Judges 10 Bible Study / Podcast

Judges 10 and the Rise of Tola and Jair

This morning, we're going to be studying Judges chapter 10. So far in Judges, we've looked at the first judge, a man named Othniel, Ehud was the second judge, and then Shamgar, Deborah and Barak working as a team, that gave us judge number four.

And then Gideon was number five. And we've been studying Gideon the past several weeks. And then last week, his son Abimelech, this is what we touched on last time, how after Gideon died, his 70 sons became the de facto rulers in Israel until they were killed by their half brother, Abimelech.

So Abimelech was the wicked son of Gideon, and he was anointed king. But because he was wicked and only ruled a few years, many commentators would not identify Abimelech as a legitimate judge. And I agree with that.

I don't consider him a judge in Israel because the judges were godly men and with Deborah, one woman. Therefore, the sixth judge would be this man that we're going to read about this morning, Tola. That's verses one and two.

And then the seventh judge is a man named Jeor, and that's verses three through five. So after this, Israel, once again, does evil in the sight of God. So the Lord allows their enemies to oppress them.

This time, Israel's being oppressed by the Philistines, and this chapter will lead into the story of Jephthah. That's chapter 11. So it's kind of the same old story, but we do learn new things, and hopefully we're getting some insights and applications as we go through the scriptures.

Now, this chapter, Judges chapter 10, there's not a lot said about Tola and Jeor, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. You know, the story of Gideon is really interesting. I think Samson is probably the most memorable judge to read about the story of Samson, and part of that is because of all the drama, right?

The story of Samson and Delilah, everyone's heard of it because there's a whole bunch of turmoil, and Samson does some pretty dumb things, like outrageous things at times, and it makes for a good story.

Same thing, lesser degree with Gideon. You know, he had the 70 wives and the concubine and his wicked son, Abimelech, and he made the ephod that became a snare, and Israel used it for idolatry, and it makes for a good story, but I mean, that stuff really isn't good.

So there's something to be said for a quiet and peaceable life. Well, I'm sure as judges, it wasn't quite full of peace, but my point is the fact that not a whole lot is said about Jeor and Tola, that's not so bad, and I'll explain why in a few moments.

So with that in mind, let's begin reading. Judges chapter 10, we'll read verses one through 10.

After Abimelech, there arose to save Israel Tola, the son of Pur, the son of Doda, a man of Issachar, and he dwelt in Shemo, in the mountains of Ephraim. He judged Israel 23 years, and he died and was buried in Shemo.

After him arose Jeor, a Gileadite, and he judged Israel 22 years. Now he had 30 sons who rode on 30 donkeys. They also had 30 towns, which are called Havath Jeor to this day, which are in the land of Gilead, and Jeor died and was buried in Caiman.

Then the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines.

And they forsook the Lord and did not serve him. So 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 people of Ammon. From that year, they harassed and oppressed the children of Israel for 18 years.

All the children of Israel who were on the other side of the Jordan in the land of the Amorites in Gilead. Moreover, the people of Ammon crossed over the Jordan to fight against Judah also, against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed.

And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord.

We have sinned against you, because we have both forsaken our God and served the Baals.

Abimelech Is Not a Legitimate Judge

Okay, so verse one begins, after Abimelech, there arose to save Israel, Tola the son of Purah. So once again, while not all commentators agree, I would not consider Abimelech a legitimate judge of Israel.

One thing you see from the judges, you know, why is that? Because the judges are men that God raised up, right? The Lord spoke to them, the spirit of the Lord came upon them. The judges were men of God who ruled as governors slash military generals.

In Abimelech, the way he came to power was not in line with what we see from these other men. Perhaps Abimelech did keep Israel's enemies in check for a time, but his reign was short, and really it was a blemish, not a bright spot.

So now here in Judges chapter 10, Abimelech, really he just becomes a footnote in history, and it's this man Tola who the Lord raises up to save Israel. So if we look at the judges, and I think we can do this, if we look at the judges as types of Christ, like they give us a picture of Christ, right?

Christ is the Savior. What were the judges? They were deliverers. Salvation and deliverance, it's a synonym. So in a sense, they were types of Christ. So Tola would be a deliverer. Abimelech was not a deliverer.

