Key Verse: Verse 4 – “And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.”
Key Words: And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts
Now Jair isn’t known for much but his grandson killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath.
J. Vernon McGee says of Jair.
“In Jair’s story I can see three things: (1) prosperity without purpose; (2) affluence without influence; (3) prestige without power.
“In that day a donkey was a mark of prosperity. That was the thing that denoted a man’s wealth. For example, Judges 5:10 says, ‘Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way.’ This verse speaks about the upper echelon, or the establishment. The donkey was a mark of wealth and was the animal that kings rode upon. There has always been a question about whether or not they had horses in that day. In Scripture the little donkey is the animal of peace and the horse is the animal of war (the horse was imported into that land). But the little donkey was actually the mark of prosperity and the mark of a king.
“Jair was obviously a man of wealth and prominence to be able to afford thirty donkeys. He gave each one of his sons a donkey, so he must have had a thirty-car garage! This was the mark of a benevolent father. He was generous, and I think he spoiled his sons. He got them what they wanted. They lived in the lap of luxury and with golden spoons in their mouths. Donkeys probably came in several models, and Jair bought each son the latest thing. But did these donkeys bring glory to God? Did they make Jair a better judge? Did they bring blessing to the people? Did any one of these boys go out as a missionary? No. They lived in Gilead.
“Years ago a high school class in the state of Washington came up with this motto for their graduating class: ‘Pep without purpose is piffle.’ Well, it is not much of a motto but it certainly expresses present-day conditions. We have prosperity but without purpose. May I ask you what the goal of your life is? Is it pointless? Is it aimless? Have you found life pretty boring? Shakespeare’s Hamlet said, ‘How stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me the uses of this world.’ What we need today is direction and dimension in our lives. We need a cause, and the cause of Jesus Christ is still the greatest challenge any man can have. Old Jair was some judge, wasn’t he?”
What to do:
✞ Live your life, not for worldly goals, but for God’s glory.
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