After Abimelech's violent rule ended, peace slowly returned to Israel. From the tribe of Issachar rose a man named Tola, son of Puah and grandson of Dodo. He lived in Shamir, in the hills of Ephraim, and God raised him to save Israel from its turmoil.
Tola led the nation with quiet strength for twenty-three years. When his time was done, he was laid to rest in Shamir.
After him came Jair of Gilead, a man of wealth and influence. He ruled Israel for twenty-two years. Jair had thirty sons who each rode on a donkey and governed thirty towns in Gilead—towns still known as Havvoth Jair. When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.
But once again, Israel turned away from God. They bowed to Baal and Ashtoreth, and to the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, the Ammonites, and the Philistines. They abandoned the Lord who had rescued them so many times before.
Then the anger of the Lord burned against Israel. He handed them over to their enemies—the Philistines and the Ammonites—who crushed them mercilessly. For eighteen years, Israel's people east of the Jordan in Gilead suffered under their oppressors.
The Ammonites even crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. Fear spread like fire; the nation was in deep distress.
At last, Israel cried out, "Lord, we have sinned! We turned away from You to serve other gods!"
But the Lord replied, "When Egypt, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed you—did I not deliver you each time? Yet you have forsaken Me and run after other gods. I will not save you again. Go—cry to the gods you have chosen. Let them rescue you when trouble comes."
The people fell to their knees. "We have sinned," they pleaded. "Do with us whatever You think best—but please, save us this day!"
So they destroyed their foreign idols and turned back to serve the Lord. When God saw their misery and their repentance, His heart could no longer bear their suffering.
Soon, the Ammonites gathered their army and encamped in Gilead. The Israelites rallied in Mizpah, trembling yet determined.
Then the leaders of Gilead asked among themselves, "Who will lead the charge against the Ammonites? Whoever does will rule over all Gilead."
And the land waited, holding its breath for the one who would rise.