Abimelech was a evil man. He made things worse. So if the judges are seen as saviors in Israel, you can't view Abimelech that same way. So while it's not explicitly stated, as with someone like Moses or King David, I think the judges are obviously types and foreshadows of Christ.

And I think that's true for many Old Testament characters, because remember, the whole Old Testament, you know, if there's one thing you hear me say this morning that you remember, this is probably the most valuable thing, you know, apart from the gospel, right?

If we get into the gospel a little later on, but remember that the whole Old Testament is about Christ. It's all about Christ. Well, let's get into the gospel now. What is the gospel? It is the good news, salvation from sin, death, right?

Sin and its penalty, which is death and the second death. So in the Old Testament, you see, this is the theme. Man is created good by God. He falls into sin and he needs deliverance. So in the Old Testament, you have themes of sin, judgment, grace, and redemption.

That's what's happening in Israel. The people fall into sin. God sends a deliverer. And that's what he did for all of us. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God sent Christ into the world to deliver us from sin and its penalty.

So you have to see the themes in the Old Testament that it's preparing you. It was preparing Israel to better understand Christ. So Tola is raised up. He saves Israel and he rules for 23 years. And we know hardly anything else about him.

What do we get?

What's the information we have about Tola? We get the name of his father. We see that he's from the tribe of Issachar. We see where he lived and where he was buried. So that's all we get about this man.

And you might conclude from that, that Tola wasn't a great leader. Yeah, he wasn't really that good of a judge because not much is said about him. Well, that's one conclusion you could draw. If he was a greater man of God, more would be said about him.

Same thing with Jeor. We get a similar amount of information. He rules for 22 years. And what do we learn about Jeor? That he had 30 sons. So you can draw from that. He probably engaged in polygamy like Gideon did.

So there's a few things you can conclude maybe, but why shouldn't you assume that these men were not good leaders? Here's the thing. Sometimes no news is good news, right? No news is good news. So the fact that not a whole lot is said about them, you know, the Bible has a way of recording people warts and all, right?

I mean, a lot is said about the apostle Peter. Yeah, but a lot of bad things are said too, like all his mistakes and the things that he said that he shouldn't have said. So just because not much is said about somebody, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Matthew Henry writes this about verses one through five. 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 Jer. They were humble, active, and useful men, rulers appointed by God.

I think that's a good insight. Quiet and peaceable reigns. See, that's when you would have wanted to be alive in ancient Israel, when there wasn't a whole lot to be said. You know, you think about the past century, oh, the 1930s.

See, people remember the 1930s, why? Because of the Great Depression, or the late 1930s, early 1940s because of World War II, or people think of the 1980s, that's when everyone thought that the Soviet Union was going to destroy us with nuclear bombs or something.

People remember certain periods of time typically for the bad things. So the fact that not much is said, you know, it's like when there's a slow news day. Well, that usually means things are going well.

So the point is the lack of historical information could simply mean there was less turmoil. There wasn't all this drama in the lives of these two men. So that's not bad. So these men, Tola and Jer, they exercised godly rule, they serve for a total of 45 years, and then after they're gone, as is the pattern, verse six, it says, then the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they served the Baals and the Ashtoreths.

The god of Syria, the goddess of sight, and the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Am, and the gods of the Philistines, and you get the idea, they're just serving all sorts of different gods, and it says they forsook the Lord.

So the children of Israel have returned to worshiping some of the old gods, but we've seen they've added some new ones. We talked about this before, how there were many different Baals, right? And variations of these gods like Asherah.

Asherah was a fertility goddess, considered to be the consort of Baal. So there were many different Baals. Bel, it mentions the god of Syria. Bel was the god of Syria, just another variation of Baal, right?

And in the New Testament, the name Bel is used for Satan. Bel became Beelzebub. So the New Testament commentary on the Old Testament is that the children of Israel, when they were worshiping Bel or Baal, they were, in a sense, worshiping the devil, because Bel is Beelzebub.

And then there were the false gods, Dagon, Molech, Chimash, Milcom, and a variety of others. And what does it say? That Israel worshiped them, but they forsook the Lord. You almost get the idea. Well, actually, I think you do get the idea that Israel was willing to worship anyone or anything but the Lord God.

And of course, that's what the devil's goal is. See, I don't think Satan cares what people worship or who they worship, as long as they're not worshiping the true God. And isn't this the way it is right now in the world today?

