SUMMARY
Once again the Israelites sin against God by worshipping other gods, and this time God allows the Midianites and Ammonites to “crush and oppress” the Israelites for 18 years.
ANALYSIS
The third cycle opens again with a number of Deuteronomistic phrases about Israel “doing evil in the sight of the LORD” worshipping other gods, and God “handing over” the Israelites “into the hands” of their enemies (Ammonites and Philistines—10:8).
Two items are worthy of note. First, this third and final cycle of Judges narratives begins with Israel falsely worshipping the largest number of different gods from different nations and peoples as compared to the previous cycles in Judges: gods of Aram, gods of Sidon, gods of Moab, gods of Ammonites, and gods of Philistines. The degree of Israel’s apostasy has greatly intensified.
Secondly, this episode is the only time in the whole Book of Judges that the Israelites—in their crying out to God—repent of their sin: “We have sinned against you, because we have abandoned our God and have worshipped the Baals” (10:10). In previous judge episodes when enemies attacked, the Israelites cried out to God in pain, not with words confessing their sin. In the prior instances in Judges and often throughout the Old Testament, it is the cry of humans in their suffering that has particular power to get God’s attention and to move God to help and deliver. God responds to cries of suffering among God’s own people (Exodus 3:7, 9; PsalmA psalm is a song of praise. In the Old Testament 150 psalms comprise the psalter, although some of the psalms are laments and thanksgivings. In the New Testament early Christians gathered to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. More 34:6, 15, 17) but also to the cries of the suffering of people of other nations (Genesis 21:16-19; Exodus 22:21-24). Although the Israelites repentRepentance is a central biblical teaching. All people are sinful and God desires that all people repent of their sins. The Hebrew word for repent means to "turn away" from sin. The Greek word for repentance means to "change on'e mind," more specifically, it means... More and confess their sin this one time in Judges, the text declares that God “could no longer bear to see Israel suffer” (10:16) as the prime motivator for God to raise up another judge or deliverer.