“But the Israelites said to the LORD, ‘“We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.”
~ Judges 10:15
Hi James and Ellen,
If you were told one day by your dad and ma that you can do whatever it is that you want to do, what would you do? If you were told one day by your dad and ma that you can live your lives in whatever way that you want to live your lives, how would you live your lives? What do you think that it is like to live in a home where the dad and ma has no interest at all in wanting their kids – like you, to get to know God – as God the Father and God the Son through God – as God the Spirit? How do you think that life was like 3100 years ago for God’s specially chosen kids – the Israelite people group’s kids, when their dads and mas were no longer interested in having them get to know God – as God the Father? God’s specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group’s guys and gals, had already lived for 300 years in the land that God had told His specially chosen guys and gals that they would always have to live in as their very own land if . . . the land that God’s specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group’s guys and gals, lived in 3100 years ago – which was once known as Canaan, is known today as Palestine as well as Israel. When twelve Israelite people group’s tribal clans divided up by lot Canaan’s land area between themselves – after they had purged out almost all the different people group’s guys, gals and kids who were living in Canaan’s land area and in the surrounding land areas, the Israelite people group’s guys and gals could claim as their very own land between 6,000 to 10,000 square miles. God’s specially chosen guys and gals ended up with a land area that was a little larger that the size of the state of Vermont. There are about 650,000 guys, gals and kids who are now living in Vermont. There were at least two million guys, gals and kids – or at least three times the population of guys, gals and kids who live in Vermont, who 3400 years ago moved into the land areas that had been taken over by the Israelite people group’s guy and gals – God’s specially chosen guys and gals, as they began living their lives in the land that God had told them that they would always have to live in as their very own land if . . .
Every state in the United States has a governor who has been elected by guys and gals who live in the state. Every country on planet Earth has either a President, Prime Minister. King, Queen, dictator or . . . who has been elected, chosen or ascribed or has assumed the role of being his or her country’s leader. After the guy who Moses mentored – who was Joshua, died, there was no guy in place to replace Joshua – as Joshua had not mentored a guy to replace him as the leader over God’s specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group’s guys and gals. As the land of Canaan – Israel – Palestine and all the surrounding areas were being divvied up by lots and/or being settled by the twelve Israelite people group’s tribal clans, Joshua had not put into place a succession plan for after when he died as to how he would be replaced as the leader over the guys and gals who were in the Israelite people group’s tribal clans. After Joshua died and over the next 300 or so years, different power leaders bubbled up in different places from different Israelite people group’s tribal clans to take on the role of being the top dog to keep neighboring vulture people groups’ of guy and gals at bay from messing with God’s specially chosen guys and gals. These guys who bubbled up as power players became known as judges. There is in Judges 10 short bios on two of the judges. Tola was Dodo’s kid. Tola was from the Ephriam tribal clan. Tola was an Israelite people group’s judge for twenty-three years. Jair was from Gilead. Because Gilead was located in the area of land that the Manasseh tribal clan asked to have on the east side of the Jordan River, Jair was from the Manasseh tribal clan. Jair had thirty sons. Jair’s thirty sons each had a donkey – which they rode. Jair’s thirty sons each had a city – which they oversaw. Jair’s family was probably a very wealthy family. Jair was an Israelite people group’s judge for twenty-two years.
No one guy from any of the twelve Israelite people group’s tribal clans bubbled up after Jair died to be a judge or a power player for God’s specially chosen guys and gals – to keep the neighboring vulture people groups’ of guys and gals from messing with God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in the land that God had told them that they would always have to live in as their very own land if . . . what do you think that life would be like here in the United States if there was no elected President and no laws putting parameters on what a guy or gal can and cannot do? Your grandpaa thinks that complete anarchy, disorder and/or chaos would happen if there was no one guy or gal elected, chosen or ascribed into the role of being a country’s leader. Your grandpaa thinks that complete anarchy, disorder and/or chaos would happen if there were no laws putting parameters on what a guy or gal can and cannot do. If you did not have your dad and ma telling you what to do, your grandpaa is sure that you would quickly find plenty of things to do that you should not do. When no one guy bubbled up from any Israelite people group tribal clan to judge God’s specially chosen guys and gals after Jair’s death, God’s specially chosen guys and gals began worshipping Baal, Ashtoreth, Chemosh, Molech, etc. – gods which their neighboring people groups’ of guys and gals were worshipping. Because His specially chosen guys and gals were doing exactly what He had told them not to do, God had the Israelite people group’s guys and gals for eighteen years be tyrannized by the Philistine and Ammonite people groups’ guys. God’s specially chosen guys and gals would finally desperately go to Him to ask Him for His help. Verse 15 says “But the Israelites said to the LORD, ‘“We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.”’ Bubbling up as a leader is good if you lead doing it God’s way.
Judges 10 (423)