Judges 10:15

Jdg 10:15 And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.

Ver. 15. We have sinned: do thou unto us.] They do not yet despair, but put themselves into the hands of divine justice, in hope of mercy; they make a total resignation of all that they are and have to God; they pray on, and put away the evil of their doings from before his eyes. {Jdg 10:16} An excellent pattern of repentance for all to imitate.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jdg 10:15. Do thou unto us, &c. — Do not give us up into the hands of these cruel men, but do thou chastise us with thine own hand as much as thou pleasest, if we be not more faithful and constant to thee than we have hitherto been.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That is, from this present danger.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 15. We have sinned] The reprehension of this people was kind, pointed, and solemn; and their repentance deep. And they gave proofs that their repentance was genuine, by putting away all their idols: but they were ever fickle and uncertain.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(15) Deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.—The invariable cry of the soul in trouble. With the former half of the verse comp. 1Sa_3:18; 1Sa_15:26.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. For the submission to Jehovah’s will cf. 1Sa_3:18, 2Sa_15:26.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the children of Israel said unto the Lord, we have sinned,.... By serving other gods particularly; and they seemed to have a true sense of their sin, and their confessions of it to be ingenuous, by what follows:

do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; inflict what punishment he would upon them, as famine or pestilence, they could not but own it would be just and righteous, and what their sins deserved:

deliver us only, we pray thee, this day; out of the hands of men; they chose rather to fall into the hands of God; and however he thought fit to deal with them, they entreated that this once he would save them out of the hands of their enemies.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Time. They are willing to suffer from the hand of God, (2 Kings xxiv. 14,) if they prove inconstant any more. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Do not give us up into the hands of these cruel men, but do thou chastise us with thine own hand as much as thou pleasest, to wit, if we be not more faithful and constant to thee than we have hitherto been.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. We have sinned — Now their repentance becomes deeper and profounder. They had before (Jdg_10:10) confessed their sins, but had not forsaken them. Now, brought into deep humiliation by the divine threat, (Jdg_10:13.) they are ready to do or receive whatsoever seemeth good unto Jehovah.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 15, 16. "Works meet for repentance.

A wonderful summary; an evangelical anticipation.

I IN WHAT THESE CONSIST.

1. Heartfelt sorrow and confession of sin.

2. Absolute yielding of oneself into the hands of God.

3. Forsaking the sins that have deceived and destroyed.

4. Serving Jehovah with new obedience and zeal.

II How THESE APPEAL TO THE MIND OF GOD. "His soul was grieved for (literally, endured no longer) the misery of Israel." The alternate hardening and melting of God"s soul an accommodation to man"s conceptions and feelings; yet with a reality corresponding to them in the Divine nature. They have a disciplinary effect, and their succession is impressive. So God "repents." To our heavenly Father the proofs of our sincerity are an irresistible petition. He welcomes the first signs of true repentance, and leads it forth into saving faith. The truly repentant were never yet rejected. In working this repentance in their minds he began to answer their prayer even whilst rejecting it. M.

Vers. 15, 16. Repentance.

I REPENTANCE INVOLVES CONFESSION OF SIN. The people admit their guilt to themselves and declare it frankly to God.

1. We must confess sin. We cannot turn from sin till we are conscious of sin. God will not forgive our sin till we confess our guilt. These two things, the self-knowledge and the self-revelation before God, which are implied in confession, must be found in true repentance. Pride would simply forget the past, but this cannot be forgotten till it is forgiven, nor forgiven till it is confessed. (1Jn_1:9)

2. The confession must be to God; because

1. it is against God that sin is committed;

2. he alone can forgive sin;

3. we have no warrant for believing that he delegates this Divine prerogative to any human deputy.

II REPENTANCE INVOLVES SUBMISSION TO GOD. No repentance is complete which does not involve self-renunciation. This is necessary,

(1) because, since sin arises from self-will and rebellion against the will of God, the return from sin must be marked by a return to obedience;

(2) because the penitent is conscious of his utter ill desert, and of his absolute dependence on the mercy of God, so that he dares claim nothing but what God may think fit to give him, and knows that at the worst this can be no harder than what he merits; and

(3) because repentance involves the admission that while we were sinful and foolish in forsaking God, he was always good to us, and will never do for us anything short of what is best. Repentance thus recognises again the despised fatherhood of God, and willingly trusts to his grace.

III REPENTANCE INVOLVES PRACTICAL AMENDMENT. The children of Israel put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord. If repentance is genuine it will show itself in conduct it will bring forth fruits. (Mat_3:8) This does not imply

1. That we must complete the reformation of our own lives before God will forgive us, because

1. that is impossible; (Jer_13:23) and

2. the very object of the gospel is to do thisi.e. to save us from our sins. (Act_3:26)

2. Neither does it imply that any measure of reformation will be regarded as penance, as sacrifice, as a meritorious work securing forgiveness, since the essence of forgiveness lies in its freeness. But it implies that the genuineness of repentance must be tested by its effects. Repentance is not a mere feeling of grief; it is not seated in the emotions, but in the will. It is a change of desire, and the wish to do better. This is active, and must manifest itself in conduct. The conduct will be twofold:

1. the giving up of old evil ways, and

2. the commencement of the service of God.

IV REPENTANCE IS FOLLOWED BY TOKENS OF GOD"S MERCY. When the people repented God could no longer endure their misery. He never willingly afflicts. (Lam_3:33) He only waits for our repentance to show his compassion. It is possible then because

(1) there is no longer the necessity for continued chastisement;

(2) the justice and righteousness of God no longer require him to look upon us in wrath; and

(3) we shall not be injured by the kindness which fails upon us in our humiliation, but rather healed and strengthened for a better life by the influence of God"s love. A.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Do thou unto us - Do not give us up into the hands of these cruel men, but do thou chastise us with thine own hand as much as thou pleasest; if we be not more faithful and constant to thee, than we have hitherto been.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

foreign gods among them

You can make explicit the implicit meaning of this statement. AT: "foreign gods whose images they possessed" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

Yahweh could bear Israel's misery no longer

Here Israel refers to the people of Israel. AT: "And Yahweh did not want the people of Israel to suffer any longer" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

Israel

Yahweh

sin

turn

false god

worship

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.