Judges 10:10

ISRAEL'S REPENTANCE AND GOD'S MERCY (Judges 10:10-16)

"And the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah, saying, We have sinned against thee, even because we have forsaken our God, and served the Baalim. And Jehovah said unto the children of Israel, Did not I save you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried unto me, and I saved you out of their hand. Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will save you no more. Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress. And the children of Israel said unto Jehovah, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; only deliver us, we pray thee, this day. And they put away the foreign gods from among them, and served Jehovah; and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel."

"We have sinned" (Judges 10:10,15). "The penitential confession of Israel's sins undoubtedly had its setting in a fast called together by their leaders."[15] If this was the case, there was probably a prophet who, upon behalf of Jehovah, spoke the stern words of Judges 10:13,14.

"Did I not deliver you, ..." (Judges 10:11). Reference is here made to no less than seven nations from whose power the Lord had delivered Israel. These are: (1) The Egyptians; (2) the Amorites; (3) the Ammonites; (4) the Philistines; (5) the Sidonians; (6) the Amalekites; and (7) "The Maonites who are otherwise unknown to this period."[16] It is surprising that the Midianites were not included here, but it may be, as suggested by Dalglish, that, "`Maonites' is here a reference to the Midianites."[17] Indeed, the Septuagint (LXX) version here has `Midianites.'

Hervey observed that, "These references to former deliverances of Israel are of great historical value ... They show the existence of a real history in the background of that which has been preserved in the Bible."[18] Furthermore, there are references here that mention events recorded in Exodus and in Numbers 21:21-35, thus giving irrefutable evidence of the existence of the entire Pentateuch at a time long before the monarchy had been established in Israel.

"Ye have forsaken me" (Judges 10:13). Above, we observed that these words were possibly spoken by a prophet, but it is more likely, as Keil stated it, that, "If it had been a prophet who spoke, such an event would surely have been recorded. The message of these verses was evidently delivered in front of the tabernacle, where the people had rallied and called upon the Lord. The message came either through the High Priest, or through an inward voice in which God spoke to the hearts of His people."[19]

The repentance of Israel reported in these verses was no merely perfunctory maneuver. It was genuine. "(1) They confessed their sins to the Lord (Judges 10:10,15a). (2) They bared their backs for punishment (Judges 10:15b). (3) They put away the idols representing foreign gods (Judges 10:16a). (4) They served the Lord (Judges 10:16b)."[20] It appears that there was also a full recognition of the fact that Israel deserved the punishment that God had brought upon them.

"They put away their foreign gods" (Judges 10:16a). This contrasts with "other gods" in Judges 10:13; and the radical critics who held sway earlier in this century, promptly, found this to be evidence of two different sources! Moore wrote that, "`Foreign gods' is the phrase of E, for which the Deuteronomic expression is `other gods.'"[21] We have called attention to this as a classical example of the arrogant stupidity of those late nineteenth century and early twentieth century Biblical critics! Boling said of such earlier critics that this blunder resulted from their failure to observe, "The change of speakers; the Lord speaks in Judges 10:13, and the author of Judges speaks in Judges 10:16."[22] Their error was in finding "two sources" instead of finding "two speakers."

"His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel" (Judges 10:16). It is not definitely stated here that God would deliver Israel again, but the following sequence of events related to Jephthah indicate that he surely did so. The Scriptures often speak of God's love for Israel in terms of human love and compassion, and this one reminds us of another example.

"How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I cast thee off, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboiim? my heart is turned within me, my compassions are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of my anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee; and I will not come in wrath." (Hosea 11:8,9).

Upon the basis of such passages as this, we are justified in receiving the statement in Judges 10:16b as a strong indication that God would again deliver Israel.