In Judges 10, we find the record of the Israelites fighting against the Ammonites. Verse 6 describes the spiritual condition of Israel at that time.
Judges 10: 6
"But the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals and Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Amun and the gods of the Philistines; and they left Jehovah, and they did not serve him. "
As they have done many times in the past, the children of Israel abandoned the Lord and followed the gods of the surrounding nations. This behavior was not indifferent to the Lord. Verses 7 through 9 say:
Judges 10: 7-9
"And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the children of Ammon; who oppressed and broke the children of Israel at that time eighteen years, all the children of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorite, which is in Gilead. And the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and the house of Ephraim, and Israel was grieved greatly. "
The fruit of the behavior of the children of Israel was a profound disaster. In the end, the peoples whose gods they had chosen to serve became their oppressors. Fortunately in their disaster they turned to the Lord, verse 10 says:
Judges 10:10
"Then the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, saying, We have sinned against you; because we have left our God, and served the Baals. "
As the prodigal son of the gospel of Luke made the decision to return home, confessing his sin, when the rich land was hit by famine, so the Israelites during this deep disaster turned to the Lord and confessed their sin. Then verses 11 to 14 say the Lord's answer:
Judges 10: 11-14
"And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Didst thou not be oppressed of Egypt, of the Amorites, of the Ammonites, of the Philistines, of Sidon, of Amalek, and of Maon, and crying out to me, I did not deliver them from their hands? But you have left me, and you have served other gods; therefore, I will not free you more. Go and cry to the gods that you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your affliction. "
Israel was the chosen people of God. He had saved them many times, again and again, only to see them betray one more time. However, would not I forgive them again? Would His forgiveness be over and he would reject them forever? Verses 15-16 tell us what the children of Israel did after the Lord's answer:
Judges 10: 15-16
"And the children of Israel answered the Lord: We have sinned; do with us as you see fit; We only ask you to set us free on this day. And they cut off other gods from among themselves, and served Jehovah. "
The first time that Israel went to the Lord, THE OTHER GODS WERE EVEN BETWEEN THEM. They confessed that they had sinned. However, would they have truly repented when they still had their alien gods? The confession of sin is not necessarily repentance of sin. Genuine repentance has to do with the heart and is accompanied by the change of the heart. In verse 10 the Israelites confessed that they had sinned but the other gods were still there. That is why I believe that God sent them to their idols when he told them "go and cry out to the gods that you have chosen". Those gods were still there! Only until verse 16 was Israel removed them and began to serve the Lord again. Immediately after that we see the reaction of the Lord:
Judges 10:16
"And they took away the strange gods from among themselves, and served Jehovah; and He was distressed because of the affliction of Israel. "
As soon as Israel really repented, and that was not obvious from their respective actions, there was God to deliver them once more. As soon as they repented, the Lord was distressed because of their affliction. Judges 11-12 describe how he delivered them from the people of Ammon. He did not do it because they were righteous or because he was sure that they would go back to Him again. In fact, in chapter 13 we see them departing from Him once again. He did it only because he loved them, and once they had come back to Him honestly, there he was, regardless of what they had done or what they would do in the future