In our country, isn't that the way it is? That if you're a Muslim, that's okay. If you're a Hindu or a Buddhist, hey, man, that's cool, that's in style. If you're some part of a pagan or universalistic type religion, see, all of that's fine, all of that's acceptable.

The one thing that's not acceptable in our culture is to be a Bible-believing Christian. See, this is the same old thing. You can worship any God and have any religion as long as you're not worshiping the true God.

That's what Satan wants, and that's the way it is right now. If you're part of one of these rainbow churches or if you think Pope Francis is the greatest thing since sliced bread, you know, if you're mixed up in any different type of religion or worldview, it's all culturally acceptable.

But if you believe the Bible, if you believe Jesus is the only way of salvation, see, that's the one thing that people refuse to tolerate.

Why?

Because the true worship of the Lord is the only path to heaven. So if Satan has you, or if somebody's off worshiping somebody or something else, hey, they're on the wrong track. So as long as the devil doesn't have people worship, as long as he doesn't see people worshiping the true God, he's happy.

So if Israel is worshiping Asherah or Baal or Bel or Dagon, it's all good in his viewpoint. The one they refuse to worship though is the Lord. And it's the same thing today. People are open to anybody and anything but the true God.

Sometimes you hear people say things like every religion or, you know, everyone has their own path to God. That's only true in this sense, that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. There is that one path that leads to eternal life.

All other religions, here's how that's true. All other religions, all other paths really do lead to the same place. All paths, except true Christianity, all paths really do lead to God. It's just the God of this age.

So Israel forsakes the worship of the true God, and instead they're happy to serve anyone but him. Verse seven says, so the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. That's a detail that is significant.

The Lord wasn't just upset, no, he was angry. Well, the Lord wasn't just angry, his anger was hot. See, the God people have, they've created, and it's just a new form of idolatry. Back in ancient times when people were idolatrous, they would carve a statue of wood or stone and they would bow down to it.

Today, people are more sophisticated. So what have they done? They fashioned a God, not out of wood or stone, but they fashioned a God in their own imagination, a God that is either like them or it's a God that they are comfortable with.

Isn't that interesting? The gods that people believe in think the same way they do. If somebody has an opinion, their God thinks the same way. What have they done? They've fashioned a God in their own vain imagination.

That's the new form of idolatry. And the God that people look to today is all about peace. He's all about love. He doesn't have any wrath. He doesn't get angry. There's no judgment. Oh, this is idolatry.

This is worshiping a false God, because you see in verse seven that the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. And he judged them because it says he sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the people of Ammon.

Now, why did God punish Israel like this? Remember, they agreed to the terms of the covenant. Obey the Lord and be blessed. Disobey the Lord and be cursed. Obey his commandments and I will give you all of these things.

You will dwell in the land, peace and safety and prosperity. Or if you disobey and break my commandments, things are going to go bad for you. And I will raise up your enemies against you and drive you out of the land.

See, that was the agreement and Israel said yes. They said yes to the terms of the covenant and then they broke it. So why is God punishing Israel? Here's the thing, God is a God of love. We don't want to make it sound like that God isn't a God of love because he is, but here's the key.

God is punishing Israel for that reason because he does love them. What does the scripture say? All whom the Lord loves, he chastens. Now there's two types of punishment. There is one type of punishment that is simply punitive.

And then there's a punishment that's corrective. See, when God punished Sodom and Gomorrah, it was punitive. I mean, he just wiped them out. It was to make a statement as the book of Jude says that it serves as an example of everlasting fire.

See, God was not trying to correct the men of Sodom. The same thing with Pharaoh in Egypt or Babylon. But with Israel, it's different. The Lord loved the children of Israel. They were the apple of his eye.

And you know, if you believe in Jesus Christ, I think we can say the same thing. You are the apple of his eye. The church is the apple of his eye. God loves you if you believe in Christ. But sometimes God disciplines us.

It's just like a small child. If the parents are good parents, they will discipline the child. The child doesn't like it, but it's for his or her own good. I think we understand that. So when God punished Israel, the punishment directed at the nation is corrective in nature, because this is the only thing that gets their attention.

We see this in verse 10. After they are punished, the children of Israel, then and only then do they cry out to the Lord and they say, we have sinned against you because we have both forsaken our God and served the Baals.

