“Many times he delivered them,
but they were rebellious in their purposes
and were brought low through their iniquity.”
Judges 3:30
So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years
Judges 4:3
Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years
Judges 5:31
And the land had rest for forty years
Judges 6:1
The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years.
Judges 6:7
When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. ’ But you have not obeyed my voice.
Psalms 106:42
Their enemies oppressed them,
and they were brought into subjection under their power.
Many times he delivered them,
but they were rebellious in their purposes
and were brought low through their iniquity.
Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
when he heard their cry.
For their sake he remembered his covenant,
and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love
With the right godly leadership Israelites had rest from battles for 80 years, and then again they fell away and did not obey him and were treated cruelly for 20 years. Once again they called out to God in their distress and God delivered them. They had rest for 40 years and they fell away from God and were in bondage for 7 years. Drifting away from God will never give us rest or peace. What is it that this world offers us that has appearance of rest and peace? Money, material gains, with out need of much of anything. Do we really think this will give us rest, peace and happiness? What does God have to do to get our attention away from this false sense of peace? Does He need to put us in bondage. Does He give us government officials who do not follow after Him? Does He allow us to follow our heart away from Him? What will it take for us to understand that all we have has come from Him. It is not ours but rather we are stewards of it. All abilities and gifts we have, have been given to us from Him. We are blessed beyond measure with the eternal gift of life through Jesus Christ. For this alone we should humbly serve Him for His honor and glory.
