Judges 3

“And when the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer” (v9).  This was Othniel, the first of the “judges” who were God’s method of showing grace to the wayward Israelites.  The first generation who had settled in the Promised Land were already marrying Canaanites and worshipping idols (3:6), but God had not forgotten His promises.  The judges led the people in battle and reminded them of their true identity: chosen people of the One God.

Through disobedience, the Israelites made life much harder than necessary.  But God’s mercy was greater than their sin, and He didn’t abandon them.