So this is the pattern throughout the book of Judges and really throughout Israel's whole history. Times are good. They forget about God. So God punishes them. Only then do they cry out to him for mercy.

Then he sends a deliverer who restores peace. Then they enjoy good times for a while. Then they slide back into their old behavior and the cycle just repeats. You probably heard me say that. Let's see, we're in chapter 10 and we had a two-part study of chapter three.

So you probably heard me say this about 10 or 11 times. And I repeat things. Say, Pastor Mike, when I listen to the radio station, there's certain things you repeat a lot. Well, right, yeah, I repeat it for a reason so that you'll remember this is the cycle.

And I think the same principle can be applied to the United States of America, although we are not God's covenant people. This country does not have a covenant with the Lord. It's not the same, I understand that.

But the same principles of blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. And we're forgetting about God right now. And we're allowing, from the top down, we're allowing the worship of other religions. Matter of fact, the worship of all these other religions is culturally acceptable, but to believe the Bible is the inerrant and infallible word of God, that's the one thing that's not acceptable.

So we're really in the same position that they were in. So I repeat things so that you'll know, that you'll remember, and the better you know it, the more connections and applications you can make. You know, this is how we learn through repetition.

Another thing I've repeated a few times is that when Israel got into sin, before the Lord would judge them, he would send them what? He would send a prophet. And already in the period of the judges, God has sent a couple prophets.

Back in chapter two, the angel of the Lord acted as a prophet when he came down from Gilgal. Later, there was another man who was sent by God. And he was a prophet, and a prophet is one who either foretells certain events or he foretells, he's a preacher.

And preachers do what? They warn people. See, I think a lot of churchgoers today, they want a teacher, not a preacher. Because a teacher, somebody asked me the difference, they said, well, you mentioned teaching and preaching, you know, what's the difference?

Well, a teacher just gives you information. A preacher tells you what you need to do about it. See, a teacher isn't telling you what to do and what not to do, a preacher does. A preacher warns, and that's what the prophets did.

When God sent a prophet to Israel, he would tell them what they're doing wrong and what they need to do about it. And you know, people don't always like that. But the thing is, that's an act of mercy.

You know, when the Lord sent John the Baptist on the pages of the New Testament, and John the Baptist had a hard message, and he was telling the people to repent, that was an act of mercy. Why did the Lord send John?

Because he loved the people.

Don't miss this fact that God does not want to punish people. God's desire is that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. God wants to bless Israel. God takes no delight in the death of the wicked.

And he certainly, if that's true, he certainly doesn't take delight in the death of his own people. So God doesn't want to punish them. Just as a father would prefer that his child would obey, this is what God wants.

Scripture says that the Lord does not delight in sacrifices and offerings as much as he does in obedience. Turn, turn from your evil ways as often the message the prophets would give. And since the Old Testament is written, again, remember, to help us better understand the New Testament, its types and foreshadows of Christ, their examples, as Paul said in verse Corinthians 10, these things were written for our admonition.

We can read all this and understand that it's similar with the church today. Well, it's true, we don't have prophets today in the same sense. They're not coming with new revelation from God, but we do have preachers.

And why has the Lord ordained preachers in the church today? To teach people the truth, yes, but also to warn people of the consequences of going astray. The more people listen, in the day and age we're living in, in the church today, the more people listen to the true preachers of God's word, the better things will go.

You wanna know why our country is in the state that it's in? It's because the people of this country, and even within churches, they have tuned out the true preachers, and they are listening to who instead?

Well, either their own heart, they're listening to people that maybe aren't even Christians. I mean, it's amazing how many people they get their beliefs. There's some people who profess the name of Christ, they get their beliefs and their worldview from politicians and the media instead of the Bible.

So Israel would have done well to listen to the prophets. People would do well to listen to preachers. Now, obviously, you have to watch out for the false prophets or the false preachers, but the point is the more God's people heed the word of God, the more blessing there will be.

And the more people forsake God's ways, the more they don't listen to the preaching of God's word. The longer they do that, eventually the Lord will say, and this is what he did to Israel. The Lord's gonna say, okay, you don't wanna listen?

You wanna rebel against me? You want to embrace evil or you want to worship false gods? All right, I warned you, you know better, you have the law, you have the Bible, I sent you a prophet, you have preachers, and yet you refuse to listen.

