Commentary - Judges 10:6-9

Bird's-eye view

Here we are again. The book of Judges is a book of cycles, a book of ups and downs, and this passage finds Israel right back at the bottom of the Ferris wheel. After a period of relative peace under the minor judges Tola and Jair, the people of God dive headlong back into idolatry. This is not a minor slip; it is a full-throated, enthusiastic embrace of every false god they can find. They are not just flirting with idolatry; they are setting up a pantheon. And as we see time and again, God's response to covenant unfaithfulness is covenant judgment. He is a jealous God, and He will not share His glory with another. So He sells them into the hands of their enemies, the Philistines and the Ammonites, who don't just defeat them, but "shattered and smashed" them for eighteen long years. The pain is intense and widespread, pushing Israel to the brink of utter despair. This is the predictable pattern: sin leads to suffering, apostasy leads to oppression. God is teaching His people, through hard experience, that He alone is God and that forsaking Him is the height of folly.

This passage sets the stage for the deliverance that will come through Jephthah. But before the deliverer arrives, the people must first feel the full weight of their sin. The distress is not just a military problem; it's a theological crisis. They have abandoned Yahweh, and now they are reaping the whirlwind. The Lord's anger is not capricious; it is the righteous response of a holy God to a people who have prostituted themselves to worthless idols. The severity of the oppression is a measure of the severity of their sin. Yet, even in this, we see the strange mercy of God. The judgment is intended to drive them back to Him, to show them the utter bankruptcy of the gods they have chosen. It is a severe mercy, a painful grace, but it is grace nonetheless.

Outline

Context In Judges

Judges 10:6-9 marks the beginning of the sixth cycle of sin and judgment in the book. The refrain "the sons of Israel again did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh" is the dreary drumbeat of this entire period. The author of Judges is painting a picture of a nation in a downward spiral. With each cycle, the sin seems to get deeper and the consequences more severe. This particular instance of apostasy is noteworthy for its breadth. Israel doesn't just pick one or two new gods; they collect them like trading cards from all the surrounding nations. This highlights the depth of their spiritual adultery. They have completely forgotten the first commandment.

This section serves as the introduction to the story of Jephthah (Judges 10:6-12:7). The severity of the oppression by the Philistines and Ammonites creates the desperate situation that leads the elders of Gilead to seek out Jephthah, an outcast, as their deliverer. The narrative structure is clear: God allows the situation to become hopeless from a human perspective in order to demonstrate that salvation comes from Him alone, often through the most unlikely of instruments. The chaos and suffering described here are a direct result of Israel's failure to drive out the inhabitants of the land as commanded, and their subsequent spiritual compromise. It's a stark reminder that "in those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25), a state of affairs that inevitably leads to ruin.

Verse by Verse Commentary

v. 6 Then the sons of Israel again did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook Yahweh and did not serve Him.

Here we go again. The phrase "again did what was evil" is a weary one. It tells us that Israel has a short memory. The peace and rest that God provides are quickly forgotten, and the people return to their sin like a dog to its vomit. This isn't just a mistake; it's a deliberate choice. They "did" evil. It was an active rebellion. And what was this evil? It was idolatry, which the Bible treats as spiritual adultery. They went whoring after other gods.

And look at the list. It's a veritable buffet of pagan deities. The Baals and Ashtaroth are the old Canaanite standbys, the gods of fertility and power that were a constant temptation. But they don't stop there. They add the gods of all their neighbors: Aram, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and the Philistines. This is not syncretism, where you blend religions. This is wholesale spiritual promiscuity. They are trying to cover all their bases, to appease every power they can imagine. In doing so, they reveal their complete lack of faith in the one true God. They want gods they can see, manage, and manipulate, gods that will serve their lusts. These pagan deities were not just abstract concepts; they were demonic powers that held nations in bondage. Israel was willingly walking into the devil's parlor.

The verse concludes with the heart of the matter: "they forsook Yahweh and did not serve Him." This is the ultimate treason. They abandoned the God who had redeemed them from Egypt, who had given them the land, who had made a covenant with them. All idolatry is ultimately a rejection of Yahweh. You cannot serve two masters. By embracing this pantheon of idols, they were explicitly repudiating their relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

v. 7 So the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the sons of Ammon.

