101 And there riseth after Abimelech, to save Israel, Tola son of Puah, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, and he is dwelling in Shamir, in the hill-country of Ephraim, 2 and he judgeth Israel twenty and three years, and he dieth, and is buried in Shamir. 3 And there riseth after him Jair the Gileadite, and he judgeth Israel twenty and two years, 4 and he hath thirty sons riding on thirty ass-colts, and they have thirty cities, (they call them Havoth-Jair unto this day), which 'are' in the land of Gilead; 5 and Jair dieth, and is buried in Kamon.
6 And the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and serve the Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Aram, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the Bene-Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsake Jehovah, and have not served Him; 7 and the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He selleth them into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the Bene-Ammon, 8 and they crush and oppress the sons of Israel in that year—eighteen years all the sons of Israel 'who' are beyond the Jordan, in the land of the Amorite, which 'is' in Gilead. 9 And the Bene-Ammon pass over the Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim, and Israel hath great distress.
10 And the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, saying, 'We have sinned against Thee, even because we have forsaken our God, and serve the Baalim.' 11 And Jehovah saith unto the sons of Israel, ''Have I' not 'saved you' from the Egyptians, and from the Amorite, from the Bene-Ammon, and from the Philistines? 12 And the Zidonians, and Amalek, and Maon have oppressed you, and ye cry unto Me, and I save you out of their hand; 13 and ye—ye have forsaken Me, and serve other gods, therefore I add not to save you. 14 Go and cry unto the gods on which ye have fixed; they—they save you in the time of your adversity.' 15 And the sons of Israel say unto Jehovah, 'We have sinned, do Thou to us according to all that is good in Thine eyes; only deliver us, we pray Thee, this day.' 16 And they turn aside the gods of the stranger out of their midst, and serve Jehovah, and His soul is grieved with the misery of Israel. 17 And the Bene-Ammon are called together, and encamp in Gilead, and the sons of Israel are gathered together, and encamp in Mizpah. 18 And the people—heads of Gilead—say one unto another, 'Who 'is' the man that doth begin to fight against the Bene-Ammon? he is for head to all inhabitants of Gilead.'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Judges 10:1-36
Commentary on Judges 10:1-5
(Read Judges 10:1-5)
Quiet and peaceable reigns, though the best to live in, yield least variety of matter to be spoken of. Such were the days of Tola and Jair. They were humble, active, and useful men, rulers appointed of God.
Commentary on Judges 10:6-9
(Read Judges 10:6-9)
Now the threatening was fulfilled, that the Israelites should have no power to stand before their enemies, Leviticus 26:17,37. By their evil ways and their evil doings they procured this to themselves.
Commentary on Judges 10:10-18
(Read Judges 10:10-18)
God is able to multiply men's punishments according to the numbers of their sins and idols. But there is hope when sinners cry to the Lord for help, and lament their ungodliness as well as their more open transgressions. It is necessary, in true repentance, that there be a full conviction that those things cannot help us which we have set in competition with God. They acknowledged what they deserved, yet prayed to God not to deal with them according to their deserts. We must submit to God's justice, with a hope in his mercy. True repentance is not only for sin, but from sin. As the disobedience and misery of a child are a grief to a tender father, so the provocations of God's people are a grief to him. From him mercy never can be sought in vain. Let then the trembling sinner, and the almost despairing backslider, cease from debating about God's secret purposes, or from expecting to find hope from former experiences. Let them cast themselves on the mercy of God our Saviour, humble themselves under his hand, seek deliverance from the powers of darkness, separate themselves from sin, and from occasions of it, use the means of grace diligently, and wait the Lord's time, and so they shall certainly rejoice in his mercy.