In Judges, chapter ten, verse sixteen, although the Israelites justly deserve the affliction and suffering they were undergoing, God was still moved by their misery. Their suffering and plight grieved His heart, just as the agony of a child grieves and hurts a loving father. In a sense, God was heartbroken by their trouble in Ezekiel six, verse nine, and moved by compassion to be merciful toward them. As evidence of the sincerity of their sorrow and that the Israelites did not only confess their sins but also forsake them. And it is probable that, for the present, a thorough reformation took place and that they entirely quitted the worship of strange gods and served the Lord alone.
The Israelites are similar to the people today. They demonstrate the depravity of human nature and how readily it falls from one degree of degeneracy to another. God, who knows what our character is, foresaw that apostasy to idolatry would be the consequence of the Israelites dwelling among the heathen nations and therefore had strictly commanded them to expel those nations entirely out of Canaan and to have no communication with them. But the Israelites did not obey his commands, in neglecting this one thing, fell into all the errors, crimes, and miseries that God had forewarned them would be the consequence.
God’s tender mercies are available to all who have sinned, suffering from grievous consequences, and repent and seek forgiveness. In such situations, we can depend on God to be touched by our misery and suffering, to pity us, and to restore us to a place of fellowship and blessing. God’s compassion for the lost world moved Him to send His Son to reconcile sinners unto Himself. The only thing for unbelievers to do is to accept the Lord and allow Him to guide them.