God's response is not indifference. His anger "burned." This is the holy wrath of a spurned husband. It is not a petty tantrum but a righteous, judicial anger against covenant-breaking. God's jealousy is an expression of His love and His holiness. He will not stand by and watch His bride defile herself. His anger is the necessary prelude to judgment.

And what is the judgment? "He sold them." This is covenant language. When Israel belonged to God, they were His treasured possession. Now, in their rebellion, He hands them over to new masters. God is sovereign even in His judgment. He doesn't just lose control of the situation and let the Philistines and Ammonites get the upper hand. No, He actively "sold them." He is the one who orchestrates their defeat. The enemies of Israel are merely the rod of His anger. This is a terrifying thought: the God you have forsaken is the very one who empowers your enemies to oppress you. He uses the gods they have chosen to serve as the very source of their misery. They wanted the gods of the Philistines and Ammonites, and God gave them the Philistines and Ammonites in full measure.

v. 8 And they shattered and smashed the sons of Israel that year; for eighteen years they did this to all the sons of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in Gilead in the land of the Amorites.

The language here is violent and visceral. "Shattered and smashed." This is not a gentle chastisement. This is a brutal, crushing oppression. The judgment is severe because the sin was egregious. The people are being broken. The word choice emphasizes the complete devastation of Israel's strength and pride. They thought their new gods would bring them prosperity and power, but instead, they get shattered.

The oppression is also prolonged. "Eighteen years." This is a long time to suffer. It's long enough for a generation to grow up knowing nothing but servitude. God is making the point stick. He is not going to let them off easy. The pain is designed to be memorable, to burn the lesson of their folly into their national consciousness. The focus is on the tribes east of the Jordan, in Gilead. This was the inheritance of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. They were on the frontier, and they were the first to feel the full force of the Ammonite assault.

v. 9 Then the sons of Ammon crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was greatly distressed.

The trouble doesn't stay on the other side of the river. It spills over. The Ammonites, emboldened by their success in Gilead, cross the Jordan and attack the heartland of Israel: Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. The cancer of oppression is metastasizing. This shows that the problem is not a localized one; it is a national crisis because it is a national sin. All Israel is implicated in the apostasy, and so all Israel will feel the sting of the judgment.

The result is that "Israel was greatly distressed." The word for "distressed" here means to be in a tight spot, to be hemmed in with no way out. They are cornered, afflicted, and in anguish. This is the intended outcome of God's judgment. He brings them to a place of desperation, to the end of their rope. It is only when they are utterly broken and have nowhere else to turn that they will finally remember the God they have forsaken. The great distress is the necessary prelude to their cry for help. God wounds in order to heal. He smashes in order to rebuild. This is the severe grace that will, in time, lead them to repentance and set the stage for the coming of a deliverer.

Application

The cycle of sin in Judges is not just ancient history; it is the story of the human heart. We, like Israel, are prone to wander. We have short memories. We enjoy God's blessings in times of peace and then quickly forget the Giver, turning to the idols of our own age. Our idols may not be stone statues of Baal, but they are just as real and just as demonic. They are the idols of comfort, security, power, approval, and self-righteousness. We serve them whenever we look to them for what only God can provide.

This passage is a stark warning. When we forsake God for idols, we can expect His fatherly discipline. He loves us too much to let us get away with spiritual adultery. He will bring us into "great distress." He may use financial hardship, relational conflict, or personal failure to "shatter and smash" our pride and self-reliance. This is not because He is cruel, but because He is good. He is weaning us off the poisonous milk of our idols and driving us back to the fountain of living water.

The good news of the gospel is that this cycle is ultimately broken in Jesus Christ. He is the true Israel who never forsook Yahweh. He was perfectly faithful. And on the cross, He endured the ultimate curse of the covenant, the full burning anger of God against our idolatry. He was sold into the hands of His enemies, shattered and smashed for our transgressions. Because of His faithfulness, we who are in Him are declared righteous. There is now no condemnation. Yet, the pattern of sin and repentance remains in the Christian life. When we stray, our loving Father will discipline us to bring us back. Therefore, let us take the warning of this passage to heart. Let us be quick to confess our idolatries, to forsake our Baals and Ashtaroth, and to cling to the one true God who has redeemed us in His Son. For it is in Him alone that we find life and peace.