‘ And it happened that, when the judge was dead, they turned back and dealt more corruptly than their fathers in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down to them. They did not cease from their doings, nor from their stubborn ways.'
The only result of God's goodness and mercy was that they became worse. The more He helped them the worse they became. For a time they treated the covenant and the tribal confederacy seriously, until the delivering judge was dead, and then they turned back to idolatry with its sinful ramifications. This was the pattern of their existence. Sin and idolatry, trouble, judges raised up by Yahweh, deliverance, temporary gratitude and faithfulness, then further sin and idolatry. They would not cease from their stubborn ways. It was a wonder that He did not rid Himself of them. But then the same can be said of us. Why does He put up with our disobedience?