What happensPermalink
Tola judges Israel twenty-three years. Jair judges Israel twenty-two years. Then Israel falls back into disobedience and idolatry, so God gives them to the Philistines and Ammonites for eighteen years. The Ammonites cross the Jordan to invade Israel. The people repent, and God reminds them of their disobedience despite His faithfulness.
Why it mattersPermalink
Israel apparently worships the gods of everybody they come across; the author lists seven nations whose gods they worship, showing the totality of their depravity. They do not repent until the Ammonites invade the land itself; even then, before the battle, they look for a human leader, not God’s leadership.
Key versePermalink
And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said one to another, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”