Read the Modern Pastor’s Version

The people of Israel continued to sin after Abimelech's death. Tola son of Puah from Issachar rose up to defend them and settled in Shamir on Mount Ephraim, where he judged Israel for twenty-three years before dying and being buried there.

After Tola, Jair a Gileadite arose and led the people for twenty-two years. During his time as judge, he had thirty sons who each rode donkeys into battle, giving them control over thirty cities in Gilead that still exist today. When Jair died, he was laid to rest in Camon.

But the Israelites did not remain faithful to God. They turned away from him and began serving Baalim, Ashtaroth, and other gods from Syria, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia. The Lord's anger burned fiercely against them because they abandoned him to worship idols instead.

As a result, the Philistines and Ammonites took control of Israel, causing great suffering for the people. The Ammonites specifically oppressed those living in Gilead across the Jordan River for eighteen years, while also invading Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. In their distress, the Israelites cried out to the Lord, admitting that they had sinned against him by abandoning their faith and serving other gods.

The Lord reminded them of all the times he had delivered them from their enemies: the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, and Philistines. He also recalled how the Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites had oppressed them but they cried out to him for help and he rescued them. Yet despite his deliverance, Israel turned away from God again, serving other gods instead of worshipping him alone.

The Lord told them to go cry out to these false idols they had chosen, asking them to deliver them in times of distress – an impossible request since their idols were mere lifeless objects without power. The Israelites finally acknowledged their sin and asked the Lord to do as he saw fit with them, only pleading for him to rescue them that very day.

In response, the people removed their foreign idols and began serving the Lord once more, but his heart remained heavy over the suffering of his people. Meanwhile, the Ammonites assembled in Gilead while the Israelites gathered at Mizpeh. The people and leaders from Gilead then proposed a plan among themselves: whoever would be the first to take up arms against the Ammonites would lead all the inhabitants of Gilead into battle.