‘And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served Yahweh.'
His words had hit them hard. There was a wholesale cleansing and reformation, although we do not know how far it reached. Perhaps it was mainly limited to east of Jordan. So great was the distress that they removed all traces of Baalim from their houses, and all the household idols, and destroyed the altars of their other gods. They recognised that if Yahweh was to accept them again they must be thorough. Then they went to the central sanctuary and made all the necessary offerings, renewed their covenant with Yahweh, and returned home determined to obey His laws and walk in His ways.
‘And his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.'
Yahweh saw their repentance and He heard their cry, and He felt for His people and their misery. ‘His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.' This is human language, an anthropomorphism. How great is the goodness and mercy of God. So He determined that once again He would deliver them through someone raised up to help them. But possibly His choice owed much to the fact that they had treated Him as an outcast, for He would save them through an outcast.