Turning to God Only When You Need Him
Have you ever had a friend who does not call until they need something? They do not pursue a real relationship with you. They may not even know what is going on in your life or seem to care. Maybe they do not even like you, or at least not as much as others. But if they think you have something to offer, then all of the sudden, they are your best friend. This is how the Israelites treated God. They repeatedly betrayed Him, then begged for His forgiveness when they needed Him. They were constantly testing His patience and taking advantage of His love for them. Do we do the same?
Tola and Jair, the 6th and 7th Judges – Judges 10:1-5
After Abimelech died, Tola rose to save the people from the oppression they had experienced from their own leader. This is the first time that a judge came to save the people from another Israelite and not a foreign nation. Because these judges were leaders and not rulers with power over them, they were able to save and not oppress like Abimelech. Tola was from the tribe of Issachar but lived in Ephraim, and judged Israel for 23 years.
After Tola died, Jair arose from the eastern side of the Jordan as the judge of Israel. He was a wealthy man with 30 sons who owned 30 different towns. Jair judged Israel for 22 years, then he died.
Cry Out to the gods You Chose - Judges 10:6-18
But after these two judges were gone, Israel stopped serving the Lord to serve the foreign gods of other nations. They did not serve these gods in addition to their God, but instead of Him. Because they turned to the other nations’ gods, the Lord gave them over to them, allowing the Ammonites to oppress the people living in Gilead for 18 years. They even crossed from the eastern side of the Jordan River to the western side to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim.
This time, when the people finally called out to God for help, He reminded them of all the other times He saved them and how they rejected Him afterwards. Though the people acknowledged their betrayal, God told them to cry out to the gods they had chosen over Him and let their power save them this time. But the people knew these other gods could not help them and told God they were willing to accept punishment for their betrayal and begged Him for deliverance. Then, to prove they meant what they said, they put away their foreign gods and began to serve the Lord again.
The Lord held back a while to show the people they had chosen impotent gods, but He could not bear to watch His children’s misery for long, and the situation culminated into war. Eventually, both sides were called to arms. As they encamped opposite each other, the Israelites began to look for someone to lead them.
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