So, okay, that's what you want, that is what you will get. And you will face the consequences. And that's where Israel is. And what are the consequences? It doesn't always, we mentioned Sodom and Gomorrah a few moments ago.

You know, the judgment that God sends is not always, you know, something on that level of fire and brimstone coming down from heaven, that was a one-time thing. The Red Sea closing in on Pharaoh's army, again, a one-time deal.

Most often, when the Lord sends judgment, it is a judicial hardening where people are simply given over to their sin. Hey, this is the way you wanna live? Okay, there you go, have at it. The Lord turns them over to their own desires.

He lifts the restraints, in other words. Look at verse 11, so the Lord said to the children of Israel, did I not deliver you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites and from the people of Ammon and from the Philistines, also the Sidonians and the Amalekites and the Mayanites?

Did they not oppress you? And you cried out to me and I delivered you from their hand. Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods. Therefore, I will deliver you no more. Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen.

Let them deliver you in your time of distress.

What is this?

This is God turning them over. Oh, you wanna worship Baal? Oh, then when hard times come, then you cry out to Baal then, because Baal isn't gonna listen. Baal doesn't exist. Oh, you wanna do evil? Oh, ask Asherah to help you out.

God's turning them over. One commentator writes this, here is the form of God's wrath by which he abandons persistent willful sinners in the consequences of their sins. This aspect of divine judgment is referred to in the case of Romans 1, 24 through 28.

Let's turn there for a moment. If you are following along at home, you know, I realize people listening in their car or at work or something, you can't follow along or take notes. But if you can, it's always helpful to have your Bible opened and to take notes, follow along.

But Romans 1, this is talking about God giving people over and his judgment of lifting the restraints. And this is the classic passage. Romans 1 is where the Lord turns people over to what is called a reprobate mind or a debased mind that basically no longer functions.

Many Christian leaders have commented about how this is where we are at. In the United States of America, this is where we are collectively. We have been given over to a debased mind that no longer functions.

People often comment, people don't even know the difference between a man and a woman anymore. That's kind of the proof that God has given us over that we've become irrational. Our leaders are doing things.

It's like we're shooting ourselves in the foot. There's a self-destructive behavior is everywhere. Policies and just it's all we're working against ourselves. We have not just become immoral as a society, we have become irrational, irrational and immoral.

Look at Romans 1 for the sake of context.

And what is this?

God, God sees the rejection. He says, okay, I'm lifting the restraints and now you're gonna enter into the downward spiral. Look at verse 18 says, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

So it's not that the people don't know that there's a God in heaven. They do know they're just suppressing that truth. Verse 19, because what may be known of God is manifest in them. For God has shown it to them.

For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made, that's mankind, even God's eternal power and Godhead. So that man is without excuse.

So the point is, everybody knows there is a God. The Israelites who are worshiping Baal, they knew about the Lord, they just rejected him. And people today, they know about God, they know there is a God, they're just suppressing that truth.

And then Paul says in Romans 2, how God's law, just knowing right from wrong, it's written on our hearts. Verse 24, therefore, because of this rejection of God, he also gave them up to uncleanness in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever.

Amen.

This is why Israel would worship, bow down to gods. Remember the golden calf? They didn't wanna serve the Lord, they would rather worship a cow. I mean, that tells you something. And there's all sorts of pagan idols of, especially you go over to India and Eastern country, snakes and just bizarre demon-like creatures with six arms and just demonic looking creatures and people bow and pray to them.

This is God giving them up. Verse 26, for this reason, God gave them up to vile passions for even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise, also the men leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error, which was due.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind or a reprobate mind to do those things which are not fitting.

What is this?

This is clear evidence that they have rejected the Lord. It is so bad, Paul says, that even the women are engaging in this behavior. So this is the crossing of a line. And because they crossed the line, the Lord gives them over.

This is what you want. This is what you can have. The Lord lifts the restraints and then they enter into this downward spiral after utterly rejecting the God of heaven. So again, this is God turning Israel over.

It's not final at this point in Judges. And God turns countries and nations over today. So society isn't gonna get better and better at this point. You know, once you enter into that downward spiral, things continue to get worse and worse.

