How many unknown servants of God have been used by Him to change the course of history!
History is an uneven recounting of the past. Hebrews 11, after cataloging great women and men of faith through the ages, adds, “And others…” (v 35). It hints at many who suffered greatly for the Lord, but we’ll have to wait until glory to hear how they all “obtained a good testimony through faith” (v 39). The Spirit weaves the tapestry, some in view on the upper side, some hidden on the under side. We’ve just covered 64 verses regarding wicked Abimelech. Now we have just five verses about the good judges, Tola and Jair. Remember that each of these judges, or saviors, is a picture in some way of the ultimate Savior. Tola is the name of the crimson-grub that was crushed to produce an expensive red dye. We thought about this in the decorating of the tabernacle and the high priest’s garments. Prophetically our Lord declared, “I am a worm (Heb, tola) and no man” (Ps 22:6). Although “a man of Issachar” in the valley, Tola “dwelt in…the mountains of Ephraim” (Jdg 10:1), providing a strategic advantage in delivering Israel from its enemies for 23 years. The Lord had His own mountain strategies: the mount of His presentation, when He declared His kingdom (Mt 5-7); the mount of His glorification, when He displayed His future majesty (Mt 17); the mount of His proclamation, when He described the end of the age (Mt 24); and the mount of His crucifixion, where He defeated all our foes (Mt 27). Jair (“enlightener”) served another 22 years. From the wilds of Gilead, he is of note not only for standing with God in dark days, but because his family stood with him, “thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys” (Jdg 10:4). I imagine his posse was very effective in bringing enlightening to any trouble-makers!