children of Israel met together, probably in a solemn assembly at the door of the tabernacle, received the impressions of the message God had sent them, were not driven by it to despair, though it was very threatening, but resolve to lie at God’s feet, and, if they perish, they will perish there. They not only repeat their confession, We have sinned, but, they surrender themselves to God’s justice: Do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Hereby they own that they deserved the severest tokens of God’s displeasure and were sure he could do them no wrong, whatever he laid upon them; they humbled themselves under his mighty and heavy hand, and accepted of the punishment of their iniquity, which Moses had made the condition of God’s return in mercy to them (Lev. 26:41). 

Leviticus 26:41 (KJV) And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:

True penitents dare and will refer themselves to God to correct them as he thinks fit, knowing that their sin is highly malignant in its deserts, and that God is not rigorous or extreme in his demands. 2. They supplicate for God’s mercy: Deliver us only, we pray thee, this day, from this enemy. They acknowledge what they deserved, yet pray to God not to deal with them according to their deserts. Note, We must submit to God’s justice with a hope in his mercy.

A blessed reformation set on foot hereupon. They brought forth fruits meet for repentance (v16): They put away the gods of strangers (as the word is), strange gods, and worshipped by those nations that were strangers to the commonwealth of Israel and to the covenants of promise, and they served the Lord. Need drove them to him. They knew it was to no purpose to go to the gods whom they had served, and therefore returned to the God whom they had slighted. This is true repentance not only for sin, but from sin.

God’s gracious return in mercy to them, which is expressed here very tenderly (v16): His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. Not that there is any grief in God (He has infinite joy and happiness in Himself, which cannot be broken in upon by either the sins or the miseries of His creatures), nor that there is any change in God: he is in one mind, and who can turn him? But his goodness is his glory. By it he proclaims his name, and magnifies it above all names; and, as he is pleased to put himself into the relation of a father to his people that are in covenant with him, so he is pleased to represent his goodness to them by the compassions of a father towards his children; for, as he is the Father of lights, so he is the Father of mercies. As the disobedience and misery of a child are a grief to a tender father, and make him feel very sensibly from his natural affection, so the provocations of God’s people are a grief to him (Psalm 95:10), he is broken with their whorish heart (Ezekiel 6:9); their troubles also are a grief to him; so he is pleased to speak when he is pleased to appear for the deliverance of his people, changing his way and method of proceeding, as tender parents when they begin to relent towards their children with whom they have been displeased. Such are the tender mercies of our God, and so far, is he from having any pleasure in the death of sinners.

Things are now working towards their deliverance from the Ammonites’ oppression (v17-18). God had said, “I will deliver you no more;” but now they are not what they were, they are other men, they are new men, and now he will deliver them. That threatening was denounced to convince and humble them, and, now that it had taken its desired effect, it is revoked in order to their deliverance. 

The Ammonites are hardened to their own ruin. They gathered together in one body, that they might be destroyed at one blow (Rev. 16:16). The Israelites are animated to their own rescue. They assembled likewise (v17). During their eighteen years’ oppression, as in their former servitudes, they were run down by their enemies, because they would not incorporate; each family, city, or tribe, would stand by itself, and act independently, and so they all became an easy prey to the oppressors, for want of a due sense of a common interest to cement them: but, whenever they got together, they did well; so they did here. When God’s Israel becomes as one man to advance a common good and oppose a common enemy what difficulty can stand before them? The people and princes of Gilead, having met, consult first about a general that should command in chief against the Ammonites. Hitherto most of the deliverers of Israel had an extraordinary call to the office, as Ehud, Barak, Gideon; but the next is to be called in a more common way, by a convention of the states, who enquired out a fit man to command their army, found out one admirably well qualified for the purpose, and God owned their choice by putting His Spirit upon Him (11:29); so that this instance is of use for direction and encouragement in after-ages, when extraordinary calls are no longer to be expected. Let such be impartially chosen to public trust and power as God has qualified, and then God will graciously own those who are thus chosen. [Matthew Henry]