And that, of course, obviously is where we are at. So if you read the rest of Romans 1, it explains that. Okay, let's turn back to Judges chapter 10. Now, say, that sounds pretty bleak. Well, thankfully, God was not done with Israel then.

And of course, I would argue, even though he has set them on the shelf for the past 1 ,900 years or 2 ,000 years, God is still not done with them because of his covenant, because of his love for them.

You know, God doesn't turn his back on people. We're talking about the unbeliever is given over. And there were plenty of unbelievers in Israel. Probably at this point in Judges 10, it's the majority of the people, but there's still a remnant.

And as long as there is a remnant, there's hope. So whether it's today or certainly back in the case of the days of the Judges, if God's people will turn from their evil ways, if Israel would turn, and if the church right now would turn, we're not talking about individuals.

Obviously, individuals should turn from sin if they're not serving God. But collectively, 2 Chronicles 7, 14 says, if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land.

Why were things so bad in Israel? Why were the people oppressed? Because they turned away from God. Why are things getting so bad in our country? Same reason, people have turned away from God. But if the people who are called by his name will humble themselves and pray and seek God's face,.

There's always hope.

Now, usually things have to get pretty bad before this happens. Well, it got that bad in Israel. The Lord chastened his people. He sent his, remember, corrective punishment. And as the result of it, we read in verse 15, and the children of Israel said to the Lord, we have sinned.

Do to us whatever seems best to you. Only deliver us this day, we pray. So it says, they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord. And his soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel.

God decided, okay, I'm going to send a savior, a deliverer. You know, we know they were genuine for two reasons. Number one, they were willing to accept whatever the Lord decided to do. And number two, there were works.

Okay, there was evidence. There was the fruits of repentance were there. So it wasn't just empty words. They got rid of the idols and they turned back to serving the Lord. And the Lord was grieved by their misery.

God doesn't like to see people suffering. And I just wonder today, how many blessings are we forfeiting? We live in a land where, like in the days of Judges 10, the worship of the true God is the one thing people don't want.

You know, just as an illustration of this, in the town where I pastor, there is literally an idols temple. And that pagan shrine is by far the most beloved worship site in town, by far. Matter of fact, if you just search the town on Google, what comes up?

A picture of that idols temple. Many of the locals, really, I mean, really, they have contempt for the Lord and his commandments. They're willing to tolerate and accept the worship of just about anything and everybody, except the true worship of Jehovah God and his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins and rose again the third day.

And if people would repent and turn to Christ, they would be given the gift of everlasting life. But that's the one message they don't want. They're okay with anything else, just not that. And because of this rejection of God, our land is oppressed, not by a foreign enemy, rather we are afflicting ourselves.

We are working against ourselves. People are suffering. There is a loss of hope. You can see it in people's eyes.

There's no hope.

Suicide is on the rise, drug addiction, lawlessness abounds. And the love, the result of it, is the love of many is growing cold. We live in a land where good is called evil and evil is called good. And it's become the new normal.

You wanna talk about the new normal, that's it. Today's morality is just yesterday's immorality. The only question is, as a people, will we turn back to God? That's the only question. So as we begin to bring this study to an end, you think about Tola and Jer, how we started out, how there wasn't much to say about that time period.

Oh, that the Lord would give us days like the ones where Tola and Jer ruled, where there wasn't much to say, where there wasn't much to write about. Wouldn't it be nicer if we lived in quieter times? Well, I wish we did, but it's not the case.

The Lord has put us where we are right here, right now, and God is sovereign and he's done that for a reason. So what are we doing to bring about change? Are you willing to commit yourself to the worship of the true God?

Are you willing to try to make a difference in your home, in your church, in your community? Are you willing to tell people about God's grace? Is there still hope for us as, and I don't know that we should focus on the nation.

I think we need to focus on the church. Restore churches, that churches that we would, that we would purge the leaven from the churches. There's not gonna be revival in the nation until there's first revival in the church.

So the only question, will there be a turning back to God? So while this period of the judges was a dark time, there was still hope. And the Lord was about to raise up once again, another judge to deliver the people.

And I'll close with verses 17 and 18. And it says, "'Then the people of Ammon gathered together "'and encamped in Gilead. "'And the children of Israel assembled together "'and encamped in Mizpah. "'And the people, the leaders of Gilead said to one another, "'Who is the man who will begin the fight "'against the people